Lendlease has rekindled its efforts to divest a $135 million suburban Melbourne mall after mothballing plans to sell it amid the pandemic disruption last year.

The town centre for the city’s western growth corridor around Caroline Springs, CS Square, was pulled from the market midway through last year, along with an asset in the south-east as Melbourne was forced into a long second lockdown.

The mall is held on Lendlease’s managed investment platform, APPF Retail. Lendlease has been looking to sell retail assets to meet about $1.3 billion in redemption requests from investors in that unlisted fund. The redemption window has been extended with approval from investors on a “best endeavours” basis.

The 25,000 sq m CS Square is home to Woolworths, Coles and Aldi supermarkets, and a conversion into a Kmart discounted department will be completed soon. The property includes a smaller mixed-use precinct opposite CS Square, fully leased to five retail and office tenants over two levels.

“CS Square has been a solid performer for our fund since its initial development and subsequent expansion to include a brand-new Woolworths supermarket in 2019,” said Anne MacSporran, APPF Retail fund manager.

Read the full story here.