ALEXANDRIA, Minn. -- Viking Plaza Mall in Alexandria has received a foreclosure notice as its two anchor stores prepare to close.
The notice was filed earlier this month. Store closing sales are currently going on at both JCPenney and Herberger's at the mall.
"It's going to be really sad to lose those stores. I hope we get something new coming in because I hate to always have to order online for nice dress clothes," said Matti Wangerin of Alexandria.
The pending foreclosure sale has some residents questioning the future of the mall.
"I don't anticipate the mall closing. I would never make a promise but we certainly want to get the mall back before anything else happens and we need to fill it up," said Scot Snitker, minority partner at Viking Plaza Mall and partner at the mall's management company, Lexington Realty International.
Snitker said this is not a typical foreclosure.
"The mortgage company who holds our note... the payment was due in July, the balloon payment. We continued to make payments; we made our April payment. We were working with them. As soon as Herberger's announced they were leaving, they said, 'No, it's due in payable immediately,'" Snitker said.
Snitker said they are now turning to their investors to try and put a financing deal together.
"We still own the mall. It's in receivership with the bank. They foreclosed on the property... they called the note due once Herberger's left but we still own it. We're still making payments," he said.
According to Snitker, in the past year, six corporate stores have closed in the mall (including JCPenney and Herberger's). He's not concerned about some of the smaller vacant stores but said they need to fill the two anchor stores. Snitker said they are always talking to possible tenants.
Mayor Sara Carlson said she is very optimistic about the future of the mall and said the economy is strong in Alexandria.
Viking Plaza Mall is a shopping hub for communities in the area, including Fergus Falls.
"We would come to Alex or we would go to Fargo. Those were the two places we would go and we preferred to come here because we didn't have to pay sales tax," said Wangerin, who grew up in Fergus Falls but now lives in Alexandria.
But online shopping has hit some retail stores hard.
"We're seeing that all over the state. Malls are closing down. People want to shop online. It's the reality of it today," said Daniel Lent of Alexandria.
But Snitker does not believe retail is dead, saying, "I anticipate the mall here and all of our other properties will be different. We have entertainment venues coming into malls."
He went on to say, "We have some opportunities hanging out there that we're working on."