The Paragon Outlets Grand Prairie shopping center, which opened less than four months ago, has a new owner.
Simon Property Group, one of the nation's leading mall operators, which owns North East Mall and Grapevine Mills outlet and entertainment center, has acquired the Grand Prairie property. It will be renamed Grand Prairie Premium Outlets.The 417,000-square-foot center, at the northeast corner of Interstate 20 and Texas 360, has an upscale bent, with more than 100 leading designer and name-brand outlet stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5TH, Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store and Coach. It opened in August. Simon also acquired Paragon Outlets Livermore Valley in Livermore, Calif."We are pleased to add these two highly productive centers to our portfolio," said John R. Klein, president of Simon's Premium Outlets business.It's not the first connection for Simon, Paragon and the Grand Prairie site.The Grand Prairie mall was first proposed by Prime Retail in 2008, but the project was shelved after the financial crisis hit.Simon acquired Prime and decided to remove the Grand Prairie site and two other properties from the deal as the Federal Trade Commission launched an antitrust investigation. The FTC later approved the merger but ordered changes in Ohio, Illinois and Florida to preserve competition.Former Prime executives formed Paragon Outlets to develop the sites in Grand Prairie and Livermore. Simon acquired both shopping centers Wednesday.The FTC had no immediate comment on the deal, and a Paragon spokeswoman referred questions to Simon.Michele Rothstein, senior vice president of marketing for Simon Property, said that the Grand Prairie shopping center is fully leased and that no changes are expected. She said Grand Prairie Premium Outlets and Grapevine Mills, which are about 25 miles apart, "are distinct properties with their own shopper bases."Terms of the sale were not disclosed.Steve Kaskovich, 817-390-7773Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
