Walmart spent more than $110 million to buy malls this year in a move to become a landlord, not just a tenant.

The giant with the big chest I just stumbled A retail plaza in Norwalk, Connecticut, sold for $44.5 million, beating off a significant amount of interest in the space by making the most exciting offer, according to Jeff Kintzer, a principal at Royal Properties, which represented the seller.

A Walmart store is anchored by the shopping center, so the chain’s transition from tenant to owner doesn’t raise much curiosity in and of itself. As reported by The New York Times, Walmart Already own it Most of its sites. But the deal is part of an emerging pattern:

• In May, Walmart purchased another shopping center in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, where it was also the anchor tenant.
• Perhaps most interestingly, Walmart purchased a different mall in Pennsylvania in January, where it had no retail presence.

Monroeville Mall (Walmart version)

Walmart has purchased the Monroeville Mall in Western Pennsylvania for $34 million. Perhaps coincidentally, she wanted a store in Monroeville 20 years ago, but local authorities said no. In what could be a Taylor Swift-style retaliation move, Walmart’s purchase of the mall could pave the way to market much more easily than obtaining approvals and building a site from scratch.

The chain has not commented on its plans for Monroeville, but has applied for a $7.5 million redevelopment grant from the state of Pennsylvania to support the “complete demolition” of the mall and the construction of new retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.

What in Wally’s world? In 2018, Walmart publicly announced a plan to reimagine the spaces surrounding its stores as “city centers” that could include local food vendors, gyms, and entertainment centers. The Monroeville acquisition may be part of that. Who among us hasn’t been a little late with our New Year’s resolutions?HVL

This was the report Originally published by Morning drink.