Orange Park Mall owner Washington Prime Group has, or is near, putting its entire portfolio of 50 shopping centers up for sale as it lays off employees at its corporate headquarters.
The property purge includes 10 malls and shopping centers in Florida, including Orange Park Mall.
In an email April 24, a WPG spokesperson confirmed the company is selling off the assets in its portfolio writing that “about half of WPG’s properties sold in the past year, while the remainder of the portfolio is or will soon be on the market.”
The spokesperson says the strategy is “part of WPG’s multi-year journey” but did not give further details.
The 950,000-square-foot Orange Park Mall, which isn’t yet sold, sits on 77 acres at 1910 Wells Road.
The center, which is turning 50 this year, is operating at 97% leasing capacity, according to mall management. It has more than 100 stores.
According to the commercial real estate research company CoStar Group, “the malls are coming on the market at a critical loan repayment time, with WPG having nearly $1.1 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt coming due between May and November.”
CoStar reports that the Ohio-based company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021 and subsequently went private, has sold roughly $1 billion in properties in the past several years.
In addition to the sales, WPG filed a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification notice in Ohio on April 2, alerting state officials that it was laying off 139 employees at its headquarters just outside of Columbus.
The spokesperson says the cuts are meant to “reflect the downsized organization.”
Orange Park Mall management has deferred to WPG's corporate office for comment on the sale.
Jacksonville Daily Record staff writer J. Brooks Terry contributed to this report.
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