Steven Maksin said he was reminded of a line from one of his favorite movies recently as he was unloading a 97-acre site of a dead mall to a new owner.“I’m not your best friend. I’m your only friend.” The line goes from Other People’s Money, the 1991 romantic comedy starring Danny DeVito who plays a corporate raider known as Larry the Liquidator because he buys up businesses and sells their assets.
Maksin described that as his relationship with Burlington Township, the home of the former Burlington Center Mall. Maksin’s Moonbeam Capital sold the property this month to Clarion Partners for $22 million. He wrapped up a hefty $19 million profit in the deal. His company bought the mall in 2012, renamed it the Marketplace at Burlington and sought to turn around the titular, failing town center of this blue-collar township on the Route 130 corridor.
That was before the bottom of the retail mall business fell out and ushered in the rapid ascent of e-commerce that delivers goods to shoppers often without ever leaving their homes.
Maksin spoke recently with NJ Advance Media about what the sale of the former Burlington Center Mall may mean for an underperforming mall near you. Some of the answers have been edited for length.
Maksin described that as his relationship with Burlington Township, the home of the former Burlington Center Mall. Maksin’s Moonbeam Capital sold the property this month to Clarion Partners for $22 million. He wrapped up a hefty $19 million profit in the deal. His company bought the mall in 2012, renamed it the Marketplace at Burlington and sought to turn around the titular, failing town center of this blue-collar township on the Route 130 corridor.
That was before the bottom of the retail mall business fell out and ushered in the rapid ascent of e-commerce that delivers goods to shoppers often without ever leaving their homes.
Maksin spoke recently with NJ Advance Media about what the sale of the former Burlington Center Mall may mean for an underperforming mall near you. Some of the answers have been edited for length.