Kite, partner buy Pan American Plaza

Pan American Plaza and two adjacent ice skating rinks have been sold by Indiana Sports Corp. to a joint venture of locally based Kite Realty Group Trust and Sacramento, Calif.-based Coastal Partners LLC.

Terms were not disclosed.

Sports Corp. President Susan Williams said the not-for-profit sold the property because its proximity to the soon-to-be-expanded Indiana Convention Center made it attractive for development.

“This important parcel of downtown property returns to the property tax rolls and a portion will remain as public space to commemorate the 1987 Pan Am Games,” Williams said in a statement.

The sale does not include the Pan Am office building, which Coastal already owns.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Sale proceeds will go to an Indiana Sports Corp. endowment that will fund promotion of sporting events and youth sports.

Last summer, Houston-based Principle Equity Management nearly bought the plaza, along with the Pan Am office building, but couldn’t get financing amid the credit crunch. Principle had planned to build a $50 million restaurant and retail development at the location.

Kite officials were not immediately available for comment this afternoon to discuss their plans for the site.

The Kite and Coastal partnership that bought Pan Am Plaza is called KRG/CP Pan Am Plaza LLC.

For more, go to Property Lines.