Official: Shenango mall to be sold

By Don Shilling

A Chicago company has been appointed to oversee mall operations.

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Shenango Valley Mall will be sold when credit markets improve, said an official who is overseeing mall operations.

The future of mall ownership has been up in the air since the former owner, Lightstone Group of New Jersey, defaulted on loans late last year.

The lenders placed the mall into receivership, which includes turning over operations to a third party appointed by a judge.

Jones Lang LaSalle, a Chicago-based management company, was named receiver of the property earlier this month by Judge Christopher St. John of Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

The lenders opted for a receiver to control the mall rather than foreclose on the loans and take over operations themselves, said Greg Maloney, president and chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Retail.

The banks that lent money to Lightstone are not interested in operating a mall, so the property will be sold at some point, Maloney said. It’s his company’s job to determine the best time to begin the sale process.

He said it will be the second quarter of the year at least until potential buyers can access enough credit for a purchase.

In the meantime, Jones Lang LaSalle is gauging the consolidation of the retail industry, he said. It should be clear in the next week or two which retailers are going to make it after suffering through a weak Christmas shopping season, he said.

Maloney said mall operations still are being reviewed and he couldn’t comment on why the former operator ran into financial trouble.

Anchor tenants include Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy’s.

As the reviews continue, mall operations are continuing normally, he said. The local management team has been retained and placed on the payroll of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Maloney said his company will report to the court any improvements that it feels are necessary to increase the value of the mall.

shilling@vindy.com