George Blackhall and Neil Weiss, in the form of their real estate development company B&W Inc, have purchased Nisky Center.
The 124,000 square foot shopping center has been managed by Blackhall for the last three years.
Weiss called their purchase, "A sign that not everybody is negative about the future of the Virgin Islands."
The General Motors Acceptance Corporation financed $12 million of the purchase. Weiss said this may be the first major loan by GMAC for real estate in the V.I.
"GMAC exercised extreme due diligence before giving this loan, even having us do a $ 6,500 seismic study of the property due to St. Thomas being a Zone 4 earthquake area", said Weiss. "They looked at this very closely, and by giving the loan, are showing their belief in the future of St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands."
The property is presently 65 percent occupied and Weiss hoped to fill the rest of the open spaces in the next few months.
Weiss said,"This gives us room to increase the present income, which is what every business owner wants to do."
The shopping center was heavily damaged in Hurricane Marilyn, which resulted in receivership for the center. It was purchased from Barclay's Bank by TNT, a Dallas firm.
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