University Village, the open-air shopping center that has anchored the area north of downtown Seattle near the University of Washington for nearly seven decades, is set to be acquired by Simon Property Group. A subsidiary of the national mall operator has entered into an agreement to acquire the center, with the deal expected to close before the end of 2026.
According to a news release from Simon, University Village features more than 100 businesses and services, mixing national retailers with locally operated boutiques and restaurants. Simon, a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in retail and mixed-use properties, said its strategy centers on investing in established retail properties with recognizable brands, diversified tenants, and major metropolitan locations, and that the deal will expand its presence in the Seattle market.
Eli Simon, who serves as the company's chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer, called University Village an exceptional retail destination and said Simon is pleased to welcome it to its portfolio. He added that the acquisition reflects the company's focus on distinctive, high-quality assets in strong markets and its intent to build on the center's success.
A Local Fixture Since the 1950s
University Village traces its roots to the 1950s, opening in 1956 with the Seattle-founded Rhodes Department Store as its original anchor, according to Seattle Met. The center has grown over more than three decades under its current ownership, expanding from an approximately 300,000-square-foot property to nearly 600,000 square feet today.
Much of that growth has unfolded under Susie Plummer, who has served as partner and general manager of University Village since 2000 and has more than doubled the number of businesses at the center in that time, the magazine reported. The property includes more than 40 locally owned companies alongside national names like Apple, RH Gallery, Crate & Barrel, Room & Board, Sézane, Lululemon, Aritzia, Vuori, and Din Tai Fung.
Plummer said the center's owners envisioned a neighborhood gathering place for local and regional businesses, national brands and families, and the existing owners acknowledged that employees, retail partners and the surrounding community all contributed to the center's development and operations over the decades.
No Changes Planned, Simon Says
Simon has disclosed no additional redevelopment plans or modifications to existing retail operations once the deal closes, and has not disclosed plans for management changes following completion of the acquisition. The purchase price was not disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, with a Simon subsidiary expected to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Once finalized, University Village will become part of Simon's retail and mixed-use property portfolio, adding what the company describes as a prominent retail property in the Seattle metropolitan market. The center's open-air configuration, blending national retailers with locally operated businesses, has long been central to its identity, as citybiz reported.
Fresh Tenants Keep Arriving
Even as ownership changes hands, University Village's tenant roster keeps evolving. Swiss sportswear brand On is set to open a location at the center, part of a broader tenant shuffle that also includes New York City-based jeweler Catbird and French womenswear brand Sézane, per the Puget Sound Business Journal. Brooks Running is also slated to open its first stand-alone Seattle store at the property, the outlet noted.
That kind of turnover isn't new for the center. Seattle Met reported that in the year before its 2022 feature published, University Village had welcomed more than a dozen new tenants, a pace that has helped keep the open-air destination relevant to shoppers even as retail landscapes shift around it.
