BRUNSWICK

The struggling Cook’s Corner Shopping Mall, which has seen a steady exodus of businesses leaving the retail complex, is up for auction.

The shopping center is currently owned by DDR Corporation, an Ohio-based company that owns and manages shopping centers throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

DDR Senior Director of Communications Matt Schuler confirmed in July that Cook’s Corner is currently on the market, and is being handled by Geoffrey Millerd of real estate brokers Cushman and Wakefield in Boston.

Schuler said the property went on the market in mid- July, but wouldn’t disclose an asking price because the shopping center will be going up for auction.

“We let the market dictate pricing,” Schuler wrote in an email to The Times Record.

“Cook’s Corner will continue to serve the local market well, but we’ve been deliberately reducing the amount of properties we own that fall outside of the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S.,” wrote Schuler.

Reasons for a companywide divestment in the number of shopping centers owned appeared in documentation given to DDR shareholders.

One reason cited in the report was an overall lack of new development in shopping centers.

Another part of the report defines what DDR calls “power centers.” These power centers include companies with strong credit profiles. Among the top 20 companies listed are PetSmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart and Kohl’s, among the strongest credit profiles. Cook’s Corner currently has only one company — T.J. Maxx — in DDR’s top 20.

DDR listed current Cook’s Corner businesses — Staples and Sears — as companies that have fallen out of their top 25.

The DDR website listed major tenants such as Regal Cinemas, Sears, T.J. Maxx, Big Lots and Staples as a draw, as well as marketing the area as a tourist hub. Other businesses in the complex affected by the sale include Burger King, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Starbuck’s, Norway Savings Bank, Applebee’s Bar and Grill and Gardiner Savings Bank.

Both Cook’s Corner and nearby Merrymeeting Plaza have struggled to hold on to retailers. For example, earlier this year it was announced that the Radio Shack at Cook’s Corner was one of thousands of locations to be closed by the company. The Lamey Wellehan shoe store, which had been at the Cook’s Corner Shopping Mall for more than 30 years, in 2014 announced it was leaving for the Topsham Fair Mall.

Likewise, in 2014, Day’s Jewelers announced it was moving out of Merrymeeting Plaza to the Topsham Fair Mall.

The town has been working on a Tax Increment Financing district to pay for construction of new roads in the area, among other improvements, that would help spur development in the Cook’s Corner area. It had been hoped that the existing shopping centers would benefit from that project.

Brunswick Town Manager John Eldridge said he and others had heard rumors of DDR’s potential sale of it’s Cook’s Corner properties.

“We respect DDR’s decision and look forward to the sale and the opportunity to work with the new owners,” Eldridge said.

Brunswick Town Councilor and real estate agent Jane Millett sees the sale as a great opportunity for the town.

“I think it’s very exciting,” Millett said, adding that just the act of DDR putting the property on the market means there’s movement happening at Cook’s Corner. She said the shopping center needs a little TLC and some more good businesses to fill in the store fronts.

Millett said it was a sad sight seeing businesses leave the area, especially considering the growth at Brunswick Landing. She said vehicle counts in the area have not slumped and she hopes the new management will attract more stores to the area.

Millett referred to “instances of critical mass” in places like the Topsham Fair Mall, where consumers are able to make several purchases in a relatively small area. She hopes Cook’s Corner can once more become one-stop shopping.

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