And the property, which currently has a substantial vacancy, will get a new life, according to Paul McArthur, president of Trillium Realty Advisors. McArthur represented the new ownership in the sale transaction.

According to McArthur, the partners plan to spend at least $9 million to revamp the property, including a variety of site improvements and a new facade for the entire complex. When all is said and done, in about eight months' time, some 75% of the mall's total space will have been converted into medical office space and patient care services for the nearby Warren Hospital.

"This is a very creative and adaptive re-use of an existing retail property," according to McArthur. "All of the existing retail tenants will remain in the project, and we expect their businesses to flourish with the full occupancy of the property."

"The hospital has been great to work with, and has been very responsive to the numerous challenges that we had to solve in order to make this project a reality," McArthur continues.

The financing for the Hillcrest Mall acquisition and makeover is coming from Wachovia Bank, NA, although no details have been released. "The ownership structure of Hillcrest is complex, but the health services group and the real estate finance group at Wachovia were very creative and great to work with," McArthur says.