Mar. 12—EBENSBURG — Foreclosures of Westwood Plaza in Lower Yoder Township and the Tractor Supply Co. building on Galleria Drive have led to sheriff's sales.

Ownership of Westwood Plaza went to its creditor Friday, in similar fashion as the Johnstown Galleria last year. Both shopping centers were owned by Zamias companies.

Zamias Services Inc. President Perry Russ said the company still has two holdings in the Johnstown area — East Hills Plaza at 1523 Scalp Ave. and University Park Plaza, 1425 Scalp Ave. in Richland Township.

"They are doing extremely well," he said.

Zamias' company website shows it also leases and manages 4.6 million square feet of retail space across New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Westwood Plaza has struggled for years since it lost its grocery store anchor, Russ said. He had no comment on the Friday sale of the plaza, saying it was a formality in the works for a long time.

The plaza was one of several properties auctioned off Friday at Cambria County Courthouse.

With a bid of $250,000, the creditor who foreclosed the mortgage of Westwood Plaza purchased the shopping center at 1919 Minno Drive.

It's a typical move by creditors owed large sums of money to purchase properties at sheriff's sales and sell them privately or continue operating them to recover money owed, Russ said.

Last June, a judgment of $11.5 million was made on the plaza, which has been owned by Westwood Zamias Limited Partnership since 1990.

An attorney for the creditor, Deutsche Bank Trust Co., began the bidding Friday with an offer in the amount of the sheriff's costs of $1,584. After just one other bid of $1,600, by a man named Tim Dollar, the attorney for the bank increased his offer to $250,000, which ended the bidding.

The plaza has tenants including Conemaugh Health System offices, Westwood Plaza Theatre & Cafe, Andolina's Barber Shop, Bargain Beer & Pop, Burger King, Capri Pizza & Restaurant, Dollar Tree, Dunkin' Donuts, H&R Block, H.F. Lenz Company, Northwest Bank, O'Shea's Candies, Pizza Hut, Vantage Physical Therapy, Fine Wine & Good Spirits and Main Source Trading Corp.

The attorney who bid on the plaza was from the law firm Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennet, but he declined to discuss his client's purchase Friday.

The Johnstown Galleria, at 500 Galleria Drive, also passed through a sheriff's sale to its creditor last year.

"Enclosed malls nationwide have been challenged," Russ said.

In the summer, a separately owned Galleria Drive property is set to be auctioned.

Banks have foreclosed the mortgage of a retail property at 640 Galleria Drive, occupied by Tractor Supply Co. The property is on the opposite side of the road from the former Bon-Ton department store.

The auction of the Tractor Supply building was postponed Friday until June 10.

Tractor Supply Co. is the tenant, but the building is owned by 640 Galleria Drive LLC, which has regularly missed monthly loan payments since 2020, court documents show. The judgment on the property is more than $4 million.

Tractor Supply appears unfazed by the building owner's foreclosure.

"Since 2004, Tractor Supply has been proud to serve our neighbors and provide quality careers for our team members in the Johnstown community," a Tractor Supply spokesman said in an email. "We plan to continue operating the 640 Galleria Drive location, and we look forward to meeting the 'Out Here Lifestyle' needs of our friends and neighbors, both new and familiar, for many years to come."