Hank Amos, President and CEO of Tucson Realty & Trust Co. weighs in on El Con Sale.
Tucson’s oldest mall has new owners.
El Con Mall was purchased for $81.7 million by a group fronted by St. Louis Rams owner Stanley Kroenke.
Kroenke plans on continuing to operate the nearly 93-acre property as a “vital shopping destination,” according to a press release from Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment banking company in Santa Monica, California, that represents the new owners.
The sale ranks as one of the largest real estate transactions in Tucson history, said Hank Amos, president of Tucson Realty & Trust.
It’s also an indicator of how investors view the Tucson economy, he said.
“That says a lot that somebody would spend that much money,” Amos said. “It’s good for Tucson to see investors having that type of confidence.”
Rick Volk, president of Volk Company Commercial Real Estate, echoed Amos’ statements.
“Anytime you have someone putting that amount of money into the town, it’s positive for Tucson,” he said. “A lot of that is a reflection of the strength of the tenants and long-term leases there, but if they felt Tucson wasn’t moving in the right direction, they wouldn’t make that kind of investment.”
Tucson’s elected officials weighed in on the transaction.
“We always welcome an infusion of new capital,” Mayor Jonathan Roths-
child said. “And we hope they will be good stewards of the center.”
City Councilman Steve Kozachik, whose ward includes El Con Mall, said he hopes the owners breathe new life into the property.
“It’s a historic, mid-town shopping center that needed some new blood,” Kozachik said.
Read the article by Darren DeRonco in the Arizona Daily Star
Did you know…Tucson Realty & Trust Co. did a 6 million dollar deal in the 1960’s to develop the El Con Mall. see the Inside Tucson Business article
see other TRT stories related to El Con development