The fire sale at Saks Global is turning into a feeding frenzy, and Bala Cynwyd is right in the middle of it. Burlington Stores and Ross Dress for Less are among the retailers lining up with roughly $36.3 million in bids to grab about half of 59 Saks Off 5th leases put on the market after Saks Global filed for Chapter 11. At the same time, court filings show a buyer has stepped up with an $8.4 million offer for the 90,000‑square‑foot Saks Fifth Avenue lease at 2 Bala Plaza in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Bidders and the numbers
On the discount side of the story, Burlington has reportedly put $22 million on the table for 22 leases, while Ross has offered roughly $4 million for four. Smaller bids have come in from Books‑A‑Million and Cavender’s. All told, prospective buyers have floated about $36.3 million for around half of the leases available, and A&G says there were multiple offers on 31 locations.
The Saks Global debtors have asked the bankruptcy court to bless the lease sales. Filings indicate the Bala Cynwyd lease at 2 Bala Plaza drew an $8.4 million offer from a buyer identified as AD Tenant Holdings, according to CoStar.
A&G’s marketing push
A&G Real Estate Partners has been quietly working the phones and inboxes. The firm circulated a flyer for the lease package to roughly 1,900 potential purchasers and is marketing 54 Saks Off 5th and five Last Call leases across 19 states. The block totals roughly 1.7 million square feet and averages about 28,000 square feet per store.
A&G Co‑President Emilio Amendola said the larger‑format boxes should appeal to footwear, sporting‑goods and off‑price fashion chains, and that formal bid deadlines and an auction date will follow once the bankruptcy court signs off. The firm is pitching the whole thing as a rare expansion shot for chains hunting big‑box suburban and outlet locations, per A&G Real Estate Partners.
Why off‑price retailers are moving fast
Off‑price operators such as Burlington, Ross and T.J. Maxx have been in growth mode by scooping up space from chains that are bankrupt or pulling back, using large, well‑located boxes to scale quickly. Saks Global’s January Chapter 11 filing, tied in part to heavy debt from its Neiman Marcus deal, triggered the sale of dozens of leases and drew interest from both retailers and landlords, as reported by Axios.
What’s next
None of the deals are done yet. The bids still have to run the gauntlet of bankruptcy‑sale mechanics: judges can invite overbids, landlords can object, and the schedule hinges on court hearings and any competing offers.
A&G says it will set firm bid deadlines and an auction date after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approves the sales. From there, each store’s fate will come down to the court process and whatever follow‑on deals retailers or landlords strike. The outcome will determine which suburban anchors get reborn as discount, sporting‑goods or other formats, and which locations end up back in landlords’ hands for a fresh round of tenant hunting, per A&G Real Estate Partners.
