A handful of recent real estate transactions around Independence Mall are part of a strategy from the mall’s owner to capitalize on the value of its outparcels.

Florida-based 4th Dimension Properties purchased Independence Mall and a nearby parcel last summer in a more than $50 million deal. The purchase did not include the mall’s anchor tenants, Belk and Dillard’s, which own their buildings.

In recent weeks, 4th Dimension Properties sold retail properties around the mall in three separate transactions, according to deed records. 

In April, a Chicago-based investment firm purchased two retail strip buildings located in the mall's parking lot for nearly $9 million. The buildings house Dave’s Hot Chicken, First Watch, Aye! Toro Tacos & Tequila and Jersey Mike’s, among other businesses.

Deed records show that a Dallas-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) acquired the retail space that houses Lidl for $7.5 million last week, while the former Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux building at 3710 Oleander Drive also changed hands for $3 million.

Felix Reznick, principal with 4th Dimension Properties, said on Wednesday that the recent sales are part of his real estate strategy for the mall.

“When you buy one of these regional malls, you're buying at something somewhere between a 13 and maybe a 16 or 17 (capitalization rate), and what you try to do is sell the outparcels to lower your basis, because they sell at seven or eight caps,” Reznick said. “It lowers your basis, raises your return, and you can pay back your loan quicker, and you have more operating income to spend on the mall itself.”

When deciding which properties to sell off, outparcels are typically the easiest, but other parcels can be platted separately to prepare for a sale. Regardless, “it’s got to be something you know the market will buy,” he said.

In early May, 4th Dimension Properties established two condominium units at the mall, according to documents filed with the New Hanover County Register of Deeds. The first unit encompassed Lidl, while the second unit houses Ulta Beauty, LensCrafters and Five Below. 4th Dimension Properties owns the second unit, and Reznick said he’s not sure yet whether the company will pursue its sale.

Reznick sees the recent sale of the former Walk On’s space as a way to bring a new concept to the area and generate more traffic for the mall. ​The buyer has declined to comment on their plans for the property.

“The sale price was $3 million, so that goes to pay down our debt and lowers our monthly debt service, and they get to fill it, and bring more people to the mall that way,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”

4th Dimension Properties is also working to fill vacant spaces in the mall. Reznick said they’re currently in talks with tenants for two of the mall's remaining large-scale vacant spaces, including a storefront that previously housed Forever 21 and a 15,000-square-foot space near Pet Supplies Plus. 

Reznick added that the mall currently has a few outparcels on the market and is in talks to bring new retail or restaurant concepts to the sites. The properties and leases are seeing interest from a mix of local, regional and national businesses, he said.

“I think things are going according to plan,” Reznick said.