Several developers have shown interest in The Foundry shopping center and could bid on it at a sheriff's sale scheduled for Oct. 3, said a court-appointed receiver for the damaged property in South Strabane, Washington County.
Pittsburgh Attorney Robert B. Stein said Thursday that Hillcrest Bank of Overland Park, Kan., has hired Summix Development Co. of St. Louis to take charge of preparing the nearly empty center for new owners.
Hillcrest holds the mortgage on The Foundry, along the busy Route 19 corridor near the Interstate 70 junction. J.C. Penney, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ross Dress for Less closed their stores early this summer after engineers' reports showed soil subsidence posed dangers there.
Stein, who represents Hillcrest, said Summix and a related firm, THF Realty, are working with Mosites Development Co. of Robinson to resolve environmental violations and other issues, and to have studies prepared on how the ground and buildings could be stabilized.
The consultants are staying in touch with the former tenants to keep them interested in the site, and trying to attract future tenants.
The idea of the court-ordered procedure, Stein said, is to "have the property teed up" by the sheriff's sale date so that potential buyers can see how much work and money will be involved in reopening the center. "They'll be able to make an informed decision," he said.
Premier Properties USA Inc., a now-bankrupt Plainfield, Ind., shopping center developer, moved 4 million cubic yards of earth as it built The Foundry. The site, which includes an 80-foot-high retaining wall, opened early in 2007.
Premier later lost control of its sites in a bankruptcy case. Stein said the balance in default on The Foundry's mortgage with Hillcrest is more than $43 million, and some contractors or vendors are pursuing claims through Washington County Common Pleas Court.
Penney's was the last retailer to leave as the soil problems spread. The chain shut its Foundry store in early June and will reopen in mid-September at its former store in the Washington Mall.
Spokesman Tim Lyons said the retailer's own soil experts are involved in figuring out how to fix the center. "lt's still our long-term goal to get back into that store," he said.
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