Michigan Mall's Owner Refused To Pay Bill; Power Cut for Six Days

Malls across the country are struggling as a whole, but many do continue to have SOME success. The good ones can often be contributed to good location, and that they are well managed and owned.

But then there are the poorly managed and owned malls that are slowly being led to disarray and to rot. One mall in Michigan is in such bad shape, it had its power cut recently because its owners refused to pay the bill. And they aren't the only ones.

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Westwood Mall in Marquette recently finished a six-day stint at the end of March with no power to supply to stores and the commons area inside. The owners refused to pay their electric bill.

Sadly, it's due to a company called Kohan Retail Investment Group, out of New York, which bought part of the mall in February of 2019. They did so to try and pump some capital into the building, and revitalize it. Unfortunately, it's had the opposite effect.

The mall ended up going without power between March 26th and April 1st, when the bill was finally paid, and the lights came back on. During that time, doors were locked so nobody could get in, not even the workers who were schedule, ultimately taking their jobs away, even if only for a few days.

Kohan Retail's Bigger Problem

While things seem to be OK for now in Marquette, and stores are back open for now, Kohan Retail still has a troubling history for just this type of thing at most of their other mall properties.

The Marshalltown Mall in Des Moines, Iowa had its power cut in November. Towne West Mall in Wichita, Kansas also went a week without power recently, and it was the fifth time in seven months the power had been cut after Kohan Retail refused to pay the bill.

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Kohan Retail also owns a property in Jackson, Mississippi that had to be torn down because they had neglected it so much.

So maybe, just maybe, it's time to consider new ownership of the Mall in Marquette, and for Kohan Retail to get out of the game.

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