Commons Sold For $28.5 Million

UPDATED—Towson Commons sold for $28.5 million in a foreclosure auction on Tuesday, following a brief bidding war.

Representatives of Alex Cooper Auctioneers, one of whom appeared to enter proxy bids—including the winning bid—did not reveal at the time who the winner was, but a Baltimore Sun report confirmed observers' suspicions later Wednesday, reporting that New York firm Capmark Finance, the building's lender, made the winning bid.

The auction, held in front of a small crowd of real estate brokers, media, local business owners and officials gathered outside the Circuit Court building in Towson, started at $23 million. The Alex Cooper executive competed with two men apparently bidding on behalf of a client, who was on the phone. They would not comment or identify themselves.

In a July foreclosure filing, Capmark reported that Towson Commons' owner, Washington-based Western Development Corp., owed $58.7 million on $67 million in loans. The foreclosure auction also included the four-story Lafayette Building on Chesapeake Avenue.

Now that it has opted to keep the buildings, though, they may sell or redevelop the property. Towson Patch previously reported the possibility of the retail side of the property being demolished and rebuilt.

Towson Commons opened in 1992 to much fanfare, but its retail section slowly declined, as more shops closed, more eateries left and anchor Borders Books and Music moved to Timonium. Today, only an AMC movie theater and Kyodai Rotating Sushi Bar remain, but the 384,000-square-foot complex's office space is doing relatively well.

"Depending on what [the buyers] get it for today, they could be walking into a very sweet deal," said Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce.

Whoever those buyers are, David S. Iannucci, the executive director of the county's Department of Economic Development, said he hopes they see the opportunity to capitalize on the new development in Towson, including the Palisades luxury apartment complex and the soon-to-be-refurbished Investment Building.

"It's in the middle of all that, so I think it could be a very successful project," he said.