The fate of the former Westfield mall, now called the Emporium Centre San Francisco, will be decided at an auction next month, as the receivership process appears to be soon wrapped up.

As many of you know by now, the former owners of the mall property, Brookfield Properties and Westfield, walked away from their debt obligations in 2023 amid a dismal outlook for the retail landscape — and as Westfield, as a shopping center operator, was in the process of exiting the North American market. The owners' decision came after the departure of anchor tenant Nordstrom, which occupied nearly half of the mall's leasable space.

That was followed by several more blows for the property last year, including the closure of the Century Cinema on the top floor and several other retailer departures.

This year has seen a few bits of good news for the mall, including a rumored new cinema tenant taking over that movie theater, and seven new leases signed for retail spaces as of June (we haven't had an update since then).

Now, as the SF Business Times reports, the property is going up for auction on November 14. Representatives for the property's lenders, Deutsche Bank AG and JP Morgan Chase, informed Brookfield and Westfield of the upcoming auction date, as the price achieved from the highest bidder will offset what they continue to owe on their mortgage and the subsequent penalties for nonpayment.

At the time of their departure, Brookfield and Westfield owed $558 million on their original loan. The Business Times reports that as of October 14, they owed $625.6 million to the two lenders, including missed payment fees and penalties.

As the Business Times notes, if no third party comes forward with an acceptable bid for the property, the lenders could make their own bid and begin formal foreclosure proceedings.

Since October 2023, the mall has been in receivership, under the oversight and management of a SoCal-based expert in distressed assets, Trident Pacific.

While the mall had some well publicized theft incidents in recent years, and has suffered from the same wave of vacancy that is plaguing Union Square at large, real estate experts have said that the property, which is only 18 years out from its inception in its current form, remains of high value for retailers and could see a strong recovery.

The nearby Metreon complex is, by comparison, 92% leased, anchored by a Target and an AMC cinema, and just went up for sale.

Previously: Expert In Distressed Assets Assigned to Take Over Management of Westfield Mall