Group looking for buyers for Sault mall ‘excited' about the opportunity
While it's been a tough few years for the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie, the real estate group seeking buyers says it's an attractive property for many prospective owners.
While it's been a tough few years for the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie, the real estate group seeking buyers says it's an attractive property for many prospective owners.
Since 2017, the mall lost two of its anchor tenants – Walmart and Sears – and struggled with many other malls as shoppers worldwide increasingly went online, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
sears
Liquidation sales begin at 54 locations across the country, including at the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie.
A sale to SM Holdings in June 2022 for $30 million floundered when the group failed to pay $18 million of a take-back mortgage due in June 2024 to Algoma Central Corp., the original mall owners dating back to the 1970s.
'A court order imposed a deadline of Jan. 16, 2025, for the full mortgage amount, including accrued interest, to be paid,' Algoma Central said in an update to shareholders.
'The repayment deadline was not met and the court has ordered commencement of receivership proceedings to recoup the mortgage.'
B. Reilly Farber was appointed receiver. In turn, it selected CBRE, a commercial real estate firm, to take the lead in lining up potential buyers for the mall.
Station Mall has around 475,000 square feet of space that can be leased on 35 acres of downtown property on the waterfront along the St. Marys River.
Station Mall announced $60M redevelopment
In an interview with CTV News, CBRE vice-chairman Mike Czestochowski said while building new commercial properties right now is a major challenge because of costs, finding buyers for older retail is a much easier sell.
Properties such as the Station Mall are more attractive because the infrastructure is in good condition.
'All that's happened has strengthened older retail,' Czestochowski said.
'The mall itself is in really good shape. It's being managed by CBRE and when we walked through it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good everything looked -- it's in really good shape.'
The mall also has zoning in place to allow for redevelopment opportunities, including residential and commercial uses.
Lauren White, an executive vice-president with CBRE, said the property has been on the market for a couple of weeks.
'We haven't set an offer date yet – we'll probably do that in the coming weeks,' White said.
'It's early in the process, but we are happy with the level of activity so far.'
'The mall itself is in really good shape. It's being managed by CBRE and when we walked through it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good everything looked -- it's in really good shape.'
— CBRE vice-chairman Mike Czestochowski
Once an agreement is in place, she said the sale would have to receive court approval.
Czestochowski said that usually the likely buyer emerges as the process unfolds.
'In most cases, it's pretty clear,' he said.
'By the time you go through the process, multiple rounds of offers, generally, someone stands out. By the end of it, we know who is best suited and is one to pay the best price for the mall.'
Currently, almost 54 per cent of the mall is vacant, but that figure is largely driven by the absence of the two anchor tenants, Sears and Walmart.
Czestochowski said when dealing with potential tenants, it's often easier to rent large spaces than smaller ones.
'When I see big chunks of empty space, I'm not as worried – I'm more worried about 1,000 square feet than I am about 50,000 square feet,' he said.
'Fifty thousand doesn't come along very often. So the tenants that would fill that space … really take note when space like this comes up in a mall that's so well located.'
Station Mall
The owners of Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie are keeping tight-lipped about their plans for the former Sears store. (Mike McDonald/CTV News)
While CBRE wouldn't sign leases on behalf of the mall, they are speaking with potential tenants about the opportunity to lease.
'We're not as concerned about that vacant space,' Czestochowski said.
'We feel that with proper marketing and discussions, we can fill it.'
White added that they're having ongoing discussions with potential tenants interested in the Station Mall. And Sean Comiskey, a senior vice-president with CBRE, said with strong ownership in place, he's confident in the mall's prospects.
'Tenants, you know, in the past may not have liked the partnership and therefore may have bypassed the space for another piece of space in the market,' Comiskey said.
'With a good operator in place. We don't see this vacancy lasting too long.'
For his part, Czestochowski said they are happy to have the opportunity to help revive the mall. The company has a history in the Sault, and on a personal level, he has family who live in the city.
'I can tell you, when I got the call from the receiver to put forth a proposal, I was excited,' he said.
'I knew that it would generate a lot of interest … So at this point, we're very happy with the activity level and we're happy to have the listing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
5 minutes ago
- CBC
As Bank of Canada holds rates, experts say a cut alone won't stop an economic slowdown
The Bank of Canada held interest rates at 2.75 per cent on Wednesday, pointing to a mixed bag of unexpectedly strong data and the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs as reason for the hold — and some experts say, going forward, rate cuts alone won't be enough to stop an economic slowdown. In his opening remarks to reporters, governor Tiff Macklem characterized the Canadian economy as "softer but not sharply weaker" and said the central bank's governing council was in agreement about today's rate decision. The decision marks the second consecutive hold since March. Economists had largely pivoted from initial expectations the central bank would cut the interest rate by 25 basis points after the first-quarter GDP came in at an annualized rate of 2.2 per cent last week, which was stronger than anticipated. That strength was largely due to a surge in exports, with businesses stocking up on inventory before U.S. President Donald Trump's initial round of tariffs went into effect in the spring. But Macklem was quick to curb any enthusiasm around the latest GDP reading, saying that "the first quarter borrows economic strength from the future, so the second quarter is expected to be much weaker." Likewise, recent headline inflation showed that price growth had slowed to 1.7 per cent in April, largely due to the end of the consumer carbon tax. However, core inflation — the Bank of Canada's preferred measure of price growth, because it strips out sector volatility and one-time tax changes — crept up above three per cent, well beyond the Bank of Canada's target of two per cent. "That has got our attention," Macklem told reporters, saying the uptick "does make you think that underlying inflation could be a little firmer than we thought." Rate cut alone won't buoy housing market, says broker Even if the central bank had cut rates by 25 basis points, it wouldn't have much of an effect on housing, said Toronto real estate broker John Pasalis in an interview with CBC News. "The housing market right now is stalling largely because of all of the economic uncertainty," Pasalis said. "Lower rates are not going to push people back into buying a home if they're worried they're going to lose their jobs." The central bank noted Wednesday that national housing activity had declined in the first quarter, mostly because of a drop in the resale market. National prices are down slightly on a year-to-year basis, too. Pasalis said he doesn't expect activity to pick up this summer, though that could change by the fall, should the Bank of Canada opt to cut rates to two per cent over the next several meetings. Still, lower interest rates need to be matched with "more clarity on the economy, on the trade war," he said, to stimulate the housing market. "I don't think it's an affordability issue right now. I think the big issue is just lack of confidence." Small businesses watching for more than cuts Andreea Bourgeois, director of economics at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in Moncton, N.B., said she thinks small businesses are probably "OK" with the decision to hold the interest rate. Rate cuts always help small businesses, Bourgeois said. What they're really looking for at this point, however, is "a sign that the bank believes the economy can grow and a bit of a push for businesses to actually invest and to not lay off people," she said. "'We want businesses to spend, we want businesses to invest, we want to stimulate demand. [That's] the sign that would be super important for small businesses." The Bank of Canada noted in its first-quarter business outlook survey, released in April, that businesses had expressed less confidence in the direction of the economy, with the firms surveyed less eager to invest and hire because of the trade conflict with our U.S. neighbours. "They're not looking yet to cut down on their business products. They're not looking to lay off in mass," acknowledged Bourgeois. "But you don't see the other behaviour, either," she said, referring to investment and hiring, which she argued shows a lack of optimism in the economy. 'Less forward-looking than usual' The central bank chose a cautious approach on Wednesday, and its decision to hold off on a rate cut is a risky one, said Royce Mendes, managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins. The hold sends the message that there's "a reluctance to support the economy," and could lead businesses and households to make different financial and investment decisions, Mendes said. "They start to pull back because they worry that there's no safety net in sight. Or businesses decide not to invest more because they think, 'Well, no one's here to help us with this trade war.' And I think those are the risks that the Bank of Canada has taken by holding rates steady today." Macklem didn't rule out a rate cut at the central bank's meeting in July, should economic growth slow and inflation pressures ease. But he said the governing council, while in agreement about Wednesday's decision, had so far shared a "diversity of views" when it came to the future. WATCH | Will uncertainty tilt the Bank of Canada toward a future rate cut?: Bank of Canada asked if persistent uncertainty tilts toward future rate cut 3 hours ago Duration 1:49 Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, speaking after again holding a key interest rate steady, was asked whether persistent economic uncertainty suggests a need for further rate cuts. "Faced with unusual uncertainty, [the council] is proceeding carefully, with particular attention to the risks," Macklem said in his remarks. "This means we are being less forward-looking than usual." Leslie Preston, managing director and senior economist at TD Economics, said that the uptick in core inflation — competing with job loss, weaker demand in the domestic economy and a soft housing market — put the Bank of Canada "in a bind." "We expect that barring a trade negotiation miracle with the Trump administration, Canada's economy is likely to tip into recession this year, and more interest rate cuts will be required," Preston wrote.
National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
New CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston plans to be very visible at start of regular season
Article content The CFL's most decorated player last season was also a Canadian. Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was not only the league's top Canadian for a second straight year but also it's outstanding player. The five-foot-11, 222-pound running back earned a second straight CFL rushing title with 1,353 yards with his hometown team while topping the league in yards from scrimmage (1,829) for a second consecutive season. Article content Also enjoying a standout '24 campaign was B.C. receiver Justin McInnis. The six-foot-five, 210-pound native of Pierrefonds, Que., led the league in receiving yards (1,469) with 92 catches and seven TDs. Article content And in 2025, there'll be four Canadian-born head coaches for the first time, led by Winnipeg's Mike O'Shea, of North Bay, Ont. O'Shea, entering his 11th season with the Blue Bombers is the league's longest-tenured head coach. Article content Winnipeg native Bob Dyce is heading into his third full season as Ottawa's head coach while Corey Mace, of Port Moody, B.C., is in his second CFL campaign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Kilam, of Lethbridge, Alta., is the other. Article content Article content 'There are more Canadian stars in the CFL,' Johnston said. 'There's more Canadians playing in the NFL, there's more Canadian talent coming at us through the NCAA and U Sports. Article content 'You've got this incredible Canadian representation at a star level across football and certainly in the CFL and that's being reflected in the wave of patriotism and interest in all things Canadiana. It's a perfect time for those influences to mesh.' Article content Veteran receiver Eugene Lewis begins the season with a new team (Ottawa) but looks to continue his record quest. Lewis registered TD grabs in Edmonton's final eight regular-season games in 2024, leaving him two short of Terry Evanshen's league mark of 10 consecutive contests. Article content Winnipeg chases a sixth straight Grey Cup appearance with definite purpose, as this year's game will be held at Princess Auto Stadium. The Bombers will have an opening-week bye but will be without veteran starter Zach Collaros when they host B.C. on June 12. Article content Article content Article content Article content
National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
HELIOS Partners with NHL Rising Star Matthew Knies to Revolutionize Youth Sports Training
Article content Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Article content PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — HELIOS, a leader in sports technology innovation, proudly announces a groundbreaking partnership with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. This collaboration aims to redefine youth sports training, starting with ice hockey player development, by delivering performance data, personalized insights, and automated shift video to players and coaches. Article content 'HELIOS has completely changed the landscape for developing youth hockey players. I'm excited to work with HELIOS and drive the game forward.' -Matthew Knies As the youth sports industry evolves, with projections estimating a market size of $70 billion by 2030, the demand for individualized training solutions has never been higher. HELIOS stands at the forefront of this transformation, offering cutting-edge technologies that empower young athletes to reach their full potential. Article content Matthew Knies, known for his relentless work ethic and explosive approach to the game, embodies the synergy between athletic excellence and sports science. His partnership with HELIOS underscores a shared commitment to fostering the next generation of athletes through innovative training methodologies. Article content 'When I was younger there wasn't any way to track what I was doing. I always dreamed of having something like this,' Article content Knies said. Article content 'Now, HELIOS has completely changed the landscape for developing youth hockey players. I'm excited to work with HELIOS and drive the game forward.' Article content HELIOS' platform leverages cutting edge AI-wearable technology to provide objective insights on skating performance, enabling athletes and coaches to optimize training and development . This approach not only enhances performance but also prioritizes injury prevention and individualized athlete development. Article content 'Matthew's development pathway aligns perfectly with our mission,' Article content stated Bill Near, CEO of HELIOS. Article content 'Together, we're setting a new standard for how young athletes train and grow in their respective sports.' Article content About HELIOS Article content HELIOS is the leading wearable technology and data platform for ice hockey, providing coaches, players, and parents with unmatched insight into on-ice performance. Trusted across programs at all levels, from elite youth to professional, HELIOS is redefining how development is measured and achieved. Article content Matthew Knies is a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the NHL's most promising young players. A standout in the USHL and at the University of Minnesota, he earned All-American honors and helped Team USA win gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Off the ice, Knies is dedicated to helping young athletes train smarter and reach their potential. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media: Article content Article content Article content Article content
