General Motors Co.'s pension fund has put up for sale a 50% stake in Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Ill., that could be worth $500 million.
The Detroit-based pension fund hired real estate firm Eastdil Secured to sell its interest in the 2.2-million-square-foot trophy property, sources say.
The sale does not include four of Woodfield's department store anchors, such as Macy's and Sears, which are separately owned and total 1.1 million square feet.
The GM pension fund's stake in nearly 1.1 million square feet in Woodfield includes a 200,000-square-foot Nordstrom, and small shops and restaurants, such as Victoria's Secret and Cheesecake Factory. The space is more than 97% leased.
The mall generates more than $630 million a year in sales from just its specialty retailers like Apple and H&M, not including its five department store anchors. Opened in 1971, it is the ninth-largest retail property in the nation.
The pension fund acquired the stake in 1998 from Taubman Centers, which developed the center and continues to manage it.
A GM spokesman declined to comment. Woodfield General Manager Marc Strich did not return calls.
A spokeswoman for GM's joint venture partner, the $237.5 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, declined to comment. Stephen Livaditis, a senior managing director for Eastdil, also declined to comment.
Ryan Ori is a reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, a sister publication of Pensions & Investments