Less than a month after officials announced that Tupelo’s largest shopping center, The Mall at Barnes Crossing, underwent foreclosure, the facility has a new owner.
Miami-based Rialto Capital purchased the mall for just over $53.2 million during a public auction at the Lee County Justice Center, according to WTVA-TV.
Rialto was the lender to previous owner Brookfield Properties, which defaulted on its non-recourse loan and were required to surrender the mall as collateral.
Operations will be unchanged at the 64-acre shopping mall, though Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle will take over management of the facility. Before Thursday’s sale, The Mall at Barnes Crossing’s general manager Jeff Snyder assured shoppers that the mall’s healthy status won’t change based on the shift in ownership.
“Ownership will change, with the new owners concentrating on the success of Barnes Crossing and the Northeast Mississippi retail market,” Snyder posted after the foreclosure announcement. “While this short-term process isn’t pleasant, we see much better things on the horizon. Please be aware of information to the contrary of this statement.”
