One of the largest regional mall owners in the country recently purchased a floundering mall in DeKalb County for more than $19 million.
The Gallery at South DeKalb, which has several vacant storefronts, was sold to Namdar Realty Group for about $19.3 million in a December auction. Thomas Dobrowski, vice chairman at Newmark, handled the sale and confirmed it to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The mall, previously named South DeKalb Mall, opened in 1968 and now spans about 71 acres. Located in Atlanta’s Pantherville neighborhood, the mall’s anchor tenants have closed over the past few years, culminating in Macy’s closing its store in 2020.
Credit: Dwight Ross Jr./AJC 1968
Credit: Dwight Ross Jr./AJC 1968
The mall’s previous owner, Thor Equities, defaulted on a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, leading to the recent auction sale. Newmark sold the property on behalf of CWCapital, the commercial real estate company that inherited the mall when the loan went into default.
Namdar Realty Group specializes in regional malls, and the New York-based company owns and operates nearly 60 malls across the country. The Gallery at South DeKalb is the first Georgia mall in the company’s portfolio.
The company will partner with Mason Asset Management to oversee leasing efforts. In a statement to the AJC, the companies said they’re looking to fill the empty anchor tenant buildings.
“We are working closely with a number of national big-box retailers to fill the current anchor spaces, and we look forward to further bolstering the available offering at the mall through an aggressive leasing strategy,” Igal Nassim, managing principal for Mason Asset Management, said.
The mall is not the only one going through significant changes.
In just DeKalb, Northlake Mall in Tucker is pivoting to a new business model by incorporating office space, while an aquarium recently opened at the Mall at Stonecrest as it shifts toward offering more entertainment options. North DeKalb Mall’s new owner also submitted paperwork this month for a mixed-use concept with nearly 2,000 residential units.
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