Macerich Sells Retail Center for $99 Million

Macerich Co. said it sold a 448,000-square-foot community shopping center in Marina del Rey for $99 million, cutting its debt.

The Santa Monica-based real estate investment trust sold the Villa Marina Marketplace to M&A; Realty Partners, a San Francisco real estate investment partnership, which assumed the $58-million mortgage, according to sources close to the deal.

Macerich bought the center in 1996 and expects a gain of $24 million on the sale. Macerich said it used $25.7 million of the net cash proceeds to retire debt and plans to use the balance for general corporate purposes. Macerich has interests in 46 malls and four community centers with more than 41 million square feet of retail space.