Institutional Mall Investors LLC is an investment partnership that is jointly owned by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Miller Capital Advisory Inc. of Skokie. CalPERS is an agency that manages health and pension benefits for over 1.6 million public retirees and employees in California.
The formal announcement of the acquisition was expected to be given on Monday. Although it is not yet clear how much the co-investment venture company is paying for the shops, it is believed to be close to $1.1 billion.
The mall has been among the most dynamic in the country since 2004 when RFR Holdings and Tristar Capital acquired them. The success has been propelled by the fact that the mall gives direct access to 2,567 guest rooms and Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, which covers 100,000 square feet. Others include 13 restaurants, the famous Axis Theater and three other live entertainment theaters.
The mall has such popular tenants as Buffalo Wild Wings, Cabo Wabo Cantina, PBR Rock Bar & Grill, MAC Cosmetics, Sin City Brewing Co., Flight 23 at Footaction, Garrett Popcorn Shops, French Connection, Nacho Daddy, Club Tattoo, H&M, Sephora and Guess.
PBR Rock Bar & Grill features a Strip-side location where people enjoy bull riding in addition to wonderful food and drinks. Cabo Wabo Cantina features bar and restaurant covering 15,000 square feet while Club Tatoo features some of the country’s best tattoo artists.
Trizec Properties built the mall that covered 475,000 square feet in the redesigned Aladdin. It was officially opened in August 2000 under the name Desert Passage. However, it was renamed Miracle Mile Shops seven years later after Aladdin’s name was changed to Planet Hollywood Resort.
The purchase comes after MGM Resorts International announced in April that the purchase of the Shops at Crystals mall had closed. Simon Property Group and Invesco Real Estate had offered to buy the Shops, which are also located on the Strip, from CityCenter Holdings, LLC for $1.1 billion.
Infinity World Development Corp., a subsidiary of Dubai World, and MGM Resorts jointly own CityCenter Holdings. The joint venture had announced the sale in March.
According to David Simon, the CEO and chairman of Simon Property Group, the purchase gave them a great opportunity to get high-quality asset in a marketplace with wonderful growth potential.
The name Miracle Mile Shops comes from the fact that the mall covers over a mile featuring live entertainment venues, restaurants and 200 shops within the famous Las Vegas Strip.
