HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The Myrtle Beach Mall, which is located at the intersection of US 17 and SC 22 in Horry County, is facing foreclosure and failed to pay back a $12.5 million loan to Westridge Lending, according to court documents.

In a foreclosure lawsuit filed March 8, Westridge Lending said the Myrtle Beach Mall breached provisions in the loan documents and also accuses the property of failing to pay property tax to the county and failing to maintain insurance, according to the documents.

The property is accused of failing to pay back a $12.5 million loan and owes more than $6.3 million as of March 8, according to the documents.

Online tax records show Myrtle Beach Mall owes a total of $241,713.54 in property tax for 2021 to Horry County, which includes $28,325.06 in fees and a penalty of $31,527.85. As of Tuesday, online records show the taxes are unpaid. Online records also show several other properties owned by Myrtle Beach Mall LLC were also unpaid.

A lawsuit filed against the property in July 2021 claims the Myrtle Beach Mall owners took out a non-refundable “deductible buyback” policy in the event of hurricane damage, which the insurance company accuses the property of failing to pay. The cost of the policy was $92,663, according to online court documents.

“Defendants were forwarded a complete copy of the Policy they had purchased, but neglected to pay what they owed, thus unjustly denying and refusing to honor their promises,” the lawsuit reads.

In January, a judge ordered Myrtle Beach Mall to pay $104,272.73 to the insurance company, according to documents.

📲 Download the News13 app to stay updated on the go.
📧 Sign up for WBTW email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.
💻 Find today’s top stories on WBTW.com for the Grand Strand and Pee Dee.

One tenant sees foreclosure as an opportunity for more positive change.

“I see that it’s coming back,” said Manuela Torres, a sales associate at Fun Wear Sports.

“If they can get more stores in here as quickly as they got them in here in the last year, I think the mall would be able to come back and a lot of people come in here and they go ‘What happened?’ And it was a favorite mall for so many people and they don’t understand why it sank so low,” she said.

A representative for Myrtle Beach Mall could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. An email sent to a person listed on the mall’s website as its Senior General Manager returned an “undeliverable” message.

A second attempt was sent to an email provided by the Senior General Manager and we are awaiting a response.