Westfield America Buys Palm Desert Mall

Westfield America Inc., one of the nation’s fastest-growing mall companies, bought the Palm Desert Town Center from TrizecHahn Corp. for $82 million, bolstering its position as the state’s top shopping mall owner. Money for the acquisition came from an $86-million offering of convertible preferred stock. The 129-store mall will be remodeled and renamed the Westfield Shoppingtown Palm Desert, said Los Angeles-based Westfield America. The new owners will reevaluate renovation plans TrizecHahn submitted last year and will submit a new proposal to Palm Desert, said a city spokeswoman. Preliminary plans call for another department store and a multiplex with stadium seating. The 868,536-square-foot facility has stores such as Robinsons-May, Macy’s and JC Penney. The acquisition in Palm Desert increases the number of Westfield America shopping centers in the greater Los Angeles area to eight. The real estate investment trust owns interests in 38 shopping centers across the country, with 20 malls in California. Westfield shares fell 6 cents to close at $14.94 on the NYSE.