Mountain State University of Martinsburg, WV, is set to buy the Martinsburg Mall, according to The Morning Herald. The 556,000-square-foot regional mall, which is located just off I-81 on Foxcroft Avenue in Martinsburg, was foreclosed on early this year when the Lightstone Group was delinquent on debt payments for months. Jones Lang LaSalle Retail was appointed as receiver of the mall in February 2009.

The university intends to continue to operate the mall primarily as a retail center, but said it would use 13,713 square feet of space within the mall for educational purposes. Bon-Ton, JC Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart anchor the mall. Additionally, the university has requested to build classroom and office space, as well as a student residence mall and outdoor recreation area, on 9.19 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the mall.

Lightstone acquired the mall from PREIT as part of a $108.5 million four-mall portfolio transaction in September 2004. An approximate $27 million sale price was assigned to the Martinsburg Mall at the time.

CoStar's Retail News Roundup: Nov. 1 - 7, 2009
This week in the Retail Roundup, CoStar reports on expansions or new concepts at Prime Retail and Edible Arrangements; closings, cutbacks, defaults, or bankruptcy news at Movie Gallery and more; acquisition, merger, loan, sale, or IPO activity at USAA, Martinsburg Mall, Vitamin Shoppe, and Rubios; new retail development news in NJ; personnel or corporate announcements at NAI Capital and Sonic; sustainability and green building news at Arby's and Chipotle; and more.