SALISBURY — A New York commercial real estate firm has purchased the troubled Salisbury Mall and plans to turn the shopping center around, the new owner said.
Namdar Realty Group, a privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm based in Great Neck, N.Y., bought the mall Feb. 28 for $2.5 million. The mall went into foreclosure in 2010.
“We have a few prospects for the vacant space, and we hope with hands-on management to bring the mall back to where it was,” owner Igal Namdar said.
All mall employees will remain on staff, and Namdar said he hopes to add jobs as the mall develops.
Namdar said he has prospective tenants for the former Goody’s and Tuesday Morning locations and plans to come to Salisbury in late March.
He said the mall needs to attract teenagers and young adults with stores and entertainment geared toward them.
“We have a lot of older people coming to the mall, and that’s good,” he said. “But our goal is to get more stores dealing with kids.”
Namdar wants a sportings good shop, video game shop, more restaurants and even a grocery store at the mall.
The mall itself is half-empty, but the occupancy rate reaches 77 percent by including K&W Cafeteria, Bojangle’s, the movie theater and the Big Lots annex.
Namdar spoke enthusiastically about the mall and Salisbury.
“We love the location and the town,” he said. “We believe in it.”
Read more in Friday’s Post.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.