Igal Namdar isn’t a household name in Connecticut, but he’s having an outsized influence on the state’s commercial real estate market.
His firm — New York-based Namdar Realty Group — is by far the largest owner of Connecticut mall properties. Namdar Realty has been an aggressive buyer of distressed retail properties in Connecticut and across the country.
The company’s latest acquisition in the state was the 1.3-million-square-foot Shoppes at Buckland Hills mall in Manchester, which it purchased out of foreclosure in March for $25.8 million.
Namdar Realty owns four other malls in Connecticut: Meriden Mall, Enfield Square Mall, Crystal Mall in Waterford and Trumbull Mall.
In addition to retail properties, Namdar Realty has also been eyeing distressed office buildings. The company earlier this year bought the mortgage on the 30-story, 340,247-square-foot Goodwin Square office tower, at 225 Asylum St., in downtown Hartford.
Namdar’s business model has, at times, caught the ire of local officials, including those in Enfield who have criticized the company in the past for not maintaining upkeep on the Enfield Mall.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Namdar Realty has bought “dozens of failing shopping centers at rock-bottom prices, extracting cash by cutting costs to the bone. They appeal their property assessments to lower their tax bills, while maintenance issues such as parking-lot sinkholes fester.”
Namdar recently defaulted on its loan for the Trumbull Mall in Connecticut.
Namdar founded his firm in 1999, and has grown it since then to become one of the 10 largest retail landlords in the United States, according to the firm’s website. It often acquires properties with its private equity investment partner, Mason Asset Management.