Canceled Auction Signals Buyer for Outlet Center

A Jeffersonville outlet plaza geared toward home decor shoppers will change hands in the next few weeks if a planned acquisition deal goes through.

Kenny Juillerat of Hillsboro-based Nationwide Auctions & Realty LLC told Columbus Business First that the HomeWorks at Jeffersonville Mall has an undisclosed buyer in the wings. Nationwide Auctions was set to sell the 314,000-acre property Monday but canceled the auction after a potential buyer stepped in.

According to the Fayette County auditor’s office, the owner of HomeWorks’ 43.3 acres is Boyle Jeffersonville LLC of Tallahassee, Fla. Boyle Jeffersonville paid about $3.7 million for the property in 2003 with plans to reshape it into a home-theme shopping center.

HomeWorks’ tenants include an Amish Heritage furniture store, Clutter N Collectibles and a Liz Claiborne shop, according to its website.

The shopping center on Interstate 71 is about 5 miles northeast of the 410,000-square-foot Prime Outlets at Jeffersonville, a popular retail destination. That complex is among 22 outlet centers owned by Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., which is set to be acquired by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) for $2.3 billion.
HomeWorks and Prime Outlets at Jeffersonville are about 40 miles southwest of Columbus, midway between the city and Cincinnati.

Juillerat said details on the prospective HomeWorks sale and its owners’ plans for the site could be disclosed in a matter of weeks.

Original article: Business First of Columbus: by Matt Burns