In 2002, Whichard sold his stake in Regency Mall, which included everything but the Montgomery Ward building, to Cardinal Entities of Mattituck, New York for $3.5 million. Ownership of the Montgomery Ward building changed that year, as well, passing to Charleston, South Carolina-based Commercial Property Holdings. Cardinal had hoped to revitalize the mall by offering a lease-purchase package to Augusta-Richmond County for office space, and by attracting new tenants to the mall. Cardinal had plans as well to revitalize the mall's food court. However, these plans were shelved after the local government decided against moving offices to the mall, and in early 2003 Cardinale ended its immediate efforts to market the mall, choosing instead to keep the shopping center closed indefinitely.
