Office
2020 K Street
A downtown Washington office property with strong sustainability credentials
About the shopping center
Malera Gifu is a purpose-built shopping center, located in Motosu City, Gifu Prefecture, a suburban area in the Chūbu region of Honshu, Japan that was previously owned by LaSalle on behalf of a custom account client from 2014 – 2024. It is a popular, family friendly destination, roughly one hour north of Nagoya City. Open daily, it covers an area of about 200,000 square meters, making it one of the largest shopping centers in the country, with over 240 retail outlets, including a supermarket, specialty stores, restaurants and a 10 screen cinema. As a regional shopping mall, Malera Gifu draws from a large 30-minute driving catchment.
It is anchored by Toho Cinemas, Round1 (bowling, video games, etc.), and major retailers Zara, Uniqlo, an official Apple distributor, G.U., Muji, H&M and many more, with over twenty new and renewed brands opening in 2024.
Investment rationale
While Motosu City is considered less populated than major cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, it is easily accessible by car and serviced by the local Tarumi Railway, which stops in front of the center, at the Malera Gifu station. Malera Gifu has been managed by LaSalle since 2014 and has since grown to become one of the region’s major malls. The launch in 2022 of a new supermarket resulted in a 300% increase in sales (compared with sales from the previous supermarket), positively influencing overall foot traffic and consolidating the center’s position as a shopping destination.* New concepts, including sustainability initiatives and community-based services, are expected to further increase customer attraction and add value to the asset, which continues to offer the potential for reliable, long-term income streams. A solar installation of 970 kW power was installed in late 2023.
Community engagement
Malera Gifu runs hundreds of events a year, including earthquake evacuation drills, the summer Bon Odori festival, and has hosted a circus on-site as well as J-pop group Da Pump and the annual 24-Hour TV charity event. Malera Gifu has also run competitions for the local community, including a contest to design uniforms and a contest to re-design bathroom interiors.
Sustainability improvements
In early 2024, LaSalle managed and completed the upgrade of Malera Gifu’s Building Energy Management System (BEMS), which monitors, controls and optimized the energy usage of the shopping centre’s systems and equipment. Additionally, installation of a 970 kwh solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which optimizes energy usage by switching between grid and solar panel power based on demand fluctuations was completed and became operational around the same time. Currently, the solar panels generate between 4 to 6% of the site energy and the system should pay for itself within five years.
Our Asset Management team uncovered opportunities to improve energy consumption and drive savings whilst striving to protect the value of the asset by installing the solar panels and upgrading the BEMS, which is expected to payback in less than two years. Following these initiatives, the energy consumption of the centre fell by about 5% in 2025.**
What we achieved
In June 2024, Malera Gifu shopping center was sold on behalf of a custom account client. At the time of sale, the initially estimated added value from the improvements was exceeded by over 220%, highlighting how sustainability improvements can add substantial value to assets.
* Observed in the six months following the opening of the new supermarket in May 2022.
** Figures related to the BEMS and photovoltaic system are as of the time of sale in June 2024.
At the time of writing (April 2025), Neither LaSalle nor our custom account client retain any interest in or connection to the asset.
Gallery
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Important information
The assets presented are meant for illustrative purposes only, are subject to change without notice and are not meant as a projection or estimate of the nature of any future investments to be made by the Fund or returns on any such investments. This information has been prepared by LaSalle in order to illustrate the type of assets held and/or transactions completed by the Fund; transactions for properties exhibiting the same or similar characteristics may not be available or profitable in the future.
Important information about sustainability
A decision to invest should consider all characteristics or objectives disclosed in the offering document. Please refer to the offering document before making any final investment decision.
Except where specified either in this webpage or any other documents, any ESG or impact goals, targets, commitments, incentives, initiatives or outcomes referenced in any information, reporting or disclosures published by LaSalle are not being marketed to investors or promoted and do not bind any investment decisions made in respect of, or the management or stewardship of, any funds managed by LaSalle for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector. Any measures in respect of such ESG or impact goals, targets, commitments, incentives, initiatives or outcomes may be overridden, may not be implemented or may not be immediately applicable to the investments of any funds managed by LaSalle (in each case, at LaSalle’s sole discretion).