Rhode Island Mall to be sold to Baltimore company

THE RHODE Island Mall is under contract for sale to a Baltimore-based commercial real estate investment company that specializes in revamping distressed and under-performing properties. The plan is to gut the mall's interior, to create space for up to six retailers. / FLICKR.COM USER/LACKINGFOCUS
THE RHODE Island Mall is under contract for sale to a Baltimore-based commercial real estate investment company that specializes in revamping distressed and under-performing properties. The plan is to gut the mall's interior, to create space for up to six retailers. / FLICKR.COM USER/LACKINGFOCUS

(Updated 2:27 p.m.) WARWICK – The Rhode Island Mall is under contract for sale to a Baltimore-based commercial real estate investment company that specializes in revamping distressed and under-performing properties.
David Frederick, managing partner of MCB Real Estate LLC, said Tuesday the company has the Rhode Island Mall under contract and hopes to close within a month.
The plan, he said, is to gut the 160,000-square-foot interior of the mall, an area which has been closed for several years, and renovate the space into two levels for up to six “junior box” retailers.
These could include stores such as Ross, Burlington Coat Factory or TJ Maxx, he said, or similar retailers that have a footprint of 20,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.
“We’re excited about it,” said Frederick. Upon closing the process could take 18 months, he said.
Representatives of Rhode Island Mall owners Winstanley Enterprises LLC, based in Concord, Mass., and Surrey Equities LLC, of New York, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The companies purchased the Rhode Island Mall from GLL Real Estate Partners in 2012 for $38 million.
A year ago, the companies announced a plan to renovate the mall into outlet stores, similar to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham, Mass., but the redevelopment never materialized.
MCB Real Estate is now completing its due diligence process on the mall property.
The company owns several retail properties in the Middle Atlantic, South and Midwest, but this would be its first acquisition in New England.
“It’s a great retail market,” Frederick said. “It’s a wonderful location for retail.”
The mall site includes several large retail stores – Kohl’s, Sears and Wal-Mart, which are contiguous to the mall but which no longer open to the space. These stores will not be affected by the sale, as they were sold by Winstanley Enterprises and Surrey Equities in December 2013.
Trish Reynolds, senior planner for the city of Warwick, said city officials had been in contact with Frederick, and felt “genuine excitement” about the prospect of redevelopment.
“It’s a great property, it has great access to the highway,” Reynolds said. “We are very excited about having this mall back.”
The company has not sought any tax incentives for the redevelopment, she said.

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