The Southern Park Mall has been sold to a new owner.

According to the Mahoning County Auditor's website, the mall was sold to a company known as Southern Park Mall Realty Holdings LLC for $24,100,000 on Monday, December 23.

A filing on the Ohio Secretary of State's website reveals the LLC was incorporated by Kohan Retail Investment Group, which is based out of Great Neck, New York, on September 6, 2024.

This development comes after reports of a potential deal in the works for new owners of the mall.

Back in November, 21 News reported on Kohan's troubled financial history, with the company falling behind on property taxes and other bills. This has led to uncertainty about the future of the mall.

However, Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree expressed optimism for the future of the mall despite this reputation.

"Hopefully, we'll see the mall utilized well in the future," Loree said. "Some malls do great [under Kohan Retail Investment Group], and some malls do not do well. We're hoping with the strength of our mall and our anchors and the stores inside, that we will have a pretty strong relationship going forward."

The mall's previous owners, Washington Prime Group, were looking to pull out of the mall management business. Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree told 21 News that the sale did not change the mall's management or immediately affect any tenants.

"We want to reach out to the new owners to see if we can get a meeting to introduce ourselves," Loree said. "The mall is one of the big focal points in the community. We have a couple of different plazas that also take some attention, so it's something that we would like to do to have a good relationship."

Outward-facing facilities like Steel Valley Brew Works and Double Bogey's have 10-year leases that make them essentially untouchable if the mall were to go under.

"Those can still remain in operation if certain places or sections of the mall close down for redevelopment or just permanent closure," Loree added. "Regardless of the inside of the mall, those locations will still do fine."

Other local leaders have expressed concerns regarding the sale like Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti, who previously told 21 News she was "not happy" with what she had heard about the company's troubled financial history.

21 News reached out to Kohan Retail Investment Group and has not heard back.

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