Wells Fargo has filed to foreclose on the Northgate Mall located in Cincinnatti, Ohio. The 1.1 million square foot mall is currently owned by a subsidiary of Great Neck, NY-based Feldman Mall Properties.
In 2007, Feldman planned to spend $40 million to renovate the property and welcome Rave Cinemas as a new tenant, but that deal ultimately fell through.
Following Dillard’s shutting its doors, leaving Macy’s and Sears as the only anchors, the mall’s occupancy has declined to about 60%.
Fighting to avoid bankruptcy, Feldman attempted to sell its mall portfolio, which included this property, to Inland American Real Estate Trust, but that deal fell through in January 2009.
Feldman purchased the Northgate Mall in 2005 for $110 million and assumed $82 million of CMBS debt. Of the original $82 million loan amount, $74.6 million remains outstanding.
In the 4th quarter of 2009, Feldman Mall Properties saw their CFO, Thomas Wirth, and the company’s founder and chairman, Lawrence Feldman, resign.
Feldman Mall Properties relinquished control of the Tallahassee Mall to special servicer LNR Partners last year, after marking it down over $47 million in 2008. Pending the Northgate foreclosure action, Feldman Mall Properties would be left with a property portfolio consisting of the Stratford Square Mall, located in Bloomingdale, Illinois and the Golden Triangle Mall in Denton, Texas.
Meanwhile, it appears that Mr. Feldman has created Feldman Equities to “[embark] upon an aggressive program to acquire distressed office assets located in Manhattan, Long Island and Florida” according to the company’s website.
