Ethan Conrad buys mall in Yuba City for roughly $15 million
Ethan Conrad has acquired the Yuba Sutter Mall in Yuba City, which was foreclosed on in early 2014.
Conrad said in an email he thought the 407,000-square-foot mall was a bargain because the price tag was 30 percent of what it would cost to build new. The purchase price was about $15 million, he said.
“In fact, the tenant sales per square foot in this mall are good and it’s considered a solid ‘Class B’ mall,” he said. “To put it in perspective, the tenant sales per square foot for this mall are higher than Sunrise Mall.”
According to Conrad, the Sephora outlet in the mall’s JCPenney has the highest volume of any such store in a JCPenney. At the corner of Highways 20 and 99 in Yuba City, the mall is also at the busiest intersection in that area, he said.
Since acquiring the mall, Ethan Conrad Properties has renewed eight store leases. There is a potential lease for a lingerie store in a dual-concept, 7,000-square-foot space. There’s also interest in a junior anchor space along Colusa Avenue, as Highway 20 is known within Yuba City, according to the company.
In addition, a leasing flyer indicates a pending 50,000-square-foot store for a 73,000-square-foot anchor space on the mall’s southeastern corner.
Conrad said he’s planning remodeling work, such as improving visibility and signage and modernizing the exterior. There will also be work to improve the empty interior spaces.
Mall anchors are Sears, JCPenney and Ross Dress for Less, with several restaurant pad tenants around the exterior of the center. The mall opened in 1989.
Thomas Dobrowski of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the seller on the transaction.
Ben van der Meer covers real estate, development, construction, water issues and the business of sports.
