Ashkenazy and Cameron to invest $1 billion in shopping malls.

Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and the Cameron Group L.L.C. have formed a joint venture, Ashkenazy Investment Company L.L.C., to acquire $1 billion in regional shopping malls in the United States during the next two years.

The newly formed venture will acquire, develop, lease, and manage regional shopping centers. Ashkenazy Investment will search for higher performing, well-located malls as well as under-performing shopping centers with opportunities for improvement and upgrade.

The group has established Ashkenazy Retail Management Services Company L.L.C. to oversee management and leasing on all properties acquired by the investment arm.

The group's first acquisition was the Fashion Mall & Executive Pavilion, a retail, office, and hotel complex in Plantation, Fla., located at the center of heavily populated Broward county and seven miles from downtown Fort Lauderdale. Ashkenazy Investment is also in the process of purchasing a super-regional mall in the Northeast and is exploring several other properties located around the United States.

"Enclosed malls are a particular business and require hands on, intensive management and a strong leasing team -- Ashkenazy Retail Management Services provides the skills necessary to maximize these under-performing malls," said Ben Ashkenazy, who will direct investment activity for the joint venture.

"This team brings together the acquisition, leasing, and management of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation in the retail shopping center sector and the leasing, management and development expertise of enclosed malls of the Cameron Group," said Thomas J. Valepti, who will direct management and leasing functions for the organization.

Ashkenazy Investment's first property acquisition, the Fashion Mall & Executive Pavilion, is representative of the group's strategy to seek high-quality assets. The group purchased the retail mall, and office component of the complex, acquiring a total of approximately 750,000 SF of space.

The 637,000 SF mall, which includes tenants such as Macy's and Lord and Taylor, is 70% leased and the 114,000 SF office component is nearly 100% occupied by tenants such as Cigna Dental Health. The 192,000 SF, 263- room hotel is operated by Sheraton Suites.

The 950-foot frontage-of the Fashion Mall is at the intersection of two roadways that average traffic of more than 109,000 vehicles per day.

The 2000 Census revealed that the shopping center trade area has a population of 664,718, and the resident's average household income is a remarkable $73,288.

"The repositioning plan is to enhance an indoor/outdoor lifestyle center at the Fashion Mall," Ashkenazy said. "The current tenants in the mall are already performing well and with a shift to a lifestyle center the value to area residents and visitors will increase."