Firm in Talks to Buy Century City Mall

Urban Shopping Centers Inc. is in talks to buy Century City Shopping Center--one of California’s highest-grossing shopping malls--for about $250 million, according to people involved in the negotiations. The 770,000-square-foot mall posts $550 in annual sales per square foot, or more than double the industry average. It features about 140 shops, including the West Coast flagship store of Bloomingdale’s, and 20 restaurants. Officials from Urban Shopping and RREEF, a real estate investment advisor that owns the Westside mall on behalf of its pension fund clients, declined to comment. Chicago-based Urban Shopping recently signed a letter of intent to buy the property and is examining its financial statements, sources said. An announcement on a definitive agreement could be made in 30 to 45 days. Urban Shopping owns or manages more than 50 million square feet of retail space in 23 states and the District of Columbia, including Chicago’s Water Tower Place and Boston’s Copley Place.