A man walks his dog through the empty parking lot of the Glenwood Springs Mall on Tuesday morning.

Chelsea Self / Post Independent

CenterPointe Development, the Arizona-based company that was interested in purchasing and redeveloping the Glenwood Springs Mall, is no longer pursuing the project.

CenterPointe was under contract to purchase the mall properties in West Glenwood but was unable to reach an extension agreement with mall owner Frank Woods.

According to CenterPointe Managing Partner Matt Ladendorf, many of the potential tenants he had been recruiting were uncertain of their own financial futures as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

“It wasn’t fair to move forward if we weren’t sure which tenants were going to be there at the end of the day,” Ladendorf said.

Requests for comment from Woods weren’t returned Tuesday.

CenterPointe had also requested additional time in order to finalize its lease agreement with the mall’s current anchor tenant — Ross Dress For Less, Inc.

“I was so optimistic and we were willing to go forward once we got Ross signed and we knew it was just a matter of time with all the other retailers,” Ladendorf said.

According to Ladendorf, CenterPointe had hoped to close on the property later this year.

“We were in discussions with Hobby Lobby, Kohl’s, Old Navy, Famous Footwear,” Ladenhorf said. “We had a grocer.”

Ladenhorf declined to name the company behind the grocer.

Ladenhorf also said CenterPointe had planned on demolishing portions of the mall’s front entranceway to make room for additional plaza space.

“The total investment was going to be close to $30 million,” Ladendorf said.

In 2018, city council approved establishing the Glenwood Springs Urban Renewal Authority to encourage redevelopment at the mall properties located at 51027 Highway 6 and 24, which Ross later challenged in court.

At the time, the city had been working in conjunction with Woods to encourage redevelopment at the site.

Ross’ lawsuit against the city was dismissed and the two entities had been working toward a settlement agreement largely dependent on CenterPointe reaching its own lease agreement with Ross.

“Ross’ attorneys and myself have been talking about how we move forward,” said Karl Hanlon, Glenwood Springs city attorney. “I think both sides really want to find a solution that doesn’t involve continuing forward with court cases and I’m confident that we can.”

According to the West Glenwood Springs Urban Renewal Plan, Ross’ lease agreement with Woods extended “extraordinary control” to Ross, which made it “all but impossible” for Woods to freely manage the mall properties.

Ladenhorf said CenterPointe had worked with Ross on projects in the past and was confident a new lease agreement could have been reached.

“We got to a final lease. We were done and it was going through the process of getting approved…but it was going to be past our timeline for our due diligence,” Ladendorf said of CenterPointe’s lease agreement with Ross.

Ladenhorf said had the lease come to fruition, Ross would have likely moved into the space previously occupied by J.C. Penny at the far end of the mall.

According to assistant city manager Jenn Ooton, the city hopes redevelopment can happen in the future with another development team.

mabennett@postindependent.com