BEACHWOOD, Ohio, Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DDR Corp.
(NYSE: DDR) today confirmed plans to sell 22 acres of land to IKEA
Property, Inc. for the construction of their first store in
Kansas, located in the town of
Merriam, approximately eight miles
southwest of Kansas City.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110912/CL65938LOGO
)
In a press release issued earlier today, IKEA confirmed that the
City Council of Merriam has
unanimously approved plans for this project, following last month's
approval from the City's Planning Commission.
Construction of the new 349,000-square-foot IKEA is set to begin
the summer of 2013, with a targeted opening in the fall of 2014.
The new store will dramatically expand the market share of DDR's
existing prime asset, Merriam Town Center, complimenting the
current lineup of value-oriented retailers such as Home Depot,
Dick's Sporting Goods, Cinemark, Marshalls, PetSmart, Old Navy,
Party City and Five Below.
"The addition of IKEA not only solidifies Merriam Town Center as
the premier regional power center in the Kansas City market, but furthers our effort to
effectively monetize our land bank," said Paul Freddo, senior executive vice president of
leasing & development for DDR. "IKEA's global brand
recognition expands Merriam Town Center's trade area to over 2
million shoppers, while enhancing the value of the remaining 10
acres of land where we expect to finalize negotiations with a
variety of nationally recognized tenants."
IKEA Merriam will offer a total of 1,200 on-site parking spaces,
and include the same unique architectural design and in-store
concepts for which IKEA centers are known worldwide. The new store
will be DDR's third IKEA-anchored power center, following those at
the Company's Belgate Shopping Center in Charlotte, NC, and Centennial Promenade in
Denver, CO. Learn more about IKEA
at www.ikea.com/us/en/.
About DDR
DDR is an owner and manager of 459
value-oriented shopping centers representing 116 million square
feet in 39 states, Puerto Rico and
Brazil. The company's assets are
concentrated in high barrier-to-entry markets with stable
populations and high growth potential and its portfolio is actively
managed to create long-term shareholder value. DDR is a
self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully
integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New
York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DDR. Additional
information about the company is available at www.ddr.com.
Safe Harbor
DDR considers portions of the information
in this press release to be forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended, with
respect to the Company's expectation for future periods.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in
such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
achieved. For this purpose, any statements contained herein
that are not historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. There are a number of important factors that
could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated
by such forward-looking statements, including, among other factors,
local conditions such as oversupply of space or a reduction in
demand for real estate in the area; competition from other
available space; dependence on rental income from real property;
the loss of, significant downsizing of or bankruptcy of a major
tenant; constructing properties or expansions that produce a
desired yield on investment; our ability to buy or sell assets on
commercially reasonable terms; our ability to complete acquisitions
or dispositions of assets under contract; our ability to secure
equity or debt financing on commercially acceptable terms or at
all; our ability to enter into definitive agreements with regard to
our financing and joint venture arrangements or our failure to
satisfy conditions to the completion of these arrangements; and the
success of our capital recycling strategy. For additional
factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ
materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements,
please refer to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2011, as amended.
The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
arise after the date hereof.
SOURCE DDR Corp.