Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock will be put up for auction on the steps of the Pulaski County Courthouse at noon on Oct. 28. The future of the mall, which has been a shopping destination for more than half a century, is uncertain.
Arkansas Business reports it’s the culmination of financial challenges for the mall’s owner.
Typically, the owner of the judgment doesn’t want to take title to the property in its name. Instead it creates a new entity, usually a special purpose one that is produced solely for the purpose of owning the property.
The sale for the 404,617-SF mall at 6000 W. Markham St. and a vacant parking lot is to satisfy an $86.2 million judgment awarded to Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas against Park Plaza Mall CMBS LLC of Chattanooga, Tennessee. In March, the bank, acting as trustee for Registered Holders of Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Securities, filed the foreclosure suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court, saying the mall defaulted on a loan after missing a payment last year. The lawsuit is tied to a loan of $99.4 million originally made to Park Plaza’s owner, CBL Properties of Chattanooga, Tennessee, by Wells Fargo in 2011. The loan is secured by the mall and its 240,843-SF parking deck. In court papers, the bank said that as of July 1 it is owed $86.2 million plus court costs and attorneys’ fees. The order for the foreclosure was entered on Sept. 13 and Park Plaza had 10 days to pay the judgment.Arkansas Business
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