Mall set for October auction in foreclosure

Central Mall in Texarkana, Texas, is scheduled for auction in a foreclosure sale next month.

A Sept. 7 foreclosure sale notice states that the current owner, Gregory Greenfield and Associates Central Mall Partners LP of Atlanta, Ga., has defaulted on a loan for $134,500,000, which became due June 5.

The mall property, located at 2400 Richmond Road, is among foreclosed properties scheduled for sale beginning at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas.

All bidders must be able to provide proof of their ability to finance the purchase, according to the foreclosure notice.

The mall was sold to Greenfield by Central Mall founder Warmack and Company in 2004, according to earlier reports.

Greenfield owned shopping malls in several Texas cities and in New Mexico when it bought the mall in 2004.

The largest Central Mall retail tenant, Dillard’s, recently completed a major store remodel.

Meanwhile about a year ago, Sears, one of the mall’s anchor stores, shuttered its doors as part of a companywide downsizing for the longtime brand.

In its 40-year existence, the mall has influenced much of Texarkana’s economic growth and land usage.

Texarkana’s Central Mall, former pasture land with a red barn and cattle, first opened for business in 1978.

When the mall was built, there was virtually no retail development along the Interstate 30 corridor.

The mall’s draw helped lure other businesses from downtown and central areas to Texarkana’s western side.

In 1987, the mall had about 70 tenants and drew from a trade area of about 225,000 people, according to a 1988 Gazette article marking Central Mall’s 10th anniversary.

The mall was remodeled in 2003.

In 2012, the mall had about 75 retailers and drew from a trade area of about 310,972 people, according to records.