The loss of a Walmart store in downtown White Plains has led to a $35.8 million foreclosure action against the owner of The Shoppes on Main.
Deutsche Bank sued an affiliate of Ivy Equities LLC on March 5 in Westchester Supreme Court to foreclose on the mortgage for the building at 275 Main St.
“Frankly, the whole building will operate as normal as we continue to seek new tenants,” Ivy”™s co-CEO Anthony P. DiTommaso Jr., said in an email. “The action will not have an effect on operations.”
The Shoppes on Main is next to White Plains City Hall and across the street from City Center. Ivy Equities, which has offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and Montvale, New Jersey, renovated a former Sears store and reopened it in 2006.
The basement and first two floors of the 275,169-square-foot structure were leased to Walmart and Burlington Coat Factory. A six-story parking garage looms above the retail space.
Walmart closed in mid-2018 and Burlington moved across the street to City Center.
In January and February, according to the complaint, Ivy”™s 275 Main Street Associates LP failed to make its monthly payments and operating expenses.
Ivy Equities notified the bank in January that it owed $562,696 to vendors, including $324,278 that was “crucial to the continued maintenance and operation of the parking garage.”
DiTommaso said “the garage will operate as normal.”
As of March 6, the complaint states, Ivy owed $35.8 million in principal, interest, and other fees, accruing at 12.25% a year.
The bank is asking the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the building and sell it to pay off the mortgage.
Several attorneys at Venable LLP represent the bank.
Why did the owners let Walmart go? Now there’s no Walmart for 30 miles in any direction from White Plains while this once productive asset sits vacant.
They didn’t Walmart wanted to down size and that store style setup wasn’t the way Walmart wanted to operate, so they ended up leaving for a more open style parking lot format.