A small group walks through a sleepy epicenter on a Saturday night in early July 2022. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
The long-awaited, twice-delayed epicenter auction reached its anti-climax on Tuesday. The auctioneer was met with silence, followed by “once, twice,” but the property was sold to a lender for his $95 million.
- Unusually for commercial real estate, the epicenter belongs to Deutsche Bank unless bids fall in the next 10 days.
what’s happening: The auction of the once-bustling entertainment venue opened on Tuesday with a credit bid of $95 million on the first floor of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
- A foreclosure sale usually begins with an offer from such a lender. It is a bid using the borrower’s debt.
Important reasons: Epicenter was an uptown nightlife hub that turned into a lifeless block during the pandemic. Prior to that, it faced some challenges, and given its prominent location, there are still questions about how it could recover.
note: The auction has been postponed twice since May. The reason is unknown.
environment: Epicenter became a trustee more than a year ago after owner CIM Group of Los Angeles defaulted on an $85 million loan with Deutsche Bank. Foreclosure proceedings began in March.
What’s next: Another party must make a higher offer of at least 5% of the selling price, or nearly $100 million.
- The center, which has 50 tenant spaces, is about 70% vacant, according to June recipient reports.
- It is not yet clear what will happen to the epicenter or the handful of remaining tenants.
