20 January 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — As of this writing, if you visit the website for Towne West Square in West Wichita, you receive the message below:
It’s the latest in a series of issues for the mall that began in June of last year when Evergy warned businesses at the mall that power would be turned off because the bill had not been paid since Nov. of 2022. The bill was paid several days later.
However, in September, power was shut off at the mall for nonpayment, and it was several days until payment was made and power restored. Then, in November, the power was turned off again for nonpayment. The larger stores at the mall have separate Evergy accounts that have remained in good standing, and their service has been active during this time.
Then, just last month, water service at three stores at Towne West Square was turned off because the mall was delinquent on its water bill. Payment has since been made, and service has been restored.
In addition to getting behind on utility bills, Kohan Retail Investment Group, the company that owns the mall and 44 other malls across the country, is also behind on its taxes. As shown in the screenshot below from the county’s website, as of 4:10 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2024, the company hasn’t paid its 2021, 2022, and 2023 tax bills and currently owes the county $563,689.86.
As of this week, the Towne West Mall website is now offline. It’s not the only one, though.
Of the 45 malls Kohan Retail Investment Group lists on its website, 14 are offline as of this writing:
Ashtabula Town Square Mall, in Ashtabula, Ohio; Findlay Mall in Findlay, Ohio; Greenwood Mall in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Holiday Village Mall in Havre, Montana; Jasper Mall in Jasper, Alabama; Holiday Village Mall in Havre, Montana; Livingston Mall in Livingston, New Jersey; Marshalltown Mall in Marshalltown, Iowa; Pierre Bossier Mall in Bossier City, Lousiana; Temple Mall in Temple Texas; Valle Vista Mall in Harlingen, Texas; Vicksburg Mall in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Westwood Mall in Marquette, Michigan.
Each has a similar message to call a local number with any questions.
KSN News reached out to Towne West Square by telephone asking if they or Kohan Retail Investment Group had a formal statement in regards to the offline website. The person who answered said that they “do not have a statement at this time.”
Calls to Kohan’s offices in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, went to voicemail. Every mailbox on their phone system went to voicemail, though a message was left with the owner, Mike Kohan, that hasn’t been returned as of this writing.
KSN contacted the company listed as the designer at the bottom of the website when viewed through the “Wayback Machine” archive of the website, called PMI Pros. When asked about the down websites, the person who answered the phone for PMI Pros said that the websites were now being handled by a company called Placewise, which does list Kohan as a client.
We reached out to the Placewise U.S. representative in Denver by email and are waiting to hear back from the company. It’s not yet known why the 14 websites have been deactivated.
A quick internet search for news articles related to Kohan Retail Investment Group shows multiple articles about issues at malls across the country, similar to those at Towne West Square, including some from our sister stations like WIVB in Buffalo, NY.
Financial troubles for malls are nothing new. The rise of online companies like Amazon, the collapse of once-retail giants like Sears and K-Mart, and the COVID-19 pandemic all put a dent in in-person shopping at malls. In March of last year, Foot Locker announced it would be closing 400 stores in malls across the U.S.
However, The picture isn’t completely bleak. Retail sales were up in 2023, and despite inflation, sales were up during the 2023 holiday shopping season. Last fall, Sears returned to the retail space, opening a store in the Los Angeles area.