Centennial takes over management of Kentucky mall in receivership
Dallas-based Centennial has announced that it has taken over the management and leasing contract of Greenwood Mall in Bowling Green, Ky., which is currently in receivership.
Over the last 10 years, anchors Sears and Macy’s departed the 850,000-sq.-ft. enclosed mall, as did Forever 21, Express, F.Y.E., and Crazy 8. New tenants have continued to lease space, however, and the property is not up for sale.
Greenwood had been run by the Kohan Retail Investment Group, which has a reputation for buying middle-market malls on the cheap and making little investment in them. The hiring of a top-flight operator such as Centennial to take over operations at Greenwood could likely see it on the market soon--or see Centennial acquire it.
Current Centennial projects include the transformation of the Shops at Willow Bend into a walkable, mixed-use development with single-family residences and streetscapes and the tenant re-curation of Maryland’s second-largest mall.
Last year, Centennial named as its president Paul Kurzawa, a 20-year veteran of the commercial real estate and entertainment industries. Kurzawa spent seven years working for Rick Caruso, creator of such ground-breaking projects as The Grove and The Commons at Calabasas in California.
“Because we are a nimble organization with a proven playbook for success, we are increasingly being tapped to take over the management and leasing of properties like Greenwood Mall that are well-positioned for growth but have fallen into receivership and need immediate leadership to prepare the asset for sale,” Kurzawa said.
Greenwood has served as a primary piece of retail real estate in Bowling Green since it opened in 1977. Well located on I-65, which connects Louisville and Nashville, it is the only regional shopping center between the two cities.
Dillard’s, JCPenney, and Belk still serve as anchors, and its 80-plus tenants include American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Hibbett Sports, Chuck E Cheese’s, and a 12-screen Regal Cinemas movie theater.
Centennial, which was founded by former retail chain executive Steven Levin, has become more aggressive in mall and shopping center transformations after having entered into a strategic investment agreement with Lincoln Property Company, which operates 34 offices in the U.S. and Europe.
Centennial currently operates 23 million square feet of mixed-use destinations in 17 states. Other notable properties in its portfolio include Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, Calif.; Liberty Center in Liberty Township, Ohio; MarketFair in Princeton, N.J.; The Summit Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala., and The Shops at North Bridge in Chicago.
