November 8, 2006 Wednesday

COLONIE - The success of The Cheesecake Factory at Colonie Center has helped drive up sales at the mall, a Feldman Mall Properties Inc. official said Tuesday.

With sales averaging $280,000 per week after the restaurant opened in August, activity at the mall has been "like Christmas in September," said Larry Feldman, chairman and chief executive of the Phoenix-based company, quoting a mall manager.

Speaking Tuesday during an earnings conference call, Feldman said the company closed in the third quarter on a deal with Heitman Funds, a Chicago-based real estate investor, that immediately netted $46 million in cash.

The money will help pay for $23.6 million in improvements by the end of the year.

- Alan Wechsler