New owners of Regency Square Mall have big plans

The Regency Square Mall just sold for $13 million, about a third of its taxable value.

Karen Mathis, the managing editor with the Financial News & Daily Record, says the new owners are a New York-based venture of Mason Asset Management Inc. and Mandar Realty Group LLC.

“There will be some changes, and there will possibly be some new tenants within a few weeks,” Mathis says, after having spoken to Mason and Namdar.

She says they plan to consolidate all of the retail tenants into the east side of the mall, and right now they’re exploring their options for the west side.

“There’s been a lot of talk in the community for at least seven years of what to do with that west side of the mall, which has really lost a lot of tenants,” Mathis says.

Some of the options brought up in past meetings include educational facilities, medical offices, other office space, or a community center.

The mall’s entire occupancy is only about 38 percent right now, so Mathis sees this purchase as a good sign for the community.

“It means there was someone who thought the mall had enough value that they would come in and reposition it,” she says.

Regency Square Mall is 47 years old and has long been an anchor for the Arlington area, which was the first true suburb of Jacksonville.