- What A shopping mall in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is available through a court-ordered sale
- Why CBRE is marketing the site as an investor or redevelopment opportunity
- What next The mall is currently 54% vacant
A distressed mall with development potential along Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.’s, waterfront could net as much as $25m in a sale, Green Street News can reveal.
Court-appointed receiver B. Riley Farber was appointed this year to handle the sale of Station Mall, a 475,000 sq ft retail property adjacent to the St. Mary’s River in the city’s downtown. The receiver tapped CBRE’s land services group for the sale. The brokerage’s retail practice is also managing the property during receivership.
According to court documents, Algoma Central Properties is seeking to recover approximately $18m from an unpaid vendor take back mortgage issued to SM International Holdings, based in Markham, Ont. Yeung Mou is listed as the company’s president.
The half-vacant property, at 293 Bay Street, also has over $3m in outstanding property taxes although the decision is under appeal.
Algoma sold Station Mall to SM International Holdings for $30m ($63/sq ft) in June 2022, according to Green Street’s Sales Comps Database. Two years later, Algoma commenced legal action against SM for the unpaid mortgage.
The 35-acre mall is one of Northern Ontario’s largest enclosed shopping centres, according to marketing materials. CBRE is pitching it to both retail buyers and as redevelopment opportunity of prime waterfront land. The property is zoned for retail as well as residential, leisure, office and other commercial uses.
A buyer would likely look to work with the municipality – which is initiating a planning study of the waterfront area – on potential funding or other support for a redevelopment project.
Built in 1972 and having undergone multiple expansions and renovations through 2016, Station Mall shopping mall is 46% occupied, with 66 retail tenants. Sport Chek, H&M and a Cineplex movie theatre are among the anchors.
Most of the vacant area is from a former Walmart and an outlet for the bankrupt Sears chain. The departures have collectively left some 258,000 sq ft of unused commercial space. Also lying empty is a 4,000 sq ft building separate from the main mall building that was once a bus terminal.
