Star Tribune
Judge approves sale of St. Cloud’s Crossroads Center mall to Contrarian Crossroads
ST. CLOUD — A Stearns County judge last week approved the sale of Crossroads Center mall to a Delaware company that plans to take over the mortgage the previous owners hadn’t made payments on since August 2020.
The fate of the St. Cloud mall had been unknown since late last spring when the previous owner was found to be delinquent on its loan. U.S. Bank Trust Co., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, filed suit in July against St. Cloud Mall LLC, affiliated with New York-based Brookfield Properties, to initiate foreclosure proceedings.
The lawsuit asked the court to allow for the sale of the property and to enter a judgment against the owners in excess of $84 million, which the mall’s owner owed on the principal, as well as interest and other fees.
In August, both parties submitted a joint motion to appoint a receiver, which is a neutral party that does not have any involvement or affiliation with the property, noteholder or borrower.
Stearns County Judge Laura Moehrle issued an order appointing Trigild, a commercial real estate company, as the receiver to “take possession of and protect the property” and “manage and operate the same and collect rents and any other income generated,” court documents state.
The order gave Trigild the authority to market and sell the property. Trigild entered into a purchase agreement with the Delaware limited liability company Contrarian Crossroads in late December. The agreement, which is not included in court documents, states the buyer will assume the mortgage debt and any related liens.
Moehrle’s order approving the sale was entered into the court system on Jan. 19. The case is now listed as closed.
Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment. The company told the Star Tribune in April that it was “constructively working with the lender to identify the best possible outcome for the future of the shopping center community.”
Ballard Spahr law offices, which represented U.S. Bank, also declined to comment.
The secretary of state’s office lists Contrarian Crossroads as having a principal place of business address in Houston, Texas and a registered state address in Roseville.
Crossroads Center is the largest regional shopping mall in the state outside of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1966 with about two dozen stores and has expanded to nearly 900,000 square feet of retail space. Current anchor stores include J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Scheels and Target.
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
