No members of the public spoke during a public hearing on the Town of Victor’s eminent domain proceedings to acquire property in and around Eastview Mall on Sept. 28, but lawyers and representatives for all sides took an opportunity to make their case.
The regional shopping center is facing foreclosure after failing to pay a $210 million mortgage loan, despite multiple extensions.
Lenders have already filed a foreclosure action and a court-appointed receiver could take control of mall operations within days. At the same time, the town is pursuing eminent domain to acquire the affected properties, a move lawyers for the lenders and their loan servicer called “a debt evasion scheme.”
The town’s attorneys and representatives for Victor 2040 LLC, the
corporation formed to acquire the parcels, argued eminent domain would protect the mall’s future and keep it under local control. But the lenders argue any issues with loan servicer Rialto Capital Advisors could be resolved by paying off the mortgage loan, part of a refinancing in 2012. Written public comments on the eminent domain proposal remain open until Nov. 30.
At stake is control and the future of the region’s preeminent shopping center, which supports roughly 4,000 jobs and 20% of the town’s operating budget.
Wilmorite refinanced its mortgage debt on the Eastview Mall in September 2012 via a $210 million loan, which included $55 million in loan proceeds to the developer.
When the loan matured in 2022, Wilmorite sought and received three one-year extensions and then a forbearance agreement to push the maturity date until Sept. 6, 2026. The lenders filed for foreclosure on Sept. 8 in State Supreme Court — within days of the town publishing its condemnation notice.
The Town of Victor intends to acquire property interests in five parcels of land in and around the mall, including interior shopping space, portions of the Eastview Commons strip mall and outparcel developments like the Regal Cinema. Victor 2040 would then acquire the parcels from the town and reimburse the town for acquisition costs, then “ultimately transfer them to local ownership.”
The town’s attorneys said the acquisition would extinguish the lender liens and remove Rialto as loan servicer, a move that Victor 2040 representatives argued would allow more investment and development at the mall. The lenders, US Bank and Wells Fargo, would retain claims on the promissory notes and entitlement to condemnation compensation.
"Victor 2040 exists to keep Eastview Mall (in) local hands," spokesperson Laura DiCaprio said during the hearing.
Attorneys for the lenders and Rialto claim in a Sept. 25 letter that Victor 2040 is not an independent entity but was instead formed to facilitate Wilmorite's eventual reacquisition of the condemned properties.
The letter said attorney Shawn M. Griffin has acknowledged he is the organizer and controlling party of Victor 2040. Griffin has represented Wilmorite in work on increment financing at Eastview Mall. Griffin’s law firm, Harris Beach Murtha Cullina, is Victor 2040 LLC’s registered agent, based on New York Department of State information.
The party most caught in the firestorm over the eminent domain proposal is loan servicer Rialto, which the town and Victor 2040 claim has harmed Eastview Mall’s ability to maintain, develop and upgrade the affected parcels.
Rialto has collected nearly $10 million in fees over the last three years, DiCaprio said at the Sept. 28 public hearing, and has delayed approvals for the under-construction Chick-fil-A restaurant and proposed hotel at the site. The loan servicer has also prevented investment in needed infrastructure like the mall’s leaking roof, HVAC upgrades and parking lot maintenance, Victor 2040 claimed.
The lenders’ attorney, Keith Brandofino of Holland & Knight, pushed back on the claim that Rialto has harmed Eastview, citing $9.4 million released year-to-date in 2026 for operating expenses and tenant improvements, including $1.2 million for improvements at the Brooks Brothers location at the mall. The lenders and Rialto have used reserve funds to pay about $6 million in property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes, Brandofino said.
“All the problems that Ms. DiCaprio highlights can be resolved pretty quickly. The borrower can just pay the loan off in full,” he said at the Sept. 28 public hearing.
Outside of the disagreement over Rialto's influence on the mall's success, the lenders’ attorneys’ letter claims the condemnation notice on the properties is insufficient. It does not identify a legitimate public use and it’s too vague in describing which property rights will be extinguished, and the town did not follow the proper environmental review, the letter alleges. The lenders and the town share the same goal, Brandofino said — to maintain and maximize Eastview’s value.
The Town of Victor previously used eminent domain at Eastview to facilitate the redevelopment of the former Lord & Taylor department store into Bass Pro Shops. The intention of using the process again is to ensure the mall “continues to be a thriving and growing commercial property under local ownership and control,” according to the town website.
The first attempt to condemn the Lord & Taylor property in November 2021 was unsuccessful because the court could not determine whether the acquisition would serve a public use.
The process was repeated in 2023, with the town identifying plans to construct a mixed-used development with a business incubator office and community and recreation center space. With an identified public purpose, the eminent domain taking survived a legal challenge. Instead of the proposed community center, however, the Bass Pro Shops was announced for the site.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Eastview Mall lenders fight Victor eminent domain plan
