Holiday Village owner says hoping to find someone to utilize potential

Havre Holiday Village Mall is once again up for sale, for the second time in less than a year.

Catalyst Commercial Properties Agent Ryan Pachek, who is listed as the realtor for the sale, said Havre’s mall has great potential and, hopefully, the new owner will be able to give it the care the property needs.

“The reason we are selling it is we’re looking forward to finding a buyer that could actively manage the mall to its full potential in Havre,” he said. “It would be good for Havre to have someone turn that around and get business going.”

He added that the lender, who acquired the property in January, contacted Catalyst a few months ago expressing interest in selling the property. He said that the lender was not equipped to give the Holiday Village Mall the care and focus needed to get it to its full potential. He added that it will be a nice project for whoever acquires the property next, and the mall requires a bit of work but the future could be bright.

“I think there is a ton of potential there,” he said.

Holiday Village Mall General Manager Michael Liese said Friday that the sale is not expected to impact the operations of the mall.

“We hope to find a buyer that can give the center the needed attention it deserves and restore it to a vibrant retail destination for the community,” he said. “There are no anticipated changes to the property at this time and expect a smooth transition to the new ownership and expect the center to serve the community as a viable shopping destination.”

The auction began Monday and will end Wednesday, Pachek said. According to LoopNet.com and Ten-X.com — two websites which have both posted the auction — Holiday Village Mall is posted to have a starting bid of $250,000, with the participating deposit set at $5,000.

Pachek said the reason for the low price is to generate interest, adding that the price was determined by Ten-X and not the lender or his real estate company.

“It won’t go for that, it will go for much higher,” he said.

He added that a number of parties have shown interest in the property and he is confident it is going to sell.

The websites both list the Holiday Village Mall as having about 230,430 square feet of space and having 40 leasable units, with a 53 percent occupancy.

The Ten-X sites says that the mall also has “value-add opportunity through stabilization.”

Last year, the Holiday Village Mall suffered heavy loss of businesses, losing two-thirds of its anchor stores in the mall, the Sears and the Herberger’s stores both permanently closing its doors last summer. It is set to lose its final anchor store later this year.

North 40 Outfitters announced Sept. 25 that it will hopefully be opening at its new location — the former Havre Kmart on U.S. Highway 2 — by the end of the year.

Pachek said that with North 40 leaving the mall occupancy will change.

The mall was announced last year to be up for auction Dec. 4, 2018, but that auction later was moved to January. It then was canceled, and the property was sold to the private lender which is now putting it up for auction.