Carson : Mall Sold for Second Time

Five months after it was bought by MaceRich Co. of Santa Monica, the 900,000-square-foot Carson Mall has changed hands again, and may get a face lift in the bargain.

John Winthrop, former chief executive officer of the MacDonald Group Ltd., which owned the shopping center from 1980 until this May, recently acquired the mall through a new company he formed, Winthrop Investment Properties of Los Angeles. The terms were not disclosed.

Winthrop said he intends to add a food court to the mall and is working with architects on “a substantial exterior remodeling plan.”

The single-level mall at Del Amo and Avalon boulevards is anchored by the Sears, Broadway and Penney department stores and is 95% leased, he said.

Winthrop hopes to continue increasing the mall’s sales per square foot, which is now at $150 per year. The average sales per square foot for the 75 shopping centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties is about $175, said Mark McGaughey, associate vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services in Los Angeles.