Mounds Mall Sold at Certificate Sale
The Mounds Mall in Anderson and the land on which it sits have been tentatively sold to new owners. Our partners at The Herald Bulletin report the building and property were sold to different owners Monday at a Madison County certificate sale for a total of $17,000.
The building was acquired for $12,000 by Mark Squillante. Two parcels of land that cover the Mounds Mall property were sold for a total of $5,000.
The mall property is currently owned by the Cook family, which has been looking to offload the property for more than a year. Last month, the family reached a deal to sell the property to Baumann RE LLC for $3 million.
Jonathan Cook, an attorney for the family, tells the publication the certificate sale doesn’t impact the pending sale to Baumann. He says the sale has to be completed within 120 days and the company is working on securing their finances.
Carl Baumann with Baumann RE said last month he planned to transform the former Sears store on the property to a space to manufacture small modular homes, which would create nearly 1,200 jobs. Other parts of the property would be used for an event center, a food/convenience store and new housing.
Squillante tells The Herald Bulletin he believes the Cook family will retain ownership of the property, which it will be able to do if it pays the past-due property taxes on the land.
"I’m part of a group that might be able to do something with the property," Squillante said. "I don’t think it’s the right property for a multi-use. I see it as retail. … I believe the mall was mismanaged. I think Anderson can support a mall of that size. We’d be starting with a clean slate."
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