Greengate Mall is sold for in excess of $8 million
GREENSBURG - The sale of the empty Greengate Mall in Hempfield Township has been completed with buyers paying in excess of $8 million, according to papers filed in the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office.
In December, St. Louis-based THF Realty announced plans to acquire the 38-year-old concrete complex and to demolish it to make room for a strip shopping center.
THF Greengate Development LP, a Missouri-based partnership, acquired the 650,000-square-foot shopping complex from Greengate Realty LP, which is a partnership associated with New York-based Northern Group Inc. The prices was $8.085 million, according to court papers filed Feb. 10.
The New York group paid $1.6 million to acquire the mall from its previous longtime owner, the Rouse Co. of Maryland, in August 1998.
Built in 1965, Greengate Mall is located along Route 30 west of Greensburg.
According to court papers, taxes will total $161,704. The state will receive $80,852 as its share of the 1 percent real estate transfer tax, while the Hempfield Area School District and Hempfield Township split their 1 percent and will each receive $40,426. Court papers indicated that a $10.3 million, open-end mortgage to the Greengate property is being held by St. Louis-based LaSalle Bank National Association.
THF Realty officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Sanford B. Gold, executive vice president of C.B. Richard Ellis in Pittsburgh, whose family owns the land under Greengate Mall, roughly 90 acres, also could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Hempfield Township planning, water and zoning officials will meet with THF representatives today, presumably to discuss their plans.
"They've given us no indication as to what the meeting is about, but we suspect it has something to do with their plans for the property," said Rob Ritson, Hempfield Township manager.
In December, Michael Staenberg, president of THF Realty, said he planned to raze the structure and build a strip center on the site this summer.
THF Realty develops and manages shopping centers in 20 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Some of the company's projects in southwestern Pennsylvania include development of the Summit Ridge Plaza on Route 819 in East Huntingdon Township, and Hempfield Pointe Plaza, near the Amos Hutchinson Bypass exit.
THF Realty is also known for its collaborative efforts with Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Inc.
There has been speculation that a Wal-Mart Super Center would serve as a major anchor for the mall property, and an existing Wal-Mart outlet along Route 30 west in Hempfield Plaza would be converted to a Sam's Club. Wal-Mart officials could not be reached for comment.
