Mall has new owners
Woodbury Strategic Partners and Goodale & Barbieri Co. of Spokane announced Thursday that they have purchased Kalispell Center Mall from Red Lion Hotels Corp. for $11.6 million.
The mall owners have formed WSPGB Mall LLC, as an affiliate of their two companies.
Goodale & Barbieri Co. had been managing the mall for Red Lion. Dave Peterson, executive vice president of Goodale & Barbieri, said the 170-room Red Lion Hotel will now be a tenant in the mall.
“Their primary business was hotels, and our primary business is retail real estate, and our partner’s primary business is retail real estate,” he said. “We’ll focus on retail and Red Lion will focus on operating the hotel.”
“Woodbury is a very large company. I think they have in excess of 12 million square feet of retail,” Peterson added. “There will be changes that will take some time to make, and those changes will have an impact on our property and a positive impact on Kalispell as well.”
The sale of the Kalispell Center Mall completes the Red Lion Hotels Corp.’s disposition of non-hotel operating assets. The mall was built in 1986, along with the attached hotel.
Peterson said the new owners have long-term plans in mind, but cannot release any details.
“Now that there’s a new ownership, there are some things we want to move forward, such as development of the area north of the tracks,” he said. “We own about a 3 1/2-acre parcel and we’ve had interest in that site and on the mall property.
“Our thought is to grow the tenancy in the mall and to bring quality tenants into the project that will add value for all the tenants.”
One thing that will be undertaken this year is redoing the parking lot to the west of Herberger’s.
Because of the paving project, Kalispell Center Mall was not able to offer space to the Kalispell Farmers Market this year, Peterson said. (The farmers market board of directors is still searching for another location for this season.)
At 300,000 square feet, Kalispell Center Mall is the largest shopping mall in Northwest Montana and includes such tenants as JC Penney, Herberger’s, Zumiez, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, Rue 21, Maurice’s, Wakefield’s, Riddle’s Jewelry and Dairy Queen.
Goodale & Barbieri, founded in 1937, is a real estate development and property management firm with office, retail, residential and recreational developments throughout the Northwest. For more information on Goodale & Barbieri, visit the company’s website at www.g-b.com.
Woodbury Strategic Partners is a value-add commercial real estate investment vehicle that was formed to acquire and develop commercial real estate assets throughout the western region of the United States. For more information, visit www.woodburystrategic.com or www.woodburycorp.com.