Sold: Findlay Village Mall

Findlay Village Mall was purchased for $4 million Tuesday by a company that converts aging malls into multipurpose hubs of commerce, entertainment and restaurants. Kohan Retail Investment Group, of Great Neck, New York, bought the 520,000-square-foot mall from J.J. Gumberg, of Pittsburgh. Gumberg had managed the mall since 1985. The company expanded and remodeled the property in 1990 — for $25 million — and the mall prospered as a social center and regional shopping center through the 1990s and into the 2000s. Then consumer shopping tastes and retailer strategies changed and the online shopping juggernaut stole much of the retail market share from Findlay Village Mall. The mall's slate of tenants dwindled. Kohan Retail, which owns about 40 malls from Texas to New York, typically converts the facilities to multipurpose centers, said Mike Kohan, chief executive officer of Kohan Retail Investment Group. It could lease space to marketing companies for call centers. A call center could employ hundreds of people. Those call center employees would need a place to eat, so a food court could have a ready revenue stream. Those same workers also would likely shop at nearby mall stores on their breaks, Kohan said. "That really adds a lot of traffic," he said. Entertainment venues, like laser tag for children, also would likely be brought to the mall. "We definitely are looking for entertainment, because that could increase the foot traffic," Kohan said. In the coming weeks, the company will be assessing the mall's maintenance and other needs. "It's going to take probably a few weeks," he said. "We're glad to be part of the community."