Mazaheri Properties and Champion Hotels have snapped up University Town Center in Norman for $82.25 million, closing the deal on May 11. The Class A power center, tucked just off I-35 and Robinson in the University North Park corridor, has long ranked among the area's busiest retail draws. The buyer group says it will operate the property through UTC Partners, LLC and intends to keep the existing roster of national retailers in place.
According to The Journal Record, the investment team includes Fred Mazaheri, Champ Patel, Shirish Patel and Phillip Mazaheri, who acquired the center from Rainier Companies. Phillip Mazaheri of Price Edwards & Company represented the buyers, while David Disney of Disney Investment Group handled the sale for the seller. The Journal Record also notes this is the fifth tenant-in-common ownership group the Mazaheri-Patel partnership has assembled, and that the team has picked up more than 1.2 million square feet of retail space over the past three years.
The center by the numbers
University Town Center covers nearly 53 acres and totals about 416,766 square feet of space, according to The Rainier Companies. Built in 2009, the open-air complex is running at roughly 99% occupancy and is shadow-anchored by a high-performing SuperTarget and Crest Foods. The tenant lineup features national names such as Academy Sports + Outdoors, Kohl's, Ulta Beauty, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Michaels, DSW, Petco and Office Depot.
Foot traffic and ranking
News reports citing Placer.ai data show University Town Center pulls in more than 12 million visits a year and ranks first among 398 shopping centers in Oklahoma and 108th nationally out of 42,453 centers, putting it in the top 1% of properties nationwide, per The Journal Record. For a non-mall power center, those numbers are unusually strong, which helps explain the buyer group's appetite for the deal despite broader pressure on some brick-and-mortar retailers. Local brokers say the combination of size and consistent traffic makes UTC a steady income play.
Buyers and local strategy
Phillip Mazaheri, who represented the buyers in the transaction, is a retail investment advisor with Price Edwards & Company and has an extensive track record in the Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth markets, according to his profile at Price Edwards & Company. The buyer group has previously teamed up on local hotel and development projects, and plans to operate the center through UTC Partners while continuing routine leasing and capital improvements aimed at preserving high occupancy. Brokers and market watchers say a fully leased, high-performing power center such as UTC offers the kind of predictable cash flow and re-leasing options investors like to keep in their portfolios.
What this means for Norman
For Norman shoppers, students and visitors, the ownership shift is expected to feel more like business as usual than a major shakeup. University Town Center already serves as a key stop for residents and game-day crowds in the University North Park district. Marketing materials and leasing flyers from Rainier show ongoing interest in inline shop space and pad sites, and brokers anticipate the new owners will keep targeting dining and service concepts that play well with student and event traffic. With its top-tier foot traffic and near-full occupancy, University Town Center is poised to stay Norman's primary retail hub under its new local owners.
