Prominent outlet mall renamed in $17M sale

A prominent shopping center along a heavily traveled commuter route between Detroit and Lansing has sold to new ownership for $17 million.

The Tanger Factory Outlet Center in Howell is now owned by a joint venture between New York City-based Time Equities Inc. and Bloomfield Hills-based Lormax Stern Development Co. LLC — and now has a new name.

The more than 300,000-square-foot shopping center at 1475 N. Burkhart Road along Interstate 96 is now called the Kensington Valley Outlets. It sits about two miles from downtown Howell.

It had previously been owned by Tanger Inc. (NYSE: SKT), a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Greensboro, N.C., that has more than 35 outlet and open-air shopping centers across the country. The last remaining Tanger outlet in Michigan is near Grand Rapids.

Kensington Valley Outlets has factory and outlet stores by Adidas, American Eagle, Coach, Banana Republic, Columbia, J.Crew, Levi’s, Nike, Old Navy, Polo and other prominent national and international retailers.

“This marks our fourth joint venture with Lormax Stern, a partnership built on shared expertise and a strong track record of success,” said Ami Ziff, director of national retail at Time Equities, in a statement. “We’re aligned in our approach to activating and repositioning retail assets, and we look forward to working together once again to unlock the potential of Kensington Valley Outlets.”

The other three joint ventures between the two companies are Macomb Mall in Roseville, plus two properties in Kansas.

CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, says the Kensington Valley Outlets property is 87% leased.

The center opened in 1996 and attracted about 1.3 million customers in the last 12 months, according to a press release.