Time Equities buys Simon center in Oregon

Original article published on Value Retail News

New York-based Time Equities said on Jan. 22 that it has acquired Columbia Gorge Premium Outlets in Troutdale, Ore., from Simon. The purchase price was $28.4 million. Now named Columbia Gorge Outlets, the 164,235-sf center is 16 miles northeast of downtown Portland, just off Interstate 84. Currently 90 percent leased, the center’s 37 tenants include Coach, Gap, Eddie Bauer, Levi’s, Carter’s, Famous Footwear, Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas and Rack Room Shoes. The Woodmont Company will handle the center’s management, marketing and leasing.
Ami Ziff, director of national retail for Time Equities, told VRN that although Columbia Gorge Outlets is the 50-year-old real estate company’s first outlet center, the learning curve is well under way. “We’re learning everyday,” he said. “We poll the tenants; we want their perspective. We try to be good listeners.” Ziff added that he expects to see “more and more of the big guys divesting, not just outlet centers, but especially the REITs, their non-core assets.”