A Florida-based real estate investor has bought the Layton Hills Mall and announced plans Wednesday to renovate and expand its shopping and entertainment options to strengthen the retail center as a community asset.
The indoor mall along Interstate 15 on North Hill Field Road in Layton has been a familiar regional shopping center since 1980 and is anchored these days by several big-chain outlets such as Dillard’s, JCPenney and Dick’s Sporting Goods as well as a five-screen Cinemark movie theater and 22 restaurants.
Boca Raton-based Second Horizon Capital unveiled its purchase of the mall early Wednesday in a statement timed with the sale’s closing.
(Second Horizon Capital) Aerial view of Layton Hills Mall in Layton.
“We believe Layton Hills Mall has the potential to create meaningful experiences for shoppers while positively impacting the broader community for years to come,” said Camilo Varela, co-founder and managing partner at Second Horizon.
The mall’s previous owner, Tennessee-based real estate investment trust CBL Properties, disclosed the sales price at $37.125 million, provided in cash.
CBL, which had held the property since 1997, said in a statement the Layton property had served as collateral on a loan and that net proceeds from the sale were applied to pay down the loan’s principal balance, reducing it to $749.8 million.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cinemark Theater near the Layton Hills Mall, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
The company’s CEO, Stephen D. Lebovitz, said: “We are pleased to complete the sale of Layton Hills Mall, which is a terrific example of the strength of stable enclosed mall assets in dynamic markets.”
In the statement, Varela called the 44-year-old retail hub spread over 597,262 square feet “a central destination” in that part of Davis County. His fellow managing partner and co-founder, Howard Levine, referred to the Layton property as “a robust center with strong operations, surrounded by a vibrant community.”
Property records show the site currently valued above $46 million for tax purposes — and that the value took at least a $2 million dip from 2023.
On its website, the new owner says it specializes in reinvigorating complex and larger-scale commercial properties that are underinvested, with a focus on what it calls “community impact.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Layton Hills Mall, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
Second Horizon said it would bring “significant incremental investment” to enhance the Layton mall as a regional economic driver. “This includes making meaningful investments into center infrastructure and operational improvements to provide new opportunities for neighbors of all ages to shop, dine and gather.”
Buying Layton Hills Mall, it added in Wednesday’s statement, “was built on the strength of the community’s long-term demographic growth, consistent and robust tenant performance, and its strong position as a community amenity.”
Levine said the firm would work “directly with tenants, customers and neighboring communities” as part of its ownership transition.
This is Second Horizon Capital’s fifth retail center purchase since the company was formed in 2021 — and its first in a Western state. It also owns Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Virginia.; Park Plaza in Little Rock, Arkansas; Kingston Collection in Kingston, Massachusetts; and Chicago Ridge Mall in Illinois.
Layton grew by nearly 21% during the past decade to more than 83,000 residents, while Davis County as a whole has added population at a similar clip.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Layton Hills Mall, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.