Greenspoint Mall under contract for redevelopment

Greenspoint Mall is under contract to be sold and redeveloped, ending its life as a retail center that has for years lost stores and customers. Greenspoint Mall is under contract to be sold and redeveloped, ending its life as a retail center that has for years lost stores and customers. Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Greenspoint Mall under contract for redevelopment 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Greenspoint Mall is under contract to be sold and redeveloped, ending its life as a retail center that has for years lost stores and customers.

A group of investors with a company called Global Plaza Union have agreed to purchase the property at the intersection of Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 and transform it into some sort of mixed-use development. The group is considering three concepts and declined to specify them before the sale is finalized.

Reggie Gray, president of the Houston Intercontinental Chamber of Commerce, facilitated the transaction. He expects it to close within the next four months, a due-diligence period that will determine the plan for the project.

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Feng Gao, a Chinese real estate developer, is the primary investor in the development. He has developed a number of properties in Asia and established a U.S. company, WIT Union, to complete the Greenspoint project, his first in the U.S.

The investment group faces several potential roadblocks. Sears, Macy's and Dillards own their department stores at the mall independently of its operator, and they must agree to sell the spaces before the redevelopment begins.

Gray, a partner in the project, said the investors have approached each company with purchase offers. If they don't cooperate, he added, the project will fail.

"It's an all-or-nothing kind of project," he said.

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Greenspoint Mall opened about 40 years ago as a vibrant retail center, anchored by Foley's, Montgomery Ward and other department stores of the day. At more than 1 million square feet, it was one of the largest malls in region, one that sold nearly everything.

Since then, the mall has languished in the face of fierce competition and major changes in the retail industry. Newer malls, including Willowbrook, Deerbrook and The Woodlands, siphoned off shoppers. Then, e-commerce retailers and off-price stores challenged malls across the spectrum.

The mall's operator, Triyar Cannon Group, has for years considered redeveloping or selling the property. The company put it on the market last year with little success.

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Greg Simpson, president of the North Houston District, formerly the Greenspoint District, said the latest interest in the mall is a welcome development for a property that continues to lose tenants and customers. Macy's closed its store there earlier this year, and Sears closed there years ago.

"The fact that someone sees the potential in that site and has the interest in redeveloping it is great news," Simpson said. "It's indicative of the positive activity that's happening across our district."