Colonie Center purchased by investment group

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

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A global investment firm has bought Colonie Center for an undisclosed price, according to a news release issued today.

KKR and its affiliates, including KKR Financial Holdings LLC, acquired the 1.3 million-square-foot regional mall in partnership with Colonie Pacific.

“Colonie is an institutional-quality asset with tailwinds from a significant recent renovation,” said Ralph Rosenberg, head of KKR’s real estate group, in the release. “With additional investment and a revamped leasing strategy, Colonie will be an even more attractive home for current and prospective retailers in Albany. The transition in ownership will be seamless for shoppers, and our goal is to make the shopping experience even better than it is today.”

Colonie Center has more than 113 stores on its 91 acres at the intersection of Wolf Road and Central Avenue. It generates about $245 million in retail sales and an estimated $400 per square foot.

The mall is anchored by Macy’s, Boscov’s and Sears, and houses national retailers like Aeropostale, American Eagle, Christmas Tree Shops, Express, Sephora and Victoria’s Secret. Colonie Center also has a 13-screen Regal Cinemas and a Whole Foods that is anticipated to open in 2014.

A 2007 renovation improved the mall’s streetscape and attracted national tenants like L.L. Bean, P.F. Chang’s and the Cheesecake Factory.

KKR and Colonie Pacific, a partnership between Pacific Retail Capital Partners, Collarmele Partners and Peter Fair, of Continuum Partners, plan to make additional capital investments and will also focus on attracting new tenants to the market, according to the release.

It’s KKR’s ninth real estate investment since its founding in 1976. The firm had $75.5 billion in assets under management at the end of 2012.

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