The new buyer of the Orchards Mall in Benton Township intends to keep it as a mall property. That’s according to a realtor who helped sell the mall in an online auction last month. Steve Silverman of Farmington Hills-based Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions tells us that sale remains in process with a goal of having it completed by the end of the summer. Although he won’t tell us who the mall’s buyer is, he will say it’s a national real estate investor who owns multiple properties in Michigan. The buyer is not locally-based. Silverman tells us the buyer intends to keep the Orchards Mall as a mall with some significant capital investment and an aggressive strategy to pursue new retailers. He also says stores currently in the mall should know all leases will be honored by the new owner. The mall sold in auction last month for $2.1 million, just shy of the owner’s hoped-for $2.5 million.
