Kyle Mills / Post Independent
The predominantly vacant Glenwood Springs Mall has an interested buyer.
According to a settlement agreement, which the city’s urban renewal authority approved Thursday, CenterPointe Development, LLC has “entered into a contract to purchase the mall.”
Far from finalized and by no means a done deal, Thursday’s settlement agreement laid the groundwork for what could be the redevelopment of the mall properties at 51027 Highway 6 and 24 in West Glenwood.
In December 2018, the Glenwood Springs City Council unanimously approved the West Glenwood Springs Urban Renewal Authority Plan to encourage redevelopment at the mall, which opened in the early 1980s.
The plan stated that Ross had a lease agreement that made it “all-but impossible” for mall owner Frank Woods to “freely manage the mall properties” due to the “extraordinary control” the lease afforded Ross.
When Ross entered into that lease agreement in 2011, the mall’s anchor tenants at the time included K-Mart, JC Penny and Staples — all of which have since left.
Ross stated in the settlement agreement that it was “supportive” of the parties’ wishes to revitalize, re-tenant and/or redevelop the mall so long as its own investments were protected.
Ross invested $1.8 million into the 23,700 square foot space it operates in the mall.
Frank Woods still owns the property, and a few details still need to be resolved before CenterPointe would close on the properties — namely the lease with Ross.
“CenterPointe seeks to finalize a mutually acceptable lease with Ross before it completes its purchase of the mall,” the settlement agreement stated.
According to the agreement’s terms, Ross Stores, Inc. — one of the mall’s few remaining tenants — and CenterPointe Development have entered into a letter of intent “setting forth the key terms of a new lease agreement.”
It isn’t immediately clear what those terms could be, however. According to Glenwood Springs City Attorney Karl Hanlon, CenterPointe Development has worked with Ross before.
“I view CenterPointe’s willingness to enter into a binding lease agreement with Ross is a pretty good indication that they are comfortable with their ability to attract tenants,” Hanlon said. “Otherwise they wouldn’t be engaging in this.”
However, Ross and CenterPointe must move from a letter of intent to an actual lease agreement by Feb. 24, or the entire sale could fall through.
“My understanding is that it is scheduled to close late spring, early summer,” should all of those details get worked out, Hanlon said.
Aside from abiding by the city’s development code, what tenants would ultimately go into the mall would largely be up to CenterPointe.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., CenterPointe Development was founded in 2006 and has worked on development projects predominantly in the southwest region of the U.S.
“From the city’s standpoint, along with keeping Ross there and seeing the [urban renewal authority] move forward … it would also mean that the lawsuits would go away,” Hanlon said. “Then we can really focus on the business of redevelopment rather than the business of litigation.”
