Just 22 months after opening, The Outlets at Corpus Christi Bay were sold at foreclosure Tuesday for $42,697,388.46.
The new owners, Real Estate Holdings LLC, actually held the note on the $65 million loan which the previous owner, Lockhard Outlets Corpus Christi Bay LLC defaulted on.
“We know that this is just a business transaction, it’s not the same as a residential foreclosure,” said Herman Rodriguez, Robstown City Secretary. “In business, owners change hands, it doesn’t mean people have to vacate the property or the property closes down.”
It’s a similar situation to what happened when Schlitterbahn was auctioned in 2018. Commercial real estate experts say this happens all the time, and simply gives the loan holder more control over the property.
“They can control the whole thing at that point,” said Mark Adame with Joe Adame & Associates. “They can go hire whoever they want to be the manager of the property, they can do whatever they want with it.”
Bruce Davis, who represented Real Estate Holdings LLC at the auction, promises “vast improvements” at the outlet mall, and says a new management company will be in place by the end of the week.
Shoppers were excited by the news
“The other malls are real far away and this is kind of close,” said Elida Villarreal. “There are a lot of people that don’t like to drive or don’t have a vehicle to get there.”
And as for the improvements they’d like to see?
“I’d like to see more stores in it for one thing,” said Arlene Burns. “There’s a lot of empty spaces when I went.”
