Two companies based in metropolitan Miami are scooping up the remains of a depopulated shopping center in Bangor, Maine, where a Macy’s store closed last year and a Sears store will close in April.
The Bangor Daily News reported that LNR Partners, which services a delinquent loan on the property, expects to take possession of the Bangor Mall. Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the owner of the Bangor Mall, has defaulted on an $80 million loan secured by the mall and appears set to surrender ownership to LNR.
The Daily News also reported that another company based in the Miami area, Lionheart Capital, just acquired the former Macy’s store next to the Bangor Mall through its subsidiary Out of the Box Ventures LLC. The real estate arm of Macy’s sold the vacated store at an auction.
LNR disclosed the decision by Simon to walk away from ownership of the Bangor Mall in a report last month by New York-based commercial real estate data provider Trepp. In the report, LNR emphasized that Simon was not interested in such loan modifications as term extensions or lower payments.
An appraisal in October valued the mall at $28.9 million. The mall was valued at $128 million when Simon Property obtained its loan on the property.
The Bangor Daily News reported that Simon Property defaulted on the loan on Oct. 1 and that LNR could foreclose and take possession of the mall by the end of March. [Bangor Daily News] – Mike Seemuth