Lenders buying back Westgate Mall for $51m
Lenders for the struggling Westgate Mall in Brockton bought back the property yesterday at a foreclosure auction for about $51 million.
Westgate Brockton Limited Partnership made the top offer out of a handful of bidders vying for the enclosed mall, according to Jeffrey Mann, a senior vice president at auctioneers Paul E. Saperstein Co. Babcock & Brown defaulted on the mortgage for the mall, which was purchased for about $58.5 million in 2004. Westgate Mall general manager Luciano Villani said, “Operations will continue as they have in the past. The long-term objective is to identify a mall operator to purchase the mall from the bank.’’
The 532,135-square-foot mall is on about 50 acres and anchored by Macy’s and Sears department stores. Earlier this year, the shopping center indefinitely postponed plans to add a movie theater to replace a Filene’s department store that closed several years ago.
