A spokesperson for the real estate brokerage tasked with finding a buyer for the Station Mall after a previous sale fell through says there is lots of opportunity to redevelop all or some of the property for future uses.
The 30-plus acre Station Mall property will soon be listed with CBRE, one of the world's largest commercial real estate companies.
Earlier this year, the property went into court-ordered receivership after the terms of a 2023 sale to Markham-based SM Holdings, Inc. were not completed.
Mike Czestochowski is the vice chair of CBRE's land services group and a veteran in large-scale property transactions. Interviewed from his Toronto office by video, Czestochowski said his company has been hired by the receiver to market and sell the Station Mall property.
"We go out to market, we solicit bids from prospective buyers and help negotiate out the best deal possible on behalf of the receiver — and everything's court approved," Czestochowski said.
He added: "When I first got the call from the receiver, I was very excited. When I looked at that property, it's a fantastic property."
A short list of interested buyers will be assessed by CBRE before the company presents a prospective purchaser to the receiver at a yet undetermined date.
"We're trying to pick who will give the best terms and price to recoup the largest amount of money, both for the bank and the current owner.
"Certainly, price and terms are at the forefront, but strength of the purchaser is always important too and so is the ability for that purchaser to prove to us that they can go forward with the deal," said Czestochowski.
He added: "We're acting not only as a real estate broker out there soliciting bids, but also as an advisor to help with the strategy of negotiating out the better deal."
As for the Station Mall property itself, Czestochowski said it has a lot going for it, including its waterfront location and more than 30 acres of property — much of it underused parking space.
He said some of that unused space in the parking lot and vacant anchor retail space could be redeveloped for a number of uses, including housing, office space or standalone pad sites for restaurants, or other uses.
Pad sites are freestanding buildings that are sometimes constructed in underused parts of a mall parking lot, often at the very edge of the property. In the case of the Station Mall, pad sites could be constructed along the edge of the parking lot facing St. Marys River Drive with a view of the waterfront.
"Sometimes these type of opportunities create ideas and opportunities for themselves. Someone looks at it and goes, you know, I've been thinking of a new concept, whether it be through retail, office, or other uses, and this will lend itself to it and I couldn't do do it in 3,000 square feet, but I can do it in 50,000," Czestochowski said.
He added: "I think once you put that out and properly market it, those users will come forward."
SM Holdings took over the property for $30 million in 2022, but failed to pay the remaining $18 million on its mortgage by a court-ordered deadline of Jan. 16, 2025.
The mortgage holder that launched the court action is Algoma Central Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Algoma Central Corporation, the company that built Station Mall in the early 1970s and owned the property for the next five decades.
Czestochowski said malls are still viable in 2025, but added he is personally biased toward redevelopment.
"Will it be a mall 50 years from now? Who knows? I don't know. Do I see bigger and better uses somewhere down the line for all or part of the property? Yes, I do," he said.