STL outlet mall garners $9M in online auction

St. Louis Outlet Mall, a struggling 1.2 million-square-foot complex in Hazelwood, northeast of Ferguson, was sold for $9 million in an online auction last week to an unidentified bidder.

Bidding started at $1.5 million and was extended more than three dozen times Wednesday in increments of 3 and a half minutes past a noon deadline as bidding played out.

A lack of business at the mall has driven down property values; citing St. Louis County records, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the mall’s appraised value this year is $40 million, down from $117 million in 2008.

Under terms of the auction, the final price paid could be significantly higher than $9 million due to factors including closing fees, property taxes, insurance and a “premium” charge for the winning bid.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.