3 days ago
Destiny USA owner, Pyramid Management Group, defaults on loans owed for Buffalo-area mall
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group, the owner of Destiny USA, has defaulted on a multi-million-dollar loan related to its Walden Galleria mall outside of Buffalo.
The lenders filed a lawsuit against Pyramid Management Group in Erie County State Supreme Court on Thursday to initiate the mortgage foreclosure process.
The company owed more than $230 million as of April 2022.
In May, Pyramid CEO Stephen Congel told Buffalo Business First that he was optimistic about his team's negotiations with the lenders.
In early May, representatives for the lenders sent a letter to Pyramid Management Group demanding 'immediate payment in full of the matured indebtedness.'
By failing to pay, the letter states, the mall's current owners risk losing rights to manage the property or foreclosure, among other penalties.
Spinoso Real Estate Group, also Syracuse-based, has applied to take over management of Walden Galleria as a court-approved receiver.
Spinoso took over management of Pyramid's foreclosed Palisades Center near New York City last year. The company lost Champlain Center in Plattsburgh, Hampshire Mall in Massachusetts and Aviation Mall near Lake George.
Many worry Destiny USA could be next.
Last August, NewsChannel 9 reported Destiny USA was threatened with 'enforcement action' for Pyramid's inability to pay back $430 million in debt for the construction of the mall and its expansion.
In a statement last year, the CEO of Pyramid Management Group, Stephen Congel, said, 'We are currently engaged with the special servicer regarding modification of the loan and will continue to provide an exceptional experience for our 17 million annual guests and employees.'
Pyramid Management Group has not responded to NewsChannel 9's request for comment related to the pending foreclosure of Walden Galleria.
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