Nearly seven months after being put on the market by Ohio-based DDR Corporation, the Cook’s Corner Shopping Mall in Brunswick finally has a new owner.

Katz Properties of New York finalized the $13.25 million sale Feb. 11, followed quickly by a visit from Katz Properties affiliate Winslow Property Management President Frank Normandin.

On Thursday, Normandin said it was too early to provide details on Katz’s plans for the shopping center, whose current tenants include Sears, Big Lots, TJ Maxx and Staples, as well as outlying businesses such as Five Guys and Regal Cinemas.

According to Normandin, the company will have to take some time and get to know the properties before making any future plans public.

Katz Properties is a real estate investment, development and management company with offices in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia that focuses on the acquisition, operation and repositioning of retail shopping centers on the East Coast.

In a press release, Normandin said the acquisition was an “obvious one” for Katz, because of redevelopment efforts regionally as well as strong nearby manufacturing.

Brunswick Business Development Manager Linda Smith said Thursday that simply having a representative meet with her and Town Manager John Eldridge a day after signing the deal was an encouraging first step and a sign that Katz was poised to play a more hands-on role in Cook’s Corner than the previous owners.

Smith said that although the meeting was very preliminary, they were told the new owners want to have a working relationship with the town.

“My impression with Katz is that they will be much more of a presence,” Smith said.

Both Smith and Eldridge said this is a promising start and they are thrilled with Katz’s investment in the area.

It’s a welcome sign, as the shopping center has been in decline following the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station. In 2014, tenants Lamey Wellahan and Day’s Jewelers migrated to the Topsham Fair Mall.

In July, DDR Senior Director of Communications Matt Schuler said the shopping center didn’t fall under company definitions as a “power center.” Such power center tenants have strong credit profiles as national chain retailers. “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.,” Schuler wrote in an email.

Katz identifies the property as 84 percent occupied, however, taking into consideration the entire 32.5 acres. Many detached shops tell a contrasting story from the empty store fronts at the shopping mall.

“We’re excited to move into Maine for the first time as we expand our footprint in New England,” Daniel Katz of Katz Properties said in the release. “The Brunswick trade area has been generating a lot of interest and represents an excellent opportunity for Katz Properties.”

dmcintire@timesrecord.com

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