Sun News - The Market Common has been sold out of foreclosure to BEI-Beach LLC, according to a written release from an attorney involved in the sale. Gregory Maloney, court-appointed receiver for The Market Common, conducted the sale, said Franklin Daniels, Maloney's attorney, in a written statement. Staff at stores and restaurants in The Market Common said Friday that they planned to continue to operate normally. Lenders filed a foreclosure suit against the center in May after owners failed to make loan payments. Daniels' statement did not give details on the sale or information on BEI-Beach LLC. Neither party in the sale could be reached immediately for comment. Center Marketing Manager Hatton Gravely said she was not authorized to comment on the sale. BEI-Beach is a limited liability company that was incorporated in Delaware on Dec. 27, according to Delaware's Division of Corporations records. Daniels' statement did not say how much BEI-Beach has agreed to pay for the complex. The Market Common had no set price, according to a sales flier produced by Jones Lang LaSalle, which marketed the complex to potential buyers. Jones Lang LaSalle also employs Maloney. The sales flier listed conditions for the sale were "as is, where is," and Jones Lang LaSalle hoped to find someone to buy with cash up front. Center management did not inform the staff of King Street Grill in The Market Common of the sale, manager Emerald Rabon said. Rabon said she hoped that the new owners would do a better job of running the mall than the last owners. "Advertising wise, they could have done a lot more to get Market Commons out there," she said.
Business has been strong at the restaurant, Rabon said. A 2010 quarterly report from LUK-MB1 reported that many Market Common shops and restaurants had requested and are paying reduced rents and that some businesses are struggling to stay afloat. At the time, about 37 of the 55 businesses were on a "watch list." Those tenants have either requested rent relief, could get rent adjustments or risk being kicked out if the companies don't fulfill certain requirements. Some were receiving financial assistance, are closing or owe money. JPMorgan Chase Bank filed a foreclosure suit against The Market Common's developer and owner, LUK-MB1 LLC, in May. LUK-MB1, which is owned by the Leucadia National Corp., stopped making payments on more than $105 million it owed lenders. The loan was for more than 370,000 square feet of shops, almost 24,000 square feet of office space and 195 residential units that make up the core of The Market Common, which opened in 2008.
