THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701180497
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: 35 lines
Aetna Life may be the biggest loser in the near-death of Newmarket Fair, but the mortgage holder is just glad its involvement with the mall may come to an end soon, company officials said.
All an Aetna spokesman would say about mall owner Newmarket North Associates' Jan. 3 bankruptcy filing for Chapter 7 liquidation was that ``it was not our decision.''
But spokesman Terry D'Italia said the company supports a proposed sale of the mall to Virginia Beach-based U.S. Land Management Corp.
Newmarket North Associates owes Aetna $22.4 million - an amount that includes the interest charges that would have accrued over the lifetime of its loan. The actual principal owed is closer to $17 million, D'Italia said.
Aetna will have to settle for much less. U.S. Land Management Corp. plans to buy the mall for between $5 million and $7 million, according to several sources. D'Italia said he did not know the proposed price but had heard it was in that range. The mall was assessed by the city at more than $12.7 million in July.
The mall owners also owe Hampton $150,000 in back taxes and unspecified amounts to the state and the Internal Revenue Service. According to the bankruptcy filing, those debts are priority claims: they will be paid first from the proceeds of a mall sale. There are about 40 unsecured claims totaling more than $112,000.
After the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel opened in 1992, mall's finances worsened as traffic went away away from the area, D'Italia said.
KEYWORDS: NEWMARKET FAIR MALL BANKRUPTCY