By: Hal C Clarke

The Palisades Center — once one of the largest and flashiest shopping malls in the Northeast — has been sold off at auction for just $175 million, a steep discount from its former expectations and a stark symbol of the property’s long financial slide. As the New York Post reported, the Rockland County megamall remains weighed down by hundreds of millions of dollars in debt despite the sale.

The lone bidder at last week’s Manhattan auction was Black Diamond Management, an affiliate of BD Palisades Holdings, which already controlled the mall’s debt load. The firm had been managing a staggering $463 million in obligations tied to the property, according to reports cited by the New York Post.

Local officials and business leaders are clinging to hope that the sale could mark a turning point for the nearly three-decade-old mall. The Rockland Business Journal reported that some see the transaction as a potential lifeline rather than a death knell.

“I see the future being very bright,” Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann told News12, striking an optimistic tone despite the grim numbers. Hoehmann said the new owner has experience revitalizing struggling malls by reimagining their mix of retail, entertainment, and other uses. “They bring in different components and build on what’s there — and I think there’s a lot to build on the Palisades Mall,” he said, remarks echoed by the New York Post.

Still, the math remains brutal. The auction did little to wipe away the mall’s massive liabilities. As the Post reported, at least $288 million in debt continues to hang over the property — a financial cloud that has lingered for more than a decade.

The Palisades Center’s downfall has been slow and legally messy. Its fate became entangled in a prolonged courtroom battle between previous owner Eklecco and Wilmington Trust, which filed for foreclosure in 2023 after years of unsuccessful debt restructurings. Black Diamond purchased the distressed debt in October, but the property soon entered receivership, clearing the way for the auction in an effort to recoup some of the outstanding balance, according to the New York Post.

Even so, BD Palisades Holdings ended up as the only bidder — and at a price far below what would be needed to fully cover what’s owed.

The big question now is whether Black Diamond can succeed where others failed and restore the mall to relevance in an era when traditional shopping centers are struggling nationwide.

When it opened in West Nyack on March 4, 1998, the Palisades Center was a retail juggernaut. Spanning 2.2 million square feet, it boasted four anchor stores and more than 225 shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, drawing up to 24 million visitors a year, the New York Post reported.

The grand opening was packed with spectacle. Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan helped inaugurate a fourth-floor ice skating rink, underscoring the mall’s ambition to be more than just a place to shop.