Topeka's West Ridge Mall up for auction Dec. 13 after seeing its occupancy rate plummet to 39%
West Ridge Mall's occupancy rate was 75.7% in February 2019, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Now it's 39%, according to a recent online announcement indicating the mall property is being up for sale at auction.
That auction begins Dec. 13 and ends Dec. 15, with the starting bid being $1 million, according to the announcement posted on the LoopNet real estate auction site.
"The Mall’s location within the state capital bodes well for long-term value enhancement through repositioning and repurposing," the announcement said.
The Capital-Journal unsuccessfully sought comment regarding the auction Monday from Wells Fargo Bank, which bought the mall at a foreclosure auction nearly two years ago.
Property's appraisal value drops more than $17 million
The mall property's appraisal value dropped this year to $10 million, from $27,641,700 last year, according to the website of the Shawnee County Appraiser's Office.
The mall was opened March 2, 1988, by Indianapolis-based developer Melvin Simons & Associates.
The landscape along west Topeka's S.W. Wanamaker Road changed dramatically in the years that followed, with restaurants, hotels and retail outlets flocking to what became known as the city's “Wanamaker corridor.”
West Ridge Mall and the nearby West Ridge Plaza at 2120 S.W. Wanamaker Road were bought in 2014 by Columbus, Ohio-based Washington Prime.
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The mall's net operating income decreased in the years that followed, tied in part to the closure of national retail chain stores.
Washington Prime subsequently defaulted on mortgage payments for West Ridge Plaza and West Ridge Mall.
They were sold for $27.12 million in December 2019 at a public foreclosure auction to the high bidder, Wells Fargo Bank, which was already the primary holder of debt for the properties and had been unable to find a buyer for them.
West Ridge Mall has been managed by Woodmont Co.
Wells Fargo arranged that month for West Ridge Mall and Plaza to continue doing business while being managed by the Woodmont Co., a Texas-based commercial real estate firm.
Ownership of the mall was transferred that same month to COMM 2014-CCRE16 SW Wanamaker Road LLC, which is located at the mall at 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road, according to Shawnee County Appraiser's Office records.
From 2019: West Ridge under new management
The auction announcement described West Ridge Mall as being the "only true enclosed mall within a 52-mile radius, servicing a trade-area population north of 222,000 residents, within a 25-mile radius."
The mall encompasses 31.72 acres and has a parking count of 4,930, according to LoopNet.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka's West Ridge Mall to be subject of online auction next month
