A Houston developer has purchased Northwest Mall with plans to renovate the site and possibly make it a mixed-use center.

Houston-based Levcor bought the mall from Glimcher Realty Trust in a deal that closed earlier this week.

Larry Levine, Levcor's president, said he will upgrade the mall and possibly add hotel and residential components.

Levcor has also purchased an empty building on an adjacent site, which previously housed J.C. Penney, from a European investment group.

Northwest Mall needs renovation, noted Ed Wulfe, president of Wulfe & Co., who described it as "an excellent re- development opportunity."

Levine is optimistic about the mall's future because of changes in nearby neighborhoods.

"The whole area is turning," he said. Much of the land housing light industrial businesses is being developed into residential property, much of it upscale, he said.

The property is 50 acres of centrally located real estate, making it an excellent long-term investment, Levine said. The site is bounded by U.S. 290 and Loop 610.

Surrounding neighborhoods such as the Heights, Spring Branch and Garden Oaks have been underserved for retail, Levine said.

Northwest Mall has about 75 stores and an 82 percent occupancy rate. The largest stores are Macy's and Palais Royal.

Separate owners

The J.C. Penney store closed in 2000. Northwest Mall was built about 40 years ago.

"It needed to be reassembled as we did with Meyerland Plaza," when the main property had three separate owners, Wulfe said.

"The 290 corridor is absolutely booming, extremely active," Wulfe noted, and "Northwest Mall has high visibility."

Access to Northwest Mall in some instances is challenging, Wulfe said, depending on the approach.

But Levine said he doesn't see access as a problem.

Levine did not reveal the purchase price, but Glimcher's second-quarter earnings report states that it had a contract to sell Northwest Mall for about $19 million.

In a deal that closed a few months earlier, Glimcher sold Almeda Mall to Houston-based WCF Development and California-based Buchanan Street Partners for $40 million.

Founded in 1980, Houston-based Levcor specializes in retail centers between 50,000 and 1 million square feet.

In Houston, Levcor developed Hedwig Village Shopping Centre, Post Oak Plaza Shopping Centre and Heights Shopping Centre.

Active in Texas

Levcor is developing retail projects in Dallas, San Antonio, Laredo and Knoxville, Tenn.

The name "Northwest Mall" will most likely remain in some form, said Levine, who speculated that it might be changed to Northwest Centre or Northwest Plaza.

david.kaplan@chron.com