|
Only have a minute? Listen instead |
HARLINGEN — At Valle Vista Mall, the tall glass doors were shut Wednesday, with most of its remaining stores closed after the city cut off utilities when its owners failed to pay the bill — again.
Across the sprawling 60 acre property, Big Lots!, a discount store, posted a sign reading, “Restroom temporarily out of order.”
Inside, an employee said the store’s utilities had been cut off for two days.
At Kohan Retail Investment Group’s offices in Great Neck, New York, owner Mike Kohan said he wasn’t aware of the utilities’ disconnection.
At the mall, disconnections aren’t unusual.
WaterWorks General Manager Tim Skoglund says they stem from an “habitual problem.”
“There are several times a year we run into this situation that the mall owner doesn’t pay,” he said. “We take some pretty extraordinary efforts to call and check and try to reach the company. When the mall owner doesn’t pay, our only recourse is to turn it off. I’m sure it’s obviously a problem for tenants when they don’t have access to running water.”
Like Big Lots!, Gold’s Gym kept its doors open, but its utilities were cut off.
Across the empty parking lots, J.C. Penney and Ollie’s remained open, with utilities running because outside corporations own the stores.
“It hurts business,” Jeanette Garza, Ollie’s store manager, said.
Inside the mall, rows of empty tables stood in darkness at its popular food court.
“Just imagine the restaurants — all the food they throw away,” Garza said.
At the mall, stores aren’t just dealing with getting their utilities cut off, she said.
“They didn’t pay the light bill some times,” Garza said, referring to the mall’s owners. “In a year, we’ve been cut off three times.”
On Feb. 29, the mall’s owners paid $313,409 in property taxes delinquent since Feb. 1, paying $20,503 in late fees, the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collectors office said.
Outside the mall, Candelario and Angie Guerrero had driven from San Benito to eat at a Chinese restaurant before pulling on the glass doors and peeking into the long dark halls.
“It’s crazy how it’s going — slowly dying out, dying out,” Candelario Guerrero said. “It’s sad because it’s been here for years.”
For 30 years, the mall was part of their family outings, his wife said.
“It’s sad,” she said. “We used to go to all the stores with the kids when they were little.”
For about 20 years, the mall’s been struggling amid changing shopping patterns.
”The decline in the mall’s vitality and its struggle to maintain full occupancy are not new developments,” Mayor Norma Sepulveda said in a statement.
Sepulveda blamed its owners.
“These issues stem from a pattern of neglect by the mall’s absentee out-of-state owners, who have not demonstrated the necessary commitment to their tenants or the broader community,” she said. “The recent disruption in basic utilities is a direct consequence of this neglect, severely affecting the remaining businesses and their ability to operate.”
Sepulveda said city officials can’t address the problem.
“The mall is a private business and the city unfortunately cannot force the owners to live up to their responsibilities,” she said.
But the city’s Economic Development Corporation’s trying to help some of the mall’s small businesses, Sepulveda said.
The EDC “has already taken the initiative to reach out to several businesses within the mall, offering assistance and exploring potential solutions to ensure their continuity and stability in more reliable locations outside the mall,” she said.
Last year, Kohan put the mall up for sale, listing it for $12 million.
At the EDC offices, Orlando Campos, the agency’s chief executive officer, said the mall’s sale would likely involve the companies which have bought parts of the building.
”The potential sale of the mall presents an opportunity for change,” Sepulveda said. “In my discussions with potential investors, I have emphasized the importance of community and the need for a new owner who values the potential of this site, not just as a commercial space but as a part of the fabric of our city. I envision the ideal future for Valle Vista Mall as a revitalized space that can adapt to the changing needs of our community, whether through traditional retail, entertainment or alternative business models that bring new energy and opportunities.”
“As mayor, I am committed to navigating these challenges and facilitating a positive outcome for Valle Vista Mall,” Sepulveda said. “The commission is dedicated to the well-being and prosperity of our community and we are hopeful that with the right investment and vision, the mall can once again become a valuable asset to our city.”
Opening in 1983, Valle Vista Mall stood for decades as the area’s premier retail mecca, drawing shoppers from across much of the Rio Grande Valley.
But for about 20 years, the mall, amid changing consumer buying patterns and online shopping trends, was losing big name tenants like Dillard’s and Sears.
Today, J.C. Penney stands as the mall’s big retailer, the last of its original anchors.
By 2002, construction of the Expressway 77-83 interchange blocked traffic to the mall, driving many shoppers to north Brownsville’s growing retail district.
Then in 2008, city officials offered the mall more than $1.2 million in incentives to help Simon Property Group, the management company which brought the mall to town, upgrade the property.
By 2017, Washington Prime Group, unable to sell the mall, dumped the property back on lenders who had financed its sale with a $40 million loan, while the Washington group continued to own $27 million.
At that point, ProEquity Asset Management Corp. took over the mall’s management before the Kohan group bought the property for $12.5 million in 2018, when the mall’s vacancy rate was running at about 25%.