The Macerich Co. has acquired the remaining 50 percent ownership of the Desert Sky mall in Phoenix for $27.6 million, the real estate investment trust’s second acquisition in less than two weeks.

California-based Macerich, which owns Southridge Mall in Des Moines, purchased the Arizona asset from JCP Realty, the real estate arm of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. That Plano, Texas-based retailer told the Business Record in January that it will close its Southridge store by June 1.

Occupancy at Southridge increased in January to 79.2 percent from 76.6 percent the prior year as a 50,000-square-foot renovation project provided some areas with outdoor entrances, which reduced the mall’s inventory of leasable space, according to a recent survey by Frandson & Associates LC for CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial.

Following Penney’s exit, Southridge, one of the worst-performing regional malls in Macerich Co.’s portfolio, is expected to be left with three anchor tenants – Sears, Target and Younkers.

Since purchasing the mall in 1994, Macerich has watched the property’s assessed value fall from $33.3 million to $322,000 in 2010.

On Feb. 28, Macerich said it had acquired full ownership of Kierland Commons, a 38-acre mixed-use development in North Phoenix, from Dallas-based Woodbine Development Corp. That project’s 316,000 square feet of retail space is 98 percent occupied, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

Macerich, a real estate investment trust that owns 71 regional malls, assumed a share debt with the Desert Sky acquisition, and said in a press release that a $51.5 million loan was paid off.

“With our just-announced increased stake in Kierland Commons and this transaction, we are adding to our dominant position in Arizona, where we see long-term opportunity,” said Art Coppola, president of Macerich.