The future of Northlake Mall, one of Charlotte’s biggest retail centers, is unclear after a receiver was appointed because of failure to pay debts, court documents show.
TM Northlake Mall, L.P., defaulted on its property loan in November 2019 and has failed to make rent payments, according to a consent order for appointing a receiver filed last month by Wilmington Trust in Mecklenburg County Court. TM Northlake Mall is affiliated with Starwood Capital Group, which purchased the mall in 2014.
The documents don’t specificy how much is owed in rent payments.
Wilmington Trust appointed Spinoso Real Estate Group as receiver for Northlake Mall on behalf of mortgage lender Wells Fargo, according to court documents.
A receiver is needed to manage, protect, maintain and operate the property and collect rent, according to the lawsuit. Spinoso, based in Syracuse, New York, can also “advertise and solicit offers to purchase property and borrower’s other assets,” according to court documents.
Three other malls owned by Starwood in Florida, Michigan and Virginia, combined with Northlake, were issued loans for $725 million in fall 2014, documents show.
Officials with Spinoso and the lawyers for Wilmington Trust did not respond for comment. Starwood Capital Group could not be reached for comment.
Northlake history
Northlake Mall is a two-story, 1.1-million-square-foot shopping center in north Charlotte. It opened in 2005.
Starwood Capital, a private global investment firm, bought the mall in 2014 from original owner Taubman Center Inc. The purchase price was $248 million, Mecklenburg County property records show.
Three years ago, Starwood delayed a $50-million project that would have added more than 200,000 square feet on the 11-acre site next to the mall’s entrance. The company said it needed to rethink the plan as “retail continues to evolved.”
Retail struggles
Northlake Mall has grappled with other obstacles in recent years.
The mall lost an anchor tenant this year when Dick’s sporting goods store relocated to Simon mall Concord Mills, opening there in February.
Like other local malls, including Concord Mills and Carolina Place, there were store closings during the coronavirus pandemic, including Lane Bryant.
Jan Kniffen, a retail consultant and former retail executive, had expected 33% of America’s malls to close by 2030 but told CNBC this month, he thinks it will now happen by next year, exacerbated by the uncertainty surrounding anticipated store closures accelerated by the pandemic.
Northlake Mall has more than 140 retailers and restaurants, including Apple, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Belk and AMC’s 14-screen cinema. But many stores remain shuttered, and the mall list only 115 stores and restaurants on its directory.
Safety incidents
In addition to financial concerns, Northlake Mall has also faced safety concerns in recent years.
The mall had the highest number of total incidents from 2016 to 2019 compared to other Charlotte malls, with 1,700 non-violent crimes and 17 violent ones, the Observer previously reported.
The latest incident in March was a shooting inside the mall. A juvenile was charged with attempted murder.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/MT32UR36GFEUFB446QMHEUA3T4.jpg)
