The owner of Wausau’s troubled downtown mall has rejected an offer of three-quarters of a million dollars in financial aid from the city.
CBL and Associates turned down an up-front payment of $375,000 and a five-year waiver of rent, which was tied to a requirement that they fill the space left when mall anchor store J.C. Penney moved out.
Wausau City Council President Romey Wagner said the contract rejection probably means the downtown mall is for sale.
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“It is an indicator that the Wausau Center Mall is one of the malls that CBL has been planning or is marketing for sale. And I’m encouraged that if a new buyer is there, then we’ll be able to negotiate with them,” said Wagner.
CBL had announced plans to sell 21 of its underperforming malls, but would not say if Wausau was one of them.
A call to CBL headquarters was not returned in time for this story.
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