COLUMBUS, MS – Article attached below, Courtesy of the Dispatch
Colin:
Leigh Mall on Highway 45 in Columbus is up for public auction as collateral on a defaulted loan, according to a public sale notice in today’s edition of The Dispatch – File Photo from the Dispatch
Best thing that could happen. The out of town owners misjudged the market and passed on several solid opportunities recently(IMO.)
After the ownership group balked at several multi-million dollar offers over the last few years, the mall is up for auction. The LINK, recently defunded by the city council, had secured at least two offers aimed at rehabbing the mall over the last 5 years that were ignored by the current owners.
The big challenge is really that this is not a single property call for sale, but a full asset “foreclosure.” Some companies allow this to happen as part of a buyout or restructuring- but it is often a sure sign of distress.
Luckily for Columbus, Leigh Mall is one of the most valuable assets the company owns and would be one of the first “sold off” in either case.
I’d hope an outlet mall or redevelopment group would make a fast charge to the property(as they have done in the past.)
Big time news in any scenario, and heads up news gathering by Zack and the Dispatch.
Worth mentioning I wouldn’t expect the mall to actually close at any point.
http://cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=68840