Independence Mall has a potential buyer, according to special servicer commentary included in the latest report about a loan on part of the mall property.

The commentary doesn't name the buyer, but does mention when the sale could be complete.

The special servicer on the $110 million loan that was reported in default two years ago "is working with the receiver [mall operator Madison Marquette] on the sale of the asset. The property was marketed for sale and a buyer has been identified and a closing is expected by 1st Quarter 2017 pending court approval of the sales contract," stated the report's special servicer commentary section, updated this month.

"Alternatively, a foreclosure is being dual tracked in the event that the sale does not occur," says the report, which is compiled monthly by Trepp, a company that maintains a database of securitized mortgages for the commercial real estate and banking industries.

The collateral for the loan is a 493,000-square-foot portion of the more than 1 million-square-foot indoor shopping center at 3500 Oleander Drive. Foreclosure proceedings began after Centro Independence LLC, owner of that part of the mall property, defaulted on the J.P. Morgan loan in 2014. The special servicer is CWCapital Asset Management, and the master servicer is Wells Fargo, according to the latest Trepp report.

A foreclosure sale date in August, the ninth new date since proceedings started, was expected to be rescheduled to October, though that had not happened as of Friday.

Madison Marquette officials declined to comment Friday on a potential buyer.

According to the Trepp report, the workout strategy for the loan is listed as a DPO, or discounted payoff. 

JC Penney, the only mall anchor in the property owned by Centro Independence, has renewed its lease through August 2021.

As of Sept. 1, the overall mall occupancy was 92 percent while the occupancy rate in the loan collateral portion was 83 percent, including 11 percent temporary tenants, the Trepp report said.

Commercial real estate brokers say the mall is prime property. 

"We're not surprised to see a buyer step up to acquire Independence Mall," said Hansen Matthews, partner in Wilmington-based commercial real estate firm Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., who is not involved in the mall sale. "Even though the nature of retailing has gradually moved away from malls to power centers, outlet centers and online retailers, this particular mall offers an excellent geographic position in the center of the county.  Whether the buyer is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or simply another large investment group, it is probably a company who thrives on turnaround situations and assets in which they believe they can add value after the purchase."

Some brokers have also said the property could better serve the area with a greater mix of uses.