A nonprofit focused on health care may be the mystery buyer of the Northlake Mall property.
The Centurion Foundation confirmed it intends to purchase the mall from its current owners, Corinth Properties.
“Centurion Foundation has initiated a process to potentially acquire Northlake Mall,” a spokesperson said. “We currently are working through related due diligence and expect Emory Healthcare to remain a tenant.”
The spokesperson said the nonprofit’s mission is “to help other non-profits achieve their charitable purpose through customized real estate acquisition, development, and financing solutions designed to improve operations, reduce the cost of occupancy, and free up capital for mission-critical work.”
The deal has not closed yet, the spokesperson said.
The Decide DeKalb Development Authority confirmed Centurion is seeking tax incentives for the project.
“Decide DeKalb did receive an inquiry from Centurion Foundation relating to the potential acquisition of Northlake Mall,” the spokesperson said. “Decide DeKalb was requested to and has facilitated a public hearing on May 28 related to a potential tax-exempt financing for Centurion Foundation.”
The notice for the hearing can be found here: decidedekalb.com/event/notice-of-public-hearing
The Development Authority spokesperson said the $225 million bond referenced in the notice does not involve the county issuing debt on behalf of the project. The bonds would be issued by the National Finance Authority to benefit the Centurion Foundation.
“The hearing was conducted for the sole purpose of enabling the National Finance Authority to issue the bonds as tax-exempt obligations under the relevant Internal Revenue Code sections,” the Development Authority spokesperson said. “Decide DeKalb has not otherwise been involved in the transaction, and the hearing does not constitute any type of endorsement of the bond transaction on the part of Decide DeKalb or DeKalb County.”
The county won’t be obligated to pay off the bonds, the spokesperson said.
“Decide DeKalb is not otherwise involved in the financing transaction but is aware that discussions relating to the potential acquisition of Northlake Mall by Centurion Foundation are ongoing, and no transaction has been finalized,” the spokesperson said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported that Centurion intends to purchase Northlake Mall.
Decaturish previously reported that tenants at Northlake Mall in Tucker received notice Friday, May 29, that they had 30 days to vacate the property. Tony Cade, owner of Challenges Games and Comics at the mall, said the general manager informed him the building had been sold. The tenants have received little information, including the buyer’s identity. But one tenant at the mall, Emory Healthcare, said its lease would not be affected by the sale.
According to the Centurion website, the nonprofit offers “highly customized solutions that lower clients’ occupancy costs,” speed up project delivery, and allow long-term ownership.
“Through the Centurion Model, we analyze various scenarios to identify the one that best fits our clients’ specific needs and, regardless of the solution, achieves the lowest cost of capital for our clients,” the website said.
This story was provided by WABE media partner Decaturish.
