Bulfinch Purchases Newton's Atrium Mall, Will Convert Property into Medical Offices

After speculation surfaced last month that , a Needham-based firm has purchased the property with plans to convert it into medical offices. 

According to a report in the Boston Business Journal, the mall has been sold to an affiliate of Bulfinch Cos. Although a price was not disclosed, Bulfinch recently made a $46 million payment to the mall's owners, Simon Property Group, BBJ reported. 

Check out more details in the full BBJ report.

Bulfinch CEO Eric Schlager told BBJ that the firm plans to renovate the facility and use it as an office and medical center campus. The 300,000-square-foot property will be renamed the Atrium Center at Chestnut Hill. 

Construction at the site is set to begin this year and will be completed in 2013, the report said. 

According to a report in the Boston Herald, the new campus will have a new façade as well as retail shops in the ground floor. 

The , which opened in 1989, has recently dropped to roughly 20 percent capacity, with ten retail stores left in the mall and just two restaurants. Last month,  

Since January, a slew of stores have exited the property . Some stores, including Ross-Simons, have left the Atrium for another Simon-owned property across the street, the . 

While the Atrium has continued to suffer, nearby retail properties are working on building out; construction at the  is ongoing and developers at the Chestnut Hill Shopping center , which will house a theatre and new fitness center.