The Bulfinch Cos. has purchased the Atrium Mall, the Chestnut Hill retail center where store owners have closed up shop left and right since the mall’s doors opened.

Although the company did not disclose a purchase price, sources told Banker & Tradesman it sold for $46 million.

It has been reported that Bulfinch could convert the mall in Chestnut Hill into medical office space because the 205,000-square-foot property is near the Longwood Medical Area (LMA). Yet the mall is nearly 4.5 miles from the LMA, and industry sources have told Banker & Tradesman the types of companies that populate the research, academic and institutional organizations there would likely not want to be so far afield from Boston’s medical hub.

Simon Property Group acquired a 49.1 percent stake in the Atrium Mall in 1999, when the company bought the mall in a $1.725 billion purchase of 14 shopping centers from Newton’s New England Development.

"Atrium Center is a prominent building with tremendous signage opportunity and is incredibly accessible to the Longwood Medical Area, as well as Route 128," said Eric Schlager, CEO of Bulfinch, in a statement. "The redeveloped property will provide potential tenants with unprecedented amenities and great access to the nearby suburbs. We see this project as a unique fusion of urban amenities with suburban convenience, including an unparalleled parking ratio and we look forward to integrating the new Atrium Center into the community."