CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Outlets at Corpus Christi Bay could be getting a new owner soon. On Monday, a foreclosure notice was filed with the Nueces County Clerk's Office.
A public auction for the Outlets will be held in February.
Currently, the Outlets will remain open, but the property is looking for new ownership.
"I was actually shocked cause it's quite nice in there," Sinton resident Alejandra Zacarias said.
"There isn't really a lot of people there, and it's heartbreaking because you know we put a lot of money into it," Robstown resident Joe Mungia said.
"I couldn't believe it, so I had to google it," Robstown resident Oscar Juarez said.
"They're selling the asset the property itself," said Herman Rodriguez, Robstown city secretary
Reportedly the reason for foreclosure is because the owner Lockhard Outlets failed to make payments on a $65 million loan.
"I feel like our outlet mall was a little bit stuck. I felt like they put a lot of money and a lot of energy into the grand opening, and then they hit a plateau," Rodriguez said.
According to Rodriguez, nowadays people prefer to shop online. Rodriguez is optimistic about the change.
"We need to make sure that it's taken advantage of and that we get more retail over here," Rodriguez said.
The Outlets marketing director released a statement to 3News Monday saying that a foreclosure sale will allow them to restructure their debt, secure a new operating company and raise new capital for continuance of its growth.
"I think they need to bring more stores and maybe a couple of more restaurants," Robstown resident Joe Mungia said.
Shoppers welcome the change if it means more options in the future.
"I hope it stays open and they add more stores cause otherwise people that live in this area are going to have to drive all the way to corpus to the mall out there, and things are more expensive at the mall," Zacarias said.
The public auction for the Outlets will be on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the Nueces County Courthouse.