A part of Peninsula Town Center will go up for auction on Feb. 14

The Daily Press in Hampton Roads reports that a portion of the Peninsula Town Center in Hampton will be put up for public auction later this month.  According to a legal notice published in the newspaper last week, the owners of the outdoor shopping center, New-York based Mall Properties Inc., defaulted on a $168.5 million loan.

The Daily Press story said that HSBC, a New York-based banking firm, has hired the law firm of LeClairRyan to sell the properties to the highest bidder after the bank restructured the loan with the owner on three occasions.

The foreclosure reportedly includes 18 subdivided tax parcels. The property does not appear to include Target and some of the center’s other major anchors. The center’s stores, which include major national retail chains, are expected to remain open throughout the sale. 

The public auction will be held at noon on Feb. 14 at the Embassy Suites Hampton Roads Hotel, Spa and Convention Center. 

Since the 1.1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Peninsula Town Center opened in 2010 at the former site of the Coliseum Mall, it has generated millions in sales tax revenues and excise taxes.

In spite of defaulting on its HSBC loan, the Daily Press said Mall Properties is current on its $92.5 million loan with the Peninsula Town Center Community Development Authority. The city and owners of Peninsula Town Center created the authority to oversee the construction of the property’s infrastructure, parks and parking garage. Financially independent of the city, the authority adds a special assessment, a 0.5 percent charge on purchases made at businesses at Peninsula Town Center,  to pay for the infrastructure improvements.