Second Horizon Buys 950 KSF Retail Center
The Florida mall is the firm's first acquisition in its home state.
Second Horizon Capital, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based impact investment firm, has made its first acquisition in its home state with the purchase of Orange Park Mall, a 950,000-square-foot enclosed shopping center in Orange Park, Fla., near Jacksonville.
CBRE will handle property management and leasing services for the mall. Founded in 2021, the firm owns five additional malls and shopping centers in Massachusetts, Virginia, Utah, Arkansas and Illinois.
WPG, formerly known as Washington Prime Group, had owned the mall at 1910 Wells Road since 2014, according to Jacksonville Daily Record.
An expanded retail center
Built in 1975 and expanded by 300,000 square feet in 1984, Orange Park Mall currently has five anchors: Belk, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s and AMC Theatres. Other retail tenants are Old Navy, Hollister, Hot Topic, Foot Locker and Victoria’s Secret. Dining options include Buffalo Wild Wings, Charley’s Philly Steaks, Popeye’s and Chao King Express. Current occupancy is approximately 95 percent.
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The buyer plans to enhance the mall with a broader mix of shopping, dining, and entertainment options, featuring national, regional and local retailers, said Camilo Varela, co-founder & managing partner of Second Horizon Capital.
The firm will invest in upgrading the retail lineup, common areas, safety operations and infrastructure, while also expanding the programming calendar and fostering local partnerships.
“Our efforts on improving common areas, enhancing center operations and deepening our community engagement are already in process. Some of these updates are quick to implement and some take time to come into place. We look forward to sharing more with our tenants, our shoppers and our community on these changes in the weeks and months ahead,” Howard Levine, managing partner & co-founder of Second Horizon Capital, told Commercial Property Executive.
“We are excited about the long-term economic growth of Clay County and the Jacksonville market. We see Orange Park Mall as a central part of Clay County’s retail foundation with meaningful potential for ongoing enhancement. Through focused investments, we look forward to enhancing Orange Park Mall as a dynamic, welcoming hub for our tenants, our shoppers and the community.”
WPG’s recent retail activity
WPG, which has been divesting properties in recent years, announced in April it was selling the remainder of its retail assets and laying off more than 100 employees. The retail firm was among several REITs that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021, following the pandemic.
WPG emerged from the Chapter 11 process in late September 2021. At the time, the firm began operating as a private holding company that was majority owned by SVP Global and stated its debt had been reduced by nearly $1 billion and its overall liquidity greatly improved.
While WPG has not publicly declared why it’s divesting its properties, there are media reports that it had nearly $1.1 billion in CMBS debt due between May and November. The company has downsized significantly since emerging from bankruptcy, when it owned more than 100 properties, its website now listing around 30 assets.
Last month, CBL Properties purchased four enclosed malls from WPG for $178.9 million, totaling about 2.2 million square feet. The malls are in Kentucky, Colorado, Florida and Montana.
Also in July, O’Connor Capital Partners took full ownership of Polaris Fashion Mall, a 1.3 million-square-foot mall in Columbus, Ohio, after acquiring WPG’s majority stake. O’Connor had been investing in the property for more than a decade.
In June, FalconEye Ventures acquired Scottsdale Quarter, a 755,000-square-foot mixed-use property with Class A office, luxury retail and residential components in Scottsdale, Ariz., that had been previously owned by WPG, according to Yardi Research Data.
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