Berkshire Mall Owners: Deadline to Sale With Potential Buyers
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board is seeking ways to aid the owners of the Berkshire Mall to sell the property to a Texas developer.
At last Tuesday's meeting, Select Board Vice Chair Juli Baker said the board is supporting a name change of BHRD to the Baker Hill Business District and that she and Select Board member Michael Murphy have been meeting with the district board about its structure and role. The road district maintains the Connector Road between Routes 8 and 7, along with assessing the mall for police and fire protection.
A major effort is to have the commonwealth take over the Connector Road, rather than have the town assume it. The board has sent a supporting letter to state legislators, and the district sent a similar letter. She added the district will be looking for state and federal funding to help update the sewer and water infrastructure, which is needed to develop the property.
"The other thing that we're really working with the district on is reducing the cost that they may assess to any current or future owner of the property to be more in line with the needs of the community and less in line with the needs of the district," Murphy said.
Baker also gave an update on the progress with the mall redevelopment saying the town is looking into a financing plan to support development, encourage jobs, and expand the local tax base. Baker described it as a potential tool to help the purchaser with redevelopment costs.
"The town is also involved in working directly on an agreement that may help with the economic development in the form of what's called a tax increment financing plan to support the increased economic development activity, create additional employment opportunities, and expand the local tax base, so we're working on that concept and working on presenting that to the purchaser as something that may also help them with their development of that property," Baker said.
JMJ has had a purchase and sale agreement with real estate developer Cypress Equities since May. Cypress Equities was established in 1995 in Dallas and has been building shopping centers around the country.
In August, Cypress's managing director, Scott Harrington, presented the company's hopes on developing the defunct property. The company aims to attract top national brands while incorporating green spaces, murals by local artists, and more. He said two large tenants have expressed an interest.
Jay Jones of JMJ challenged the focus on future development efforts while, in his view, the key obstacle to the sale remained unresolved: the lawsuit between JMJ and the Baker Hill Road District over property taxes. He said the purchase-and-sale agreement with Cypress has a deadline, and argued that the transaction could not close without an agreement.
"You have to have a settlement in order to have Cypress receive the property with a clean title, and I don't know what in the world everyone is discussing moving forward for when that's the biggest issue and the biggest hurdle," Jones said.
JMJ Holdings filed a countersuit last year against the BHRD, which had filed a December 2024 lawsuit seeking $545,000 for taxes due in May 2024.
"The town, even if it wanted to, could not settle that lawsuit. The only way we could do it would be to dissolve the Baker Hill Road District through a special act and ask the legislature to forgive those taxes," said Jeff Blake of the town's counsel, KP Law.
Jones said if the BHRD continues taxing as it has been, the sale of the mall will not go through
"The way the Baker Hill Road District taxes this property means it cannot be developed. So, if the town, in cooperation with the Baker Hill Road District, is working to change that, JMJ is simply saying we are not going to be the last property owner to get the short end of the Baker Hill Road District stick, that's it," Jones said. "So we know you're not the Baker Hill Road District, but the town and the town's people obviously have some influence. This property will not close if the Baker Hill Road District insists on sticking us with grossly disproportionate taxes that a sophisticated world-class buyer has told the town that it cannot move forward."
"It closes or it doesn't. It's up to the Baker Hill Road District. But I hope they make the right decision. I don't want to deal with this anymore. I want this property to be developed to its fullest and best potential. It can't with the Baker Hill Road District, and you know that. Everyone in the town knows that. That's why this property has sat vacant," said Blake Mensing, another owner with the mall.
Blake said the town is working, as Baker said above, to help with financing needs as Cypress has alluded it doesn't want the district to be dissolved if it can help as a business district.
"This is where our involvement with Cypress comes into effect, comes into play, is Cypress has indicated they don't want the Baker Hill Business District dissolved because the Baker Hill Business District can be very helpful in developing the infrastructure for what needs to go up there," he said. "So the town is not working behind JMJ's back. The town is trying to get everything it can do through TIF, tax increment financing agreements, ready to go, so that if Cypress is able to close, then all of that will be ready."
Jones said there is a deadline with the sale and is already looking to the future in case the deal with Cypress Equities falls through, adding he will be fine but the town will lose and he doesn't want JMJ Holdings to be "painted as inflicting this type of of pain or non-development."
"I hope we can reach an agreement. We want to sell the property … it is what it is. But I have been forced to make contingency plans, in terms of what's going to happen next if this deal falls out. It'll be fine for me. It'll be fine. Okay, the mall will get torn down. We'll be in court for two or three years or however long it takes, and the value of the property will just go up again," Jones said.
"And if you're thinking that we need to do this, we're forced to sell because of the cost. You got this all wrong. These are investors. Today, tomorrow, 10 years from now."
JMJ's lawyer for the purchase agreement, Tom Tavenner, also said the timing of the deal is important.
"Time really is of the essence here. I know that's been mentioned during this hearing, but you know I'd like to think just that given the real upside and the potential for this property, clearly, the members of the select board have looked at, or and are focused on that," he said.
"It would seem to me that parties could try to get together and try to find a workable solution. I know it's not the board's purview or jurisdiction to comment on the underlying litigation, but I'd like to think that folks could all get together and try to find some avenues to try to resolve this, simply because you've got a very good potential purchaser there. You've got JMJ who's willing to kind of work with parties if there's a desire there. But again, time is really of the essence here."
Tags: Berkshire Mall,
