The Westgate Mall in Brockton has sold for $31.75 million to Newton-based owner and developer New England Development.

New England Development sold the 532,135-square-foot enclosed regional shopping mall to Gregory Greenfield & Assoc. in 2004, for $58.5 million. Three years later, Gregory Greenfield was swallowed up by Australian financiers Babcock & Brown, a firm that subsequently went bankrupt.

Last month, Banker & Tradesman reported that Dawn Neher, New England Development’s chief financial officer, said the firm took over the property because it could bring cash and a bank loan to the table, and because it could close on the deal quickly.

"We won not just because of the price, but also because of the sponsorship," Neher said. "The special servicer had a couple of bids, but it went back to sponsorship, and knowing we could close. We know the asset. We sold it once."

"We are excited to be back involved with Westgate Mall and the city of Brockton," said Doug Karp, executive vice president with New England Development. "We believe in this location for retail and are currently working on several ideas to enhance the center."

The CBRE team of Bill Moylan, Chris Angelone and Josh Klimkiewicz represented the seller and procured New England Development.

"Given New England Development’s historic knowledge of the property and market, we were very comfortable with their ability to execute," said Moylan. "This is an opportunistic asset in difficult economic times and New England Development performed as planned."