Arboretum in South Barrington gets new investor

The Arboretum of South Barrington announced Wednesday that it has a new investor after the original loan on the project went into default, leading to a $91 million foreclosure lawsuit.

“It feels like the sun is finally shining again,” Mike Jaffe, president of The Jaffe Companies in Northbrook and the developer of the mall, said in a news release.

Fidelity Real Estate Group of Boston and Jaffe's company formed a joint venture that closed two weeks ago on the purchase of the original loan after a competitive bid process that lasted several months, according to the release.

The 472,000-square-foot lifestyle center is at the intersection of Higgins Road and Rte. 59.

“Our team has stayed with this project through the toughest of times and never lost faith in its potential,” Jaffe said. “With this new venture, the vision we had for The Arboretum can be completed in the years ahead.”

Opened in 2008, the center is home to LL Bean, Pinstripes, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Chico's, Victoria's Secret, Toms-Price and 50 other retailers. Having opened in the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the center struggled to achieve its target rents, even as its occupancy improved to more than 85 percent. In 2010, the original loan on the project matured and efforts to work out an extension were unsuccessful.

“We are mindful that the economic downturn has had a huge impact on us, our friends and partners. … I am incredibly proud of my team and so appreciative of our many relationships that remained rock solid despite the stresses and uncertainties of these past years,” Jaffe said in the release.

He said marketing efforts and an improved economy has led to sales at most stores growing in the double digits annually for the last two years. Last year more than 3 million visitors shopped at the center, 1 million more than the prior year, he said.