Tabani Group Gets Option to Buy Northgate Mall

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Tabani Group International, a Dallas-based real estate investment group, has obtained an option to buy and redevelop Northgate Mall in Colerain Township. A revised preliminary development plan for the mall was presented for approval to the Colerain Township zoning office on July 22 by McBride Dale Clarion, Tabani Group’s agent.

Northgate Mall has lost almost 70 percent of its value in the past six years. In 2005, the mall was worth $110 million. It is situated less than a mile south of I-275 and just a mile north of Ronald Reagan/Cross County Highway, at Colerain Avenue and Springdale Road. Its more than 1.1 million square feet of retail space includes over 100 specialty shops and two department stores: Macy’s and Sears. The mall has struggled for years to remain a viable retail center and currently suffers a significant amount of vacancies.

The Texas real estate investment group wants to return the mall to the activity level it once enjoyed. The first phase of redevelopment would create five outlot parcels for financial institutions and restaurants. Two new lots are being proposed at the southern entrance to the mall from Colerain Avenue to Mall Drive. A fast-food restaurant could ocupy one such lot and a bank could sit on another.

New York-based Rockwood Real Estate Advisors is negotiating the mall sale. The deal should close within the next two weeks, with an estimated price ranging from $30 million to $35 million.

Tabani Group International owns more than 2 million square feet of properties in multiple markets throughout the United States. Since inception, it has completed more than 40 transactions, representing assets in excess of $1 billion.