Woodville Mall deal on horizon

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Sale hinges on addition of new roof to 1969 building




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Woodville Mall in Northview may have a new owner soon

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The Woodville Mall could be purchased by a New Jersey property-management group.
THE BLADE


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The Woodville Mall in Northwood, which was listed for sale in late June, soon may have a buyer.

Owner Mike Kohan, a real-estate investor from Little Neck, N.Y., said Friday he has a tentative purchase offer for the 778,000-square-foot mall from a New Jersey property-management group.

However, the sale to Royale Property Management of Lakewood, N.J., is contingent on the addition of a new roof to the 42-year-old mall, which was constructed in 1969 and purchased in 2009 by Mr. Kohan for $700,000.

“We are doing the roof either way, but yes, it was a concession for them to buy the property,” Mr. Kohan said. He said there is no timetable for the deal to be concluded but added, “We are trying our best to facilitate the deal quickly.”

Contacted in New Jersey, David Pinter, leasing manager for Royale Property, said he had no knowledge of a deal to acquire the mall.

A listing to sell the mall was posted on LoopNet, a commercial real estate database, in June. At that time the mall’s asking price was listed at $3 million and a description said the structure at 3725 Williston Rd., “needs a new roof, as well as a HV/AC repair job.”

According to a the listing, 40 percent of the mall’s retail space was vacant or being rented on a month-to-month basis.

The Woodville Mall originally was developed by the DeBartolo Corp. of Youngstown and was the first enclosed “super-regional” mall in metro Toledo. For years it was owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis.

It was sold in 2004 to two California investors, Jack Kashani and Sammy Kahen, for $2.5 million. The pair had said they planned to reinvest and modernize the mall but their plans never came to fruition. In 2007, Mr. Kohan bought the shopping center.

He has tried, among other efforts, to lease space for as low as $1 or $2 a square foot to revive the mall. Over a dozen new locally based tenants have set up shop in the mall since Jan. 1.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.


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