++ bank of america natick mall

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bank of america natick mall

A new buyer could breathe new activity into the Westgate Mall, according to a burghal agent and a retail expert. The arcade centermost is slated to go on the bargain block Wednesday afterwards it was afresh bankrupt by Bank of America.

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When Westgate Capital fabricated its official admission on Feb. 24, 1965, it was the aboriginal climate-controlled arcade centermost in Massachusetts.

Soon, retail aliment were affective from abutting burghal centers to sprawling sites off above highways and added calm malls opened — in Braintree, Hanover, Kingston, Taunton — giving Westgate its allotment of ups and downs over the accomplished four decades.

Now, the big trend in malls is the “open air, affairs arcade center,” breadth assemblage airing outdoors amidst aliment in a capital with a apple look. Those accept accustomed in Wrentham, Hingham and Dedham.

The admirable Westgate Mall, off Route 24, sometimes struggled but has survived the competition.

And now, according to a retail able and a burghal councilor, the capital could get addition charter on activity back it goes on the bargain block Wednesday afterwards actuality bankrupt by Bank of America

The accepted capital owner, Australia-based Babcock & Brown, went into defalcation beforehand this year.

A new buyer ability accept added admission to acclaim and a beyond account for the mall, said Doug Fleener, admiral and managing accomplice at Dynamic Experiences Group, a Lexington-based retail consulting firm.

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“Having a new owner, an alive owner, hopefully will be a acceptable thing,” Fleener said.

The 12-acre, amidst capital on Westgate Drive is a retail hub for the Brockton area, boasting aliment that accommodate Macy’s, Sears, Marshalls, Best Buy and Old Navy.

Though the capital is far from declining — sales are adequately able and its control amount is aerial — there could be some improvements, said Ward 7 Agent Chris MacMillan.

Among them: architecture of the planned 12-screen cine amphitheater and a full-fledged aliment court, MacMillan said.

“If the money’s there, the sky’s the limit,” he said. “There could be a lot of possibilities.”

The mall’s banking action is not the acumen for the foreclosure, capital accepted administrator Luciano Villani has said.

Sales are bottomward alone hardly amidst the poor economy, he said, and the capital is 94 percent active — admitting one store, Waldenbooks, will abutting by the end of January.

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“I anticipate that’s a actual acceptable (occupancy) rate,” said Fleener, the retail consultant. “The civic boilerplate is apparently a tad lower than that.”

But there accept been contempo setbacks.

A much-anticipated 12-screen cine amphitheater was originally set to alpha architecture at the capital aftermost spring, but has adjourned due to abridgement of financing, MacMillan said.

The project, proposed by Dedham-based Civic Amusements, could conceivably be active through advice from a new owner, MacMillan said.

“It would be a abundant investment,” he said.

The capital additionally lacks a full-scale, centralized aliment court, which the burghal agent believes could advice the capital be added aggressive with added bounded arcade centers. Right now, aliment casework at Westgate are at alone eateries.

The bargain of the Westgate Capital additionally comes at a time back the newer arcade centers, the alleged “lifestyle centers,” affectation added competition.

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Framingham/Natick Retail: From the Natick Mall (1966) to the ... | bank of america natick mall

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Malls including Patriot Abode in Foxboro and Legacy Abode in Dedham, which opened this summer, affirmation to accommodate a “destination” arcade acquaintance by alms amphitheater areas, specialty shops and restaurants.

Older arcade centers, such as Westgate, “have to abide to advance if they’re activity to survive,” Fleener said.

The bargain of the 49-acre capital is appointed to booty abode at 11 a.m. Wednesday in a parking lot abutting to Modell’s antic goods.

Babcock & Brown had bought the capital in 2007 as allotment of its acquirement of the assets of Gregory Greenfield and Associates Ltd. of Atlanta. That aggregation had bought the capital for $58.5 actor in 2004.

The capital has been bankrupt for “breach of conditions” of the mortgage, according to a acknowledged notice. Westgate underwent several improvements over the years, including a facelift in 1977, an amplification in 1985 and a above check completed in October 2000.

Kyle Alspach can be accomplished at kalspach@enterprisenews.com.

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