Paris-based retail property giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced last month that it had sold Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia for $538 million to an unidentified buyer. The new owner of the indoor shopping center— which has been renamed the Shops at Santa Anita — has been identified as Wen Shan Chang, a real estate investor based in nearby Bradbury, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Unibail-Rodamco had described the buyer as “an established commercial real estate investor who owns other retail assets in Southern California.” Chang, 71, was born in Taiwan and owns an estate in Bradbury, a small city in the San Gabriel Valley located a few miles away from Arcadia.

Chang also holds an apartment building in Westlake and two small hotels in Las Vegas.
According to real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured, which served as exclusive financial advisor to Unibail-Rodamco, the transaction represents the largest amount paid for a single mall asset in the U.S. since 2018.

It is unclear what Chang’s plans are for the center, which has been a regional draw since its 1974 opening.
Westfield Santa Anita was considered one of the best performers of the Westfield chain. The 1.5-million-square-foot property, located on Baldwin Avenue, is 96% leased, with sales of more than $600 per square foot, Eastdil Secured said.

The sale of the mall is not a surprise, as Unibail-Rodamco has been planning a “radical reduction of its financial exposure in the U.S.,” Unibail-Rodamco said.
Unibail-Rodamco intends to sell all 24 of its U.S. malls by next year, according to Chief Executive Jean-Marie Tritant. The company wants to focus on its assets in Europe.

Last year, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield canceled plans to expand Westfield Valencia Town Center, which would have added a 101,000-square-foot Costco to the center.