Year-Old Town Center At Cobb Mall Owner Narrowly Avoids Foreclosure
The owner of a prominent Kennesaw mall has avoided foreclosure after paying off the loan in the 11th hour.
New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group refinanced a $42M loan granted by PSOF LO Kennesaw, an LLC tied to Augusta-based Hull Property Group. Kohan founder and CEO Mike Kohan told Bisnow that he paid off the loan on Aug. 9, the same day Hull posted the foreclosure notice in the Marietta Daily Journal.
When informed by a Bisnow reporter about the foreclosure filing, Kohan said, “It was paid on Friday. When was it advertised? Oh my God. It was paid.”
Hull Barrett Attorneys partner R.E. Hanna, who represents Hull Property, confirmed that Kohan satisfied its loan as of Friday and that foreclosure proceedings were being canceled.
Kohan and Hanna declined to offer details on how the loan was paid off or whether Hull remained the lender. The $42M loan was set to mature on Jan. 31, according to Cobb County property records.
Kohan told Bisnow that Hull put the firm in "technical default" on the loan, and it was not for missed payments. Kohan said Hull wanted to take ownership of the mall itself since they are in the same line of business. He said Hull acquired the entire interest of the loan two months ago.
"Read between the lines. Competition buys the loan. For what reason?" he said.
Calls to Hull and Hanna regarding Kohan's statements were not returned as of press time.
Cobb County appraised the value of the 1.3M SF mall at more than $70M this year. Both mall anchors, JCPenney and Macy’s, own parts of the mall real estate. Kohan owns the remaining 560K SF.
Kohan, a prolific Northeast mall investor, purchased Town Center in January 2023 after Deutsche Bank foreclosed on the original $166.7M loan from Simon Property Group in 2021, the Atlanta Business Chronicle previously reported. The bank took a $96.5M loan loss.
Kohan is no stranger to trouble with his mall portfolio. The firm owns more than 40 malls across the U.S. and has faced criticism of its ownership of various properties in recent years because it has let them languish or failed to pay local taxes and other bills.
Under Kohan’s ownership, Savannah Mall fell into disrepair before the firm sold the property in 2022. The Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, township sued Kohan for unpaid property taxes and sewer and stormwater bills. And last month, the city of Marshalltown, Iowa, ordered Kohan to repair code violations or be found in contempt of court over his Marshalltown mall, which has been without power for months.
"I'm going to make the [Town Center at Cobb] mall better than it was by bringing in more tenants and bringing in development and make it the best mall in Kennesaw," Kohan told Bisnow Tuesday.
