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Wheatfield Town Supervisor Timothy Demler, right, speaks to current Summit Mall tenants at the Wheatfield Senior Center Wednesday night. DAN CAPPELLAZZO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPH
WHEATFIELD: Saving the Summit?
Wheatfield supervisor says investors may be interested in Williams Road facility
Economic development officials in Niagara County met Wednesday with a few investors who may be interested in rescuing The Summit shopping mall from closure as a result of bankruptcy.
During a meeting with mall tenants Wednesday evening at the Town of Wheatfield Community Center, Supervisor Timothy Demler said he personally met with representatives from a Buffalo company who expressed interest in the building while officials from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency met with two more from undisclosed locations.
Demler stressed the discussions with potential buyers are preliminary and the town and the county is still proceeding as if the mall will close in June as announced under a bankruptcy filing made by the building’s current owner on Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that comes to fruition,” Demler said of the potential for finding a buyer for the mall. “There’s nothing signed. There’s nothing official. We are hoping.”
County officials and the mall’s 26 tenants were surprised to learn Tuesday the shopping center’s owner, Oberlin Plaza One, had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in North Carolina. The move nullifies the leases with all but three of the mall’s tenants who were notified that they would be expected to move out of the building within 30 days. The Bon Ton, Sears and Sav-A-Lot were not impacted by the bankruptcy proceeding and will remain open.
Demler told tenants finding someone willing to purchase the mall and continue its operation was top priority for the town and the county at this point.
“I would rather have somebody buy the mall and keep the mall open and alive than try to relocate the businesses and do all that work,” he said.
Demler said negotiations are continuing with the mall’s owner for an extension of the 30-day deadline to at least 60 days. In addition, he said county and town officials have expressed an interest in working with the current owner to see if entering into some sort of public-private partnership would help. Demler said officials from Oberlin Plaza One did not reject an offer from the county to present a plan to fill some of the vacant space at the shopping center possibly with public office space or recreational areas.
In the meantime, Demler said the town is currently working with local assessors to develop a list of available retail spaces that could serve as suitable alternatives for the mall tenants. Demler said the goal is to keep as many of the mall’s tenants in the town as possible, but he said locations throughout the county and the region also will be considered.
“The important thing is to keep the jobs and keep your businesses regardless of what town you are in,” Demler said.
Several tenants expressed concern about timing, noting that 30 days did not seem like enough to complete the sale of the mall.
Town Attorney Robert O’Toole agreed that the current deadline would present a serious challenge to keeping the mall open. He met privately with several tenants to discuss potential legal options.
“There is a very short time frame,” he said.
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