Swansea Mall put on the market via online auction

SWANSEA — The Swansea Mall will be made available for purchase through online auction, town Selectmen Christopher Carreiro said Wednesday.

“Although, this is not my preferred method of (the mall’s owners) transferring ownership of the property, it may be beneficial to garner nationwide interest from commercial real estate investors,” Carreiro said in a statement he released.

According to Carreiro, Carlyle Development Group, which owns the mall, will conduct an online auction from April 15 to April 17 with a starting bid of $1.4 million.

Carlyle Development Group confirmed last month that the mall would be closing on March 31 as operating costs for the building had exceeded revenues. That announcement came after a string of several tenant businesses announced that they would be closing their stores located within the mall.

Carreiro noted in his announcement that the town still wants to be involved in the future of the mall by creating an urban renewal plan for what the space could be used for.

“The Town of Swansea is committed to working with prospective buyers of the Swansea Mall for the purposes of developing a comprehensive redevelopment plan and strategy to ensure that the highest and best use of this highly desirable real estate is realized,” he said. “Town leaders are open to a multifaceted approach to redevelopment, including but not limited to the potential of overlay districts or rezoning the Swansea Mall property to better position the mall for redevelopment.”

In a departure from his previous statements, Carreiro also highlighted that the Walmart located behind the mall will be working collaboratively with town officials to help restore the mall property. Carreiro had previously been critical of the big box store, which was built in 2012, for creating deed restrictions that he said had limited the Swansea Mall’s growth.

“Walmart has also indicated that it shares in the Town of Swansea’s strong desire to see the Swansea Mall either brought back to life, or responsibly redeveloped and looks forward to continuing discussions regarding these redevelopment efforts,” he said. “Walmart believes that the overall sentiment of Swansea town leaders is to prioritize economic development of the Swansea Mall property, and it agrees with this approach.”

The Carlyle Development Group has contracted with the online auction site Ten-X Commercial to sell the mall, where prospective buyers can currently register to bid. The auction features a participation deposit of $10,000.

Built in 1974, the Swansea Mall covers over 418,000 square feet and is located on just over 84 acres.

Email Peter Jasinski at pjasinski@heraldnews.com.