Vestar And AEW Form Joint Venture To Acquire Tempe Marketplace

AEW replaces Rockwood Capital as firm's joint venture partner in ownership of premier retail center

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Oct 06, 2015, 02:17 ET

TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestar, one of the largest privately held retail real estate companies in the western United States, and AEW Capital Management (AEW) have partnered to acquire Tempe Marketplace for $367 million. Vestar previously owned the 1.3 million-square-foot, open-air retail center with Rockwood Capital, LLC ("Rockwood") which is exiting its investment after a five year hold. AEW acquired the property on behalf of the AEW Core Property Trust.

"We have a great long-standing relationship with AEW and are excited that their vision for Tempe Marketplace matches ours," said Rick Kuhle, Vestar Chairman and CEO. "Rockwood has been an exemplary capital partner for us. We look forward to working with them on future ventures."

"We are excited about the investment as we believe the center will continue to benefit from the nearby Arizona State University campus, as well as State Farm's move of approximately 7,000 professionals to a property that is adjacent to Tempe Marketplace," said Dan Bradley, Senior Portfolio Manager for AEW Core Property Trust. "We are also thrilled to partner with Vestar who we believe is a best-in-class operator."

"Rockwood and Vestar have enjoyed an outstanding relationship, partnering on Tempe Marketplace and three additional joint ventures over the past several years," said Joel Mayer, Rockwood Managing Director. "We will continue to pursue new opportunities with Vestar in the future."

Vestar opened Tempe Marketplace in 2007 and Rockwood Capital joined as a joint venture partner in 2010. The center offers strategically integrated shopping, dining and entertainment in a festive, pedestrian-oriented village town center environment. Tempe Marketplace is fully occupied and recently welcomed several new tenants including: F21 red (Forever 21's newest concept store), H&M and Nordstrom Rack.

"Vestar continues to be committed to the success of Tempe Marketplace with AEW as our partner," said David Larcher, President of Vestar. "We will continue to focus our efforts on increasing the productivity of the center and providing an exceptional customer experience."

ABOUT AEW

Founded in 1981, AEW Capital Management, L.P. (AEW) provides real estate investment management services to investors worldwide. One of the world's leading real estate investment advisors, AEW and its affiliates manage over $48 billion of property and securities in North America, Europe and Asia (as of June 30, 2015). Grounded in research and experienced in the complexities of the real estate and capital markets, AEW actively manages portfolios in both the public and private property markets and across the risk/return spectrum. AEW and its affiliates have offices in Boston, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as additional offices in nine European cities. For more information please visit www.aew.com.

ABOUT ROCKWOOD

Rockwood Capital, LLC is a real estate investment management firm, founded in 1995 that provides equity capital combined with real estate operating expertise for repositioning, recapitalization, development and redevelopment of retail, hotel, residential, office and research and development space in key markets throughout the United States. Rockwood and its principals have invested on behalf of their clients approximately $20.1 billion of real estate through nine value-add vehicles and four separate accounts. Today, Rockwood is an 80 person real estate investment firm with offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Seoul, Korea that manages a portfolio of approximately $3.6 billion of net equity value in approximately $9.1 billion of gross real estate value. Rockwood's investors include public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, fund of funds, high net worth individuals and family offices.

ABOUT VESTAR

One of the leading privately held real estate companies in the western United States, Vestar specializes in the acquisition, management, and development of commercial real estate, including entertainment-retail complexes, power and lifestyle centers, and neighborhood centers of varying size and scale that serve as community shopping destinations with a unique sense of place. Vestar currently owns and manages 23 million square feet of retail assets in the western U.S. For more information, please visit www.vestar.com.