HADLEY — Hampshire Mall, a major commercial property on Route 9 since its opening in 1978, was sold at a foreclosure auction Thursday for $7 million.

The buyer was Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas and Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc., which holds the mortgage on the property. The bank foreclosed on the mall after owner The Pyramid Companies defaulted on its mortgage. Pyramid, of Syracuse, New York, also owns the Holyoke Mall and several other malls in New York.

Attorney Steven Weiss of the Springfield firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin bid on behalf of the bank. He declined comment on any plans the buyer might have for the mall.

The selling price was dramatically less than the mall’s current assessed value of $19.2 million, which in turn is about half of the $37.55 million assessment it had in fiscal year 2010. Because malls are sold infrequently, the assessment is based on other factors, including occupancy rates and rents charged to tenants.

With the auction held outside the mall building near JC Penney and some in the audience of 25 seeking out the limited shady spots in the parking lot, auctioneer Corey Fisher, of Aaron Posnik & Co., fulfilled the arduous task of reading through the entire legal notice of foreclosure, a 10-minute marathon that earned him a round of applause.

Terms of sale on the 435,000-square-foot property on 46.52 acres, were $100,000 deposit, then 10% of the purchase price within five days. The balance, plus a 5% commission to the auctioneer, would be due within 30 days.

Before opening the bidding, Fisher noted that while the taxes on the property were current, infrastructure, sewer and water fees totaling $9,279.90 were owed.

The bidding was opened at $7 million. Hearing no response, Fisher dropped the bid to $6 million. When that generated no takers, he accepted a bid of $2 million, while telling the bidder, “That won’t make it.”

A handful of bidders then bid the price back up to $7 million, where it stayed. Personal property, mainly furniture and fixtures, went to the bank also for $25,000.

Shardool Parmar, whose Pioneer Valley Hotel Group owns three hotels in Hadley and is building another, was one of the interested bidders. He said the mall was “a great piece of real estate,” though he added that smaller malls are hard to operate and to sell.

He suggested that the bank might be interested in negotiating a sale with individual prospective buyers.

The mall property consists of most of the businesses that are part of the complex, except Target, which bought its store and the land on which it sits from Pyramid in 2003.

Anchor stores include JC Penney, Dick’s Sporting Goods and PetSmart, as well as Jo-Ann Fabrics. Cinemark, the movie theater, has been rebuilt and expanded over time as well.

Many of the mall’s tenants are entertainment- and lifestyle-based, including Planet Fitness, Interskate 91, FunHub Action Park, Pinz, All in Adventures escape room, LaserBlast and Elite Tae Kwon Do. A few restaurants continue in Cafe Square, such as Cheesy Street Grille, Latino’s Cuisine, Arizona Pizza and Tutti Frutti, with just a handful of interior shops, like Valley Artisans, X9 Games and Memorable Jewelry.

Messages seeking comment were left Thursday for mall management and Pyramid Companies.

James Pentland can be reached at jpentland@gazettenet.com.