By Tim Leeds
A meeting reportedly began at 10 this morning to close on the sale of the Havre Holiday Village Shopping Center.
The name of the prospective buyer could not be released until after the sale is finalized, as required by a contractual agreement with the company that currently owns of the shopping center, Ocwen.
Ocwen had also discussed a sale to a prospective buyer last fall. That sale apparently fell through. The company had purchased the property in September 1999 after several years of legal work to clear ownership questions.
Ocwen has been working on improvements to attract new businesses to the shopping center since taking ownership. The interior has been remodeled, with improvements made to both the common area and to store fronts, the building has been re-roofed, exterior water sources have been protected, and the movie theater in the shopping center has been remodeled into a community center.
There has been some success in bringing new businesses to the Holiday Village. Some of the new enterprises include the Havre Sears relocating to the shopping center, businesses relocating to new locations in the center and the opening of the Computer Center and the Raising Kayne toy store.
Andy Belew, president of Ocwen, has said in previous interviews that negations with several major stores to move into the mall as anchor businesses have also been under way, but no notice has been made of the finality of any of those negotiations.
