Enduring Legacy and Kansas Ties

 Mace Siegel, Dana K. Anderson, and the MaceRich Company (later Macerich) have a fascinating origin story deeply tied to Topeka, Kansas, even though the company itself was founded in New York City. What began as a small strip-center developer in the mid-1960s exploded into one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of regional shopping malls through smart partnerships, a pivotal local deal, and aggressive growth via acquisitions and redevelopment. The Topeka connection—via a chance 1965 encounter and the 1972 acquisition of White Lakes Mall—was the spark that helped transform the company from a regional builder into a national REIT powerhouse.

The Founders and Early Days (1964–1965)

Mace Siegel (a real estate veteran who started in the business in 1952 after working for a brokerage focused on post-WWII shopping centers) partnered with his friend Richard Cohen, an experienced builder and developer. In October 1964, they combined their first names to create MaceRich Real Estate Company in New York City. Their initial focus was building strip shopping centers anchored by big discount stores (many with Arlan’s Department Stores as the anchor tenant). They developed about 18 of these early on, starting with one in Ames, Iowa. This model proved successful but was vulnerable when anchor chains like Arlan’s struggled.

The Topeka Connection: Dana K. Anderson Joins the Picture (1965–1966)

Here’s where Topeka enters the story in a big way. In 1965, Siegel and Cohen (along with Leonard Cohen) traveled to Topeka scouting properties for new shopping centers. Dana K. Anderson—a local Kansas real estate professional, KU School of Business alumnus from the Lawrence/Topeka area—was driving by and noticed them. He literally knocked on their car window to offer help (directions, local insights, or assistance with properties). Unbeknownst to him at the time, these were the founders of MaceRich.

Anderson brokered a deal for them on a stand-alone discount store in Topeka (which still operates today, most recently as Gordman’s). Impressed, he joined the company full-time in 1966. Anderson went on to have a 50+ year career with the firm, eventually becoming executive vice president, chief operating officer, and Vice Chairman Emeritus of the Board. His Kansas roots and hustle were instrumental in the company’s early Midwest expansion—he helped build 17 centers in the region and Annapolis, MD.

The Turning Point: White Lakes Mall and the Shift to Regional Malls (1972)

The real “blossom” moment came in September 1972 with MaceRich’s acquisition of White Lakes Mall in Topeka—the company’s first full regional shopping mall. (White Lakes had opened in 1964 as Topeka’s original enclosed mall.) Lacking the capital on their own, they formed a joint venture with Provident Life & Accident and Assurance Company to finance it. This deal was a game-changer: it marked the company’s pivot from building small strip centers to acquiring, owning, and redeveloping larger regional malls. It proved the model for future growth and established their reputation as the “Mall Doctor” for turning around underperforming properties.

Explosive Growth into a National REIT (1970s–Present)

From that Topeka foundation, the company expanded rapidly:

• Mid-1970s onward: They moved into Southern California (e.g., redeveloping the outdated Lakewood Center in 1975 into a thriving regional mall) and became experts at enclosing, expanding, and modernizing older malls. Headquarters eventually relocated to Santa Monica, CA.
• 1994: Went public as a REIT (real estate investment trust) on the NYSE under the ticker MAC on its 30th anniversary. This gave them access to massive capital for acquisitions without needing constant joint-venture partners. At IPO, they owned 15 properties (~10 million sq ft).
• Key later acquisitions that scaled them nationally: Westcor (2002, adding major Arizona and Colorado properties for $1.475 billion); Wilmorite Properties (2005, adding 11 centers including Tysons Corner for $2.333 billion); and many others. By the early 2000s they controlled dozens of regional malls (over 50 million+ sq ft at peaks).
• 2006: Officially rebranded from MaceRich to Macerich.

Today, Macerich remains a major publicly traded REIT (third-largest owner/operator of shopping centers in the U.S. at various points), focused on high-quality regional malls in strong markets, with ongoing redevelopment into experiential destinations. It owns interests in dozens of properties totaling tens of millions of square feet.

Enduring Legacy and Kansas Ties

The Topeka start—rooted in that 1965 car-window knock and the 1972 White Lakes deal—literally launched the modern Macerich empire. Anderson’s long tenure and local philanthropy (he’s a major KU supporter and has ties back to Lawrence/Topeka) kept the Kansas connection alive. Siegel remained a principal until later in life (he passed in 2011). The company’s story is a classic example of how a chance local opportunity in a Midwestern city like Topeka could fuel nationwide success in the retail real estate boom.

Your linked blog post (“Mace, Dana K., and the Enduring Legacy of Macerich: A Retail REIT Story”) seems to dive into exactly this narrative—celebrating the human element and Kansas roots behind the big REIT. If there are specific details from it you want me to expand on or cross-reference, just share! This Topeka-origin tale is a great piece of local business history.

Building & Structure Details

 ✅ Property Listing Statistics

Grandma Hoerner’s Foods Facility 31862 Thompson Road, Alma, KS 66401 Parcel ID: 099-079-30-0-00-00-004.00-0

Prime I-70 Highway-Service Industrial Property Total Land: 18.64 Acres Developed Commercial / Manufacturing Site

Land & Site Highlights

• Total Gross Acres: 18.64
• Market / Commercial Acres: 7.02
• Agricultural / Native Grass Acres: 11.51 (separate use valuation)
• Zoning: CP-3 – Planned Highway Service (allows commercial, manufacturing, and retail activity directly along Interstate-70)
• Location: Direct proximity to I-70 with semi-improved road access
• Topography: Rolling terrain, above street grade
• Parking: Off-street, on-site, adequate quantity
• Utilities: Rural water + lagoon septic system
• Ownership: Private fee-simple
• Site Classification: Developed site with buildings – primarily goods storage, handling, and light manufacturing

Building & Structure Details

Total Approximate Building Area: ~38,682 sq ft (across five integrated sections)

Main Structures (all metal-on-wood-frame construction):

• Storage Warehouse (Built 1997): 33,450 sq ft
  • Includes walk-in cooler (150 units) and walk-in freezer (150 units)
  • 18 ft height, single-story
• Mixed Retail / Office (Built 1997): 2,496 sq ft
  • Warmed & cooled air, mezzanine office space
• Light Manufacturing / Industrial (Built 1997): 2,496 sq ft
  • Warmed & cooled air
• Light Manufacturing Addition (Built 2008): 104 sq ft
• Storage Warehouse Addition (Built 2019): 136 sq ft

Key Site Improvements:

• Concrete paving with base (installed 1997 & 2000 – heavy-duty)
• Raised slab porch (2012) – 837 ft²
• Prefabricated storage shed (2012) – 82' × 91'
• Space heaters and canopy structures throughout

Property Use: Light industrial / miscellaneous manufacturing with significant storage, handling, and production capacity. Currently used for hot-fill food processing (jams, preserves, sauces, pie fillings).

Appraised Value (Wabaunsee County – Tax Year 2026):

• Commercial & Industrial: $481,020 ($97,850 land + $383,170 improvements)

This is a rare combination of size, location, and specialized food-grade infrastructure on Interstate-70 in Kansas — ideal for continued manufacturing, expansion, or owner-user occupancy.

In short, a sale-leaseback is often the cleanest way to turn your building equity into growth capital while making your life simpler, your costs more predictable, and your tax picture potentially more favorable over the long run.

 Here’s a clear list of the key advantages of doing a sale-leaseback when you own both the building and the business operating inside it (you sell the property to an investor and lease it back so your business stays put with no move). This strategy is popular for small-to-mid-sized businesses because it turns illiquid real estate equity into cash while letting you keep operating exactly where you are.

I’ll focus especially on the points you asked about—making things simpler and easier on yourself, potentially lower (or more manageable) lease payments, and capital-gains/tax implications—while including the bigger-picture benefits.

1. Immediate cash / liquidity without disrupting your business

• You get 100% of the property’s current fair-market value in cash (often far more than a bank would lend you at 60–80% loan-to-value on a mortgage).
• Use the proceeds for anything: expand the business, buy equipment, pay down debt, hire staff, or invest elsewhere for higher returns.
• Your business stays in the exact same location—no moving costs, no lost customers, no downtime.

2. Simpler and easier day-to-day operations (big win for “make it simpler on yourself”)

• You shed the headaches of property ownership: major repairs, roof/HVAC replacements, insurance claims, property-tax appeals, finding contractors, etc. Even in a typical triple-net (NNN) lease where you still pay most operating expenses, the new landlord now owns the asset and bears the ultimate long-term ownership risks and responsibilities.
• No more tying up your (or your staff’s) time on real-estate management—you can focus 100% on running and growing the business.
• Predictable budgeting: lease payments are usually fixed (or have modest, known escalations), versus the unpredictable spikes from ownership (sudden big repairs, fluctuating insurance/taxes). This makes cash-flow planning much easier.

3. Potentially lower or more manageable “effective” occupancy cost / lease payments

• Lease payments can often be structured lower than your current mortgage/debt service, especially if the buyer is an investor who benefits from depreciation and can offer “below-market” initial rents or favorable terms. Some deals even subsidize the early years because the buyer gets their own tax advantages.
• Full rent deduction: you deduct 100% of the lease payments as a straight business expense. When you owned the building you could only deduct mortgage interest + depreciation (not principal). For older buildings this often means bigger annual tax deductions.
• No debt covenants or refinancing risk: traditional loans usually have 5–10 year terms and restrictive rules; a sale-leaseback can lock in 10–20+ year terms with renewal options, giving you long-term stability without bank oversight.

4. Capital-gains and overall tax advantages (the “maybe less capital gains” angle)

• You do trigger capital-gains tax on the sale (sale price minus your adjusted basis), including depreciation recapture taxed as ordinary income. That is the main upfront tax hit.
• However, many owners end up with a net tax benefit over time because:
  • The larger, immediate rent deductions often exceed the old interest + depreciation deductions, lowering your taxable income year after year.
  • You can time the transaction to use net-operating losses, credits, or other offsets to reduce or eliminate the capital-gains bill in the year of sale.
  • Structuring options exist to soften the blow: installment-sale treatment (spread the gain over years), pairing with a 1031 exchange (if you simultaneously buy another investment property), or Qualified Opportunity Zone investments to defer gains. These aren’t automatic, but they are commonly used in sale-leasebacks.
• Bottom line: while the sale itself realizes the gain, the ongoing full deductibility of rent + removal of ownership costs frequently makes the overall tax picture better than continuing to own (especially for fully depreciated or low-basis buildings).

5. Balance-sheet and financing perks (makes future borrowing or selling the business easier)

• The property and associated debt come off your books → cleaner financial statements, better debt-to-equity ratios, and stronger appearance to banks or buyers.
• You improve creditworthiness and free up borrowing capacity for the business itself.

Quick reality check / things to watch

• You give up future appreciation and residual value of the building (though long-term renewal options can mitigate this).
• Lease terms are negotiable—strong credit and a desirable location help you get better rents, longer terms, and expansion rights.
• Always run the exact numbers with a tax advisor and commercial real-estate attorney (Kansas-specific state taxes and any local rules apply on top of federal). A good broker who specializes in sale-leasebacks can shop multiple investors to get the best price and lease terms.

In short, a sale-leaseback is often the cleanest way to turn your building equity into growth capital while making your life simpler, your costs more predictable, and your tax picture potentially more favorable over the long run. If you share rough numbers on your building value, basis, current mortgage, or what you want to do with the cash, I can help you think through whether it pencils out specifically for your situation.

Sale Lease Back - Confidential – For Qualified Investors Only

GRANDMA HOERNER’S FOODS, INC. Triple-Net Sale-Leaseback Opportunity

31862 Thompson Road, Alma, Kansas Direct I-70 Access | Modern Food-Grade Facility

40-Year Kansas Specialty Food Manufacturer Explosive Growth | National Retail & Private-Label Partnerships

Investment Highlights • Proven 40-year operator with heritage recipes and scalable manufacturing • Major new private-label awards secured with ALDI, Trader Joe’s, Buc-ee’s, UNFI and others • 2025 actual revenue: $12.0 million (50% growth) • 2026 forecast: $17.0–17.8 million revenue | $950,000+ EBITDA • 2027 roadmap target: $35.5 million revenue (new packaging formats, foodservice, club stores, expanded private-label volume) • Diversified revenue: Branded lines (Grandma Hoerner’s™, Big Slice Apples™, McCoy’s Real™) + high-volume private label • Retail partners: Costco, TJX Companies, World Market, Albertsons, Sprouts, KeHE, Hy-Vee and more • Certifications: USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, FSSC 22000, Made in USA

The Opportunity Grandma Hoerner’s owns and operates a modern, expandable food-processing facility on I-70 in Alma, Kansas. The company is seeking a $6 million sale-leaseback to unlock immediate equity from the real estate, deleverage the balance sheet, fund new production lines (pouch packaging, plastic squeeze bottles, small-format specialty items), and support working-capital needs for its 2× revenue growth trajectory.

The buyer/landlord will receive a 7% cap-rate return through an absolute triple-net (NNN) lease at $35,000 per month. The tenant retains 100% operational control under a 40-year NNN lease with annual escalators and renewal options.

Property Snapshot • Modern production facility with hot-fill glass-jar capability (8–40 oz) • 40,000+ units per shift capacity • Direct interstate access for national distribution • Ongoing equipment investments already in place • Food-safe, expandable site with strong residual value

Why This Is a Standout Credit Turnaround complete. Pricing stabilized. New multi-year contracts now in production. Once a private-label supplier is approved, retention and expansion become far less challenging. This is a growth-enabled real estate play — not just a building, but a cash-flowing credit tenant positioned for national scale in the booming specialty food category.

Structure • Sale price: $6,000,000 (market-value appraisal target) • Lease: 40-year absolute triple-net (NNN) at $35,000/month (7% cap rate) • Use of proceeds: Debt reduction + growth capex + working capital

Ready to move forward? Contact Henry McClure | 785-383-9994 | mcre13@gmail.com for the full CIM, financial package, growth roadmap, and property tour.

Grandma Hoerner’s Foods, Inc. 31862 Thompson Road, Alma, Kansas 66401 grandmahoerners.com | bigsliceapples.com

Confidential – For Qualified Investors Only