Shopping center in Virginia Beach sold in foreclosure to Wells Fargo

Published February 18, 2013 by Paula C. Squires

Some shopping center owners are having a hard time of it these days.  Inside Business reports that the ownership of The Courthouse Marketplace, a 103,263-square-foot, Harris Teeter-anchored center in Virginia Beach, changed hands from Armada Hoffer to Wells Fargo after a foreclosure on the property.

Armada Hoffler, a real estate developer based in Virginia Beach, told Inside Business that tenants of the mixed-use center had a difficult time paying rents after access to the center was impacted by a Virginia Department of Transportation road project. VDOT began replacing a portion of General Booth Boulevard along Nimmo Parkway last year. The project is supposed to be complete by June 2014.  The 23-acre shopping center is located at the intersection of Nimmo Parkway and Princess Anne Road. 

Although Armada Hoffler said it approached the lender about restructuring its loan, the lender decided to foreclose, and Wells Fargo bought the property in November. 

In Chesterfield County, Richmond BizSense reports that the owners of Hancock Village signed a deal last week with their bank that canceled a foreclosure auction that had been set for Friday. The agreement also brings to a close a federal lawsuit the bank had filed against the center’s developers, Doug Horack and Ed Nunnally, in an effort to recoup about $43 million owned on the loan.

Hancock Village, a 66-acre, 153,000-square-foot retail property at the intersection of Hull Street and Winterpock Roads, was built in 2007. Tenants include Hobby Lobby, Dick’s Sporting Goods and an 188,000-sqare-foot Walmart owned by the retailer.