Borders Property Sells for $6.5 Million, Future Use Still Unclear
The Mount Kisco property that formerly housed Borders has finally been sold for $6.5 million.
The winning bid at the auction, which was held at the Westchester County Courthouse on Aug. 5, was placed by Michael Blumenthal of Thompson & Knight LLP on behalf of the mortgage holder at the site.
The company, known as GCCFC 2007-GG11 Kisco Retail, LLC, had loaned $6.3 million to the landlord of the site, Mount Kisco Associates LP, on September 4, 2007. The foreclosure auction was a result of a May 30 Supreme Count settlement between Greenwich Capital Financial Products and Mount Kisco Associates, which called for the former landlord to pay $9.1 million to Greenwich Capital in principal, interest, and other costs.
Now that the lender is in possession of the property, Blumenthal explained that it will be classified as REO, a term used when a property is owned by a bank or government entity. The arm of the lending company that oversees this process will then decide what to do with the property going forward.
“They could sell it, they could lease it, they could hold it. At this point I can’t comment on that because I have no idea what they might do,” explained Blumenthal.
The 154-162 E. Main St. space, which is approximately 20,000 square feet, has been vacant since 2011 when Borders filed for bankruptcy. Blumenthal said that although the purchase is expected to be finalized within the next 30 days, it is too early to say when the building will be occupied or who the occupants may be.
Although several people attended the auction, Blumenthal only faced opposing bids from one other person. Rosa Cascardo, who bid on behalf of Allan Fried, bowed out of the auction with a final bid of $6.3 million. Fried did not wish to disclose his plans for the property if he had succeeded in acquiring it.
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