Officials in say the county has started foreclosure proceedings against the owners of Chapel Hill Mall for delinquent taxes and unpaid sewer bills.
The county is preparing to issue a bill in February for the current and past due taxes, said Chief Deputy Fiscal Officer Mike Migden.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 going to be billed, and due and owing, will be $403,418.23,鈥� Migden said. 鈥淭hat includes prior year delinquency from second half 2018 taxes plus first half 2019 taxes and assessments.鈥�
In the meantime, the county has been trying to reach someone representing Chapel Hill Mall, which is owned by the Kohan Retail Investment Group, to discuss the foreclosure, said Fiscal Office Chief of Staff Jack LaMonica.
鈥淭he ball鈥檚 in his court,鈥� LaMonica said. 鈥淚n a perfect world, Chapel Hill Mall Realty Holdings would send us a check for $430,418.23 then all parties are satisfied. That would be our ultimate goal. We鈥檙e not in the business of closing down malls or having to relocate shop owners.鈥�
Michael Kohan of the Kohan Retail Investment Group did not respond to a request for comment.
from Arizona to Pennsylvania the New York-based investment group purchased in the past few years.
An online search of the investment group turns up news stories detailing tax delinquencies and legal disputes.
In Akron last week, a $100,000 payment was made to the city of Akron on , about an hour before the mall鈥檚 service was scheduled to be turned off.
The reported the investment group spent more than $46 million on distressed malls in 2018, all while owing taxes of at least $177,324 on .
