Published: June 06, 2009 12:02 am      

WHEATFIELD: New life for the Summit

WHEATFIELD — The Summit mall has been given at least a few more days to operate and the town supervisor says there is still a possibility that it may eventually get a new lease on life.

Town of Wheatfield Supervisor Timothy Demler said Friday the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Raleigh, N.C. granted an extension that will allow the mall to continue to remain open beyond today’s scheduled deadline for closure.

“The bankruptcy court concurred with the town and the tenants’ position that the deadline was not reasonable,” Demler said.

Last month, the mall’s current owner, Oberlin Plaza One, filed

for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, a move that nullified lease agreements with 26 tenants operating inside the mall. Saturday was the original deadline for tenants in the mall’s interior to vacate the facility. On Friday afternoon, the message on the electronic sign in front the mall, which had for weeks advertised the mall’s pending closure, had changed to reflect plans to offer new hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. effective Sunday.

According to Demler, the court’s decision clears the way for the remaining stores to stay open through June 30 and may provide enough time for the mall’s owner to negotiate a sales agreement with a new investor to keep the property off the auction block. Demler said he’s expecting the mall to be open for its usual business hours this weekend.

“I wish we had this decision for the extension a month ago rather than yesterday, but it’s better than what we thought we’d get tomorrow,” Demler said Friday. “I’m optimistic for the mall. I just hope we can make it survive once it is sold.”

Demler said there are currently two prospective buyers for the site, and he’s hopeful a deal will get done with one of them by as early as next week.

“It’s a start,” he said. “If they close the doors on Saturday the mall will never reopen.”

An official in the office of U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Raleigh offered a slightly different version of the situation. She said the court has set a date of June 15 to hear motions in the argument for the proposed extension and that the attorney for the mall’s owner, Oberlin Plaza One, has requested that the hearing be expedited.

Oberlin acquired the mall through a foreclosure proceeding in 2002, after a client defaulted on a loan. The company cited the recent nationwide economic slump as the final deciding factor in filing for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy proceedings did not impact operations at three “stand-alone” stores, including The Bon Ton, Sears and Sav-A-Lot.

Many tenants inside the mall have found other accommodations and moved out in the wake of the bankruptcy announcement. Several others who were still in business Friday had already placed signs on the front of their establishments, letting customers know where they would be located in the future. They, too, indicated that they have been told the mall will remain open through at least June 15.

Denise Allen, owner of the Cut & Shop hair salon, said she will stay open during the extension period, however long that may last. She added that she is not confident about the long-term future of the mall and is planning to move to a different location.

“I just feel as though it’s too far gone,” she said. “I don’t think that they will ever get it back to a mall situation.”

Brenda Smith, an associate with the Season’s Hallmark shop, said the owners are also considering moving to a new location but do intend to remain open for now.

“We’re going to be here as long as we can,” she said.

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250