Jul 18, 2024 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

Washington Crown Center is for sale, and supervisors in North Franklin Township are pleased about the news.

“I’m glad,” Bob Sabot, board chairman, said Tuesday. “The supervisors are hoping it does sell. We have an owner who we are just not happy with at all.”

Kohan Retail Investment Group, based in Great Neck, N.Y., purchased the shopping mall at 1500 W. Chestnut St. for $20 million in 2016.

According to a listing on the commercial real estate website Crexi, Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) of Pittsburgh is facilitating the sale. The listing agents are Eric Greenfield and Robert Gold, neither of whom could be reached for comment.

No asking price is listed on the website, but it notes that the mall is at 43.7% occupancy and lists 25 tenants.

The sale does not affect Crown Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, as the dealership owns its building.

Washington Crown Center, Washington County’s only enclosed shopping center, has 434,408 square feet of big box and in-line space. It opened as Franklin Mall in 1969 with Troutman’s, Sears and Grant City (which became Hills in 1976) as its anchors.

In 1999, it was renamed Washington Crown Center and underwent a renovation. Changes included the addition of a movie theater on the site of the former Hess’s, which closed four years prior, the conversion of Hills to Ames and the addition of Kaufmann’s as a fourth anchor.

Sabot said the township is preparing to take the ownership group to court in an attempt to recoup $15,000 in damages due to a water main break that occurred in April and forced the mall to be closed for three days.

“He refuses to pay us,” Sabot said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. He’s collecting a lot of rent from a lot of tenants down there. He’s not doing his part as an owner. As far as the township supervisors are concerned, he can’t sell soon enough.”

At the time, Michael Kohan, owner of the investment group, said he could be convinced to sell the property.

“If I have a good offer from a buyer, of course. If the township has any prospective buyers, I’d be more than glad to do that,” Kohan told the Observer-Reporter then.

When contacted Wednesday, Kohan said he was on another call and could not speak. A second message was not returned.

Sabot believes in the potential of Washington Crown Center.

“It’s right in the middle of our township and we’re dealing with this situation,” he said. “We’ve got some good tenants down there. We’re hoping it sells. I think he’s trying to move it, and I hope he’s successful in doing that. That mall could flourish if it had the right owner. We’re hopeful.”