Business owners in the Latham Circle Mall were handed notices, personally, by a partner of KeyPoint Partners, Monday, May 12, stating that the Burlington, Mass., commercial real-estate company would be taking over duties as property managers effective that day.
Dick Coffey, general manager of the Burlington Coat Factory in the mall, said he was not sure if this meant that Linda Dunbar, current property manager for EW Enterprises, the company that currently owns the mall, would be discontinuing management of the property. [KeyPoint] may become the conduit for everything, but Linda may still exist to do the nuts and bolts of the property, said Coffey.
Several calls to Dunbar had not been returned to Spotlight Newspapers’ by press time.
Coffey said that William Leppert, a partner of KeyPoint walked around to the mall businesses, introducing himself and explaining that KeyPoint would be taking on the responsibility of promoting the mall.
Mark Becker, a partner with KeyPoint, said the company, which manages properties in states mostly along the East Coast, was hired by Latham Circle Mall owner Eugene Weiss.
Becker said that while KeyPoint has managed other properties in New York, this is the first they have managed in the `immediate area.`
Coffey said that Leppert told him KeyPoint’s mission and the company itself.
`They’re a professional mall management property company,` Coffey said, `They’re not affiliated with the mall. Ninety percent of what they deal with is this type of property.`
Leppert announced to the businesses that he would have an office on site.
The hiring of KeyPoint comes at a time when rumors of the mall’s foreclosure are rampant, but many store owners declined to comment about what would happen in the event of bankruptcy.
Weiss did not return calls made by Spotlight Newspapers regarding the financial status of the mall.
The general manager of Lowe’s said corporate offices would be handling the affairs in the event of foreclosure. Lowe’s, along with J.C. Penney, is one of the mall’s anchor stores.
`As far as what it means for our store, we don’t know at the store,` said Burlington Coat Factory’s Coffey. `We’re not privy to what the lease says about this company versus any other mall tenant. I suspect most leases are not identical.`
Coffey said that while there has been `tons of speculation` as to what could happen if the mall does face foreclosure, Burlington Coat Factory has not yet received notice that this is the case.
`I think at this point, I would have been made aware of this,` he said, referring to a possible foreclosure.
Paul Kramer, branch manager of Pioneer Bank, also located in the mall, said that the branch has not received notice at this time that the mall would be closing, but that he is unsure whether the corporate division has heard anything on the matter.
When asked what would happen to the branch if the mall were to close, Kramer replied, `Typically, we don’t respond out of the local branches.`
Leppert was unavailable for comment Monday morning.
Founded in 1953, KeyPoint manages properties in more than seven states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and New York.
According to the company’s Web site, www.keypointpartners.com, which was referred to by Becker, part of KeyPoint’s mission is, `To pursue responsible, profitable growth in an environment which is enjoyable, supportive and collegial.`
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