Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Macerich (MAC) to House Life Time at Twenty Ninth Street, Boulder

Read MoreHide Full Article

Amid the growing demand for its premium properties, The Macerich Company (MAC - Free Report) recently announced that its Twenty Ninth Street open-air shopping center in central Boulder, CO, will welcome a healthy lifestyle brand, Life Time. The move is likely to drive more footfalls at this well-known retail destination, which bodes well for Macerich.

This Life Time’s location at 1821 30th St., next to Google’s Boulder campus and just minutes away from the University of Colorado Boulder, is expected to open early next year. The 40,000-square-foot space will undergo transformation through a significant renovation to Life Time Boulder and replace the former Colorado Athletic Club.

Per Bob Beffa, senior vice president, Real Estate, Macerich, “With three high-performing Life Time locations already operating at other top regional town centers in our portfolio, we can say with confidence that they are a terrific operator, and their amenity-rich athletic facilities are top-notch.”

Other MAC properties in which Life Time conducts operations include its most recent opening at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, CA, as well as Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix and Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, AZ. Life Time currently operates at six destinations in Colorado, with its newest opening, Life Time Denver West, scheduled to open in Wheat Ridge in the first half of 2024.

The increase in consumers’ preference for an in-person shopping experience following the pandemic downtime has been driving the recovery in the retail real estate industry. Against this backdrop, Macerich’s well-located portfolio has experienced healthy leasing activity over the past few quarters and an improvement in tenant sales per square foot. In the first nine months of 2023, MAC signed leases encompassing 3.14 million square feet. This indicates a 10% increase in square footage signed from the prior-year period.

Moreover, solid tenant demand has helped the company backfill its spaces, which is encouraging. MAC is also making concerted redevelopment efforts to boost the quality of its retail properties, lure tenants and drive more footfall.

Over the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 70.9% compared with the industry's growth of 18.6%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Equinix (EQIX - Free Report) and Tanger Inc. (SKT - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQIX’s 2023 funds from operations (FFO) per share is pegged at $32.07, suggesting year-over-year growth of 8.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tanger’s 2023 FFO per share stands at $1.94, indicating an increase of 6% from the year-ago reported figure.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) - free report >>

Macerich Company (The) (MAC) - free report >>

Tanger Inc. (SKT) - free report >>

Published in