Leigh Mall hitting the auction block

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Leigh Mall is scheduled to be auctioned off during the peak of the holiday season.

Shoppers said the Leigh Mall has seen better days.

“They can do better. It’s like they doing it one by one, Reeds done closed down. So I have to travel to Tupelo to get my jewelery cleaned,” shopper Niesha Rush said.

Just walking in, Rush had to pass five stores that closed.

“To me it’s really like a flea market, just be honest,” Rush said.

Shopper Jennifer Bell feels pretty much the same way.

“It’s on it’s way to being out of business, yeah it’s not many options,” Bell said.

They both said they weren’t surprised by the public notice of an auction, part of a foreclosure process.

The mall manager said she was told not to comment, and directed us to her boss, Steven Williams.

Williams didn’t answer the phone or return our calls.

But employees, like Mariah Bankhead, who count on business from the mall to feed their families, are talking. Bankhead said it’s not just about the money.

“We already don’t have any store, stores,so just by this shutting down, ugh. just devastating,” Bankhead said.

Bankhead said losing Leigh Mall and it’s customers would be like saying goodbye to family.

“We even got customers who know our cooks, so they already be coming in and talking to the cooks, so they already know what’s going on,” Bankhead said.

Rush said it seems so many have gotten used to walking past all the shuttered shops, not realizing what that means. But cautiously optimistic, she said a new buyer could see potential and revitalize the property.

“They could make it more noticeable, so people will want to come and shop,” Rush said.

The public notice states that Leigh Mall, along with other Security National Properties will be auctioned on December fourth, in New York.