A tentative deal to purchase the Pointe-Claire plaza has fallen through.
Montreal-based real estate developer Sotramont put in a bid to purchase the property earlier this year.
The plaza was listed for sale in 2020 and was on the market for nearly two years.
Dan Scheunert, whose elderly father Kurt Scheunert is the plaza’s co-owner, confirmed to Global News that the deal did not go through and that for now the mall has been taken off the market.
READ MORE: Plaza Pointe-Claire may soon have new owners, merchants nervous about the future (June 27, 2022)
“At the end of the day, we didn’t get too far,” Scheunert said. “I think the builder was looking to understand the full situation at greater depth. It was expected to be a long process, but they didn’t get what they needed in the timeline they had.”
The plaza has been a fixture of the community for decades.
Built in 1958, generations of West Islanders have primarily known it for its mom-and-pop shops.
When it was put on the market a few years ago, business owners were worried about who would buy it and what that would mean for them.
The plaza is zoned for commercial use and falls under Pointe-Claire’s recently adopted interim control by-law, which puts the brakes on development in certain sectors of Pointe-Claire while the city updates its urban plan.
Back in June, Pointe-Claire’s mayor, Tim Thomas, said he hoped any buyer would take the decades’ worth of history into consideration.
But all of that seems like it will be on hold, at least for now.
“Right now, interest rates are higher and typically real estate doesn’t do as well with high rates, so we’ve just decided to pull back and reassess in the future,” Scheunert said.
READ MORE: Pointe-Claire’s last independent hardware store closing after 40 years in business (Nov. 6, 2022)
The mall does have some spaces to fill after Steve’s Hardware decided to close its doors after 40 years in business. Scheunert said the business is looking to fill a few spots.
“It’s business as usual — come shop at the plaza,” he said. “We have wonderful, unique tenants that we’re all desperately trying to support.”
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