News Blog
Could Medley Centre get a new owner?
Medley Centre could be sold at a tax auction on November 10. But as the public's learned time and again with that property, predictions are foolish.
Bersin Properties owns the dead and decaying mall in Irondequoit, and it still owes the county $1.2 million in property taxes from 2013. The way the whole tax-foreclosure thing works, Bersin had to remain delinquent on the tax payment for at least a year before the property could be auctioned. That requirement had been met by April.
The starting bid for Medley Centre, which City readers voted Best Local Eyesore in 2013 and 2014, matches the $1.2 million-and-change delinquent tax bill. Whether anyone will actually bid on the property is another matter; some Irondequoit-area officials say there are developers interested in the property. None have expressed that interest publicly, however.
And the property might not make it to auction anyway, since Bersin — the company led by developer Scott Congel — has until noon on November 9 to pay the 2013 tax debt. So could Nomura Capital and Credit, the company that once loaned Bersin Properties money to redevelop the mall. Bersin is suing Nomura over claims that the lender inappropriately withdrew promised financing, and earlier this year, Nomura filed to foreclose on the Medley Property.
If Nomura has the right to foreclose on the mall, it might not want Medley sold at a tax auction, since Nomura wouldn't receive any of the proceeds.
Congel sent the following statement to local media over the weekend:
Bersin Properties owns the dead and decaying mall in Irondequoit, and it still owes the county $1.2 million in property taxes from 2013. The way the whole tax-foreclosure thing works, Bersin had to remain delinquent on the tax payment for at least a year before the property could be auctioned. That requirement had been met by April.
The starting bid for Medley Centre, which City readers voted Best Local Eyesore in 2013 and 2014, matches the $1.2 million-and-change delinquent tax bill. Whether anyone will actually bid on the property is another matter; some Irondequoit-area officials say there are developers interested in the property. None have expressed that interest publicly, however.
And the property might not make it to auction anyway, since Bersin — the company led by developer Scott Congel — has until noon on November 9 to pay the 2013 tax debt. So could Nomura Capital and Credit, the company that once loaned Bersin Properties money to redevelop the mall. Bersin is suing Nomura over claims that the lender inappropriately withdrew promised financing, and earlier this year, Nomura filed to foreclose on the Medley Property.
If Nomura has the right to foreclose on the mall, it might not want Medley sold at a tax auction, since Nomura wouldn't receive any of the proceeds.
Congel sent the following statement to local media over the weekend:
“As we have previously announced, we are in litigation with our former lender who stopped financing on the project in violation of our lending agreement. As that process moves through the courts, we will pay the taxes and continue to work through the legal process with the intention of completing our project at Medley Centre.”
