Orchards Mall Pays Tax Bill Welcomes New Antiques Dealer

In another eleventh hour move, the owner of the Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor has once again paid just enough of his delinquent tax bill to avoid the axe of foreclosure. Mike Kohan dispatched representatives of the 39 year old Benton Township mall to the Berrien County Treasurer’s office in St. Joseph shortly before 11am today to settle his tax debt from 2015 in the amount of $275,000. That is enough to get the shopping center off the foreclosure list for another year, but he still owes tax bills for 2016 and 2017 according to Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski.

Cornerstone Alliance President Rob Cleveland had been working on a contingency plan for the future of the mall. I reached out to him for his reaction to the ongoing situation at the mall. He says, “Over the course of the last month, Cornerstone Alliance, Benton Charter Township, Berrien County Community Development and the Berrien County Treasurer have been collaborating on a plan in the event of the Orchards Mall foreclosure. There was a plan in place, just as there will be a plan in place when we return to this situation one year from now.” He voiced his concern over the state of the mall, “We are as disappointed as everyone else with the fact that the mall owner has chosen to continue to neglect our community. Cornerstone Alliance has met with the mall owner personally and expressed our disgust with the way he has operated the mall.”

Cleveland says the work of Cornerstone Alliance is to serve the Berrien County business community, including all of the businesses in and around the Orchards Mall. He says, “The businesses in Orchards Mall employ a large number of Berrien County residents and they provide a much needed exchange of goods and services. The Orchards Mall area will play a vital role in the future of our community and Cornerstone Alliance will pursue redevelopment opportunities by partnering with local government entities, planning agencies and other partner organizations, as we all strive for the highest and best use of the property.”

The payment today of $275,000 still leaves a tax bill of more than $325,000 according to records in the Treasurer’s office. The more than 625,000 square foot center has been in arrears on property taxes ever since Kohan’s Retail Investment Group out of Great Neck, New York purchased it nearly four years ago. The mall was built 39 years ago in 1979.

For new store owner Jeffery Hill, that’s great news, because he’s looking forward to a whole host of upcoming events under development by the recently hired General Manager Edward Moore of Hartford.

Hill points to the following events on the docket, with even more being planned, which he looks forward to generating traffic for his new Orchards Antiques & Such:

  • April 14th — Craft Show
  • May 11th & 12th — Vintage Market
  • May 13th — Mothers Day Brunch
  • June 16th — Pet Expo
  • June 17th — Fathers Day Brunch
  • June 16th thru 24th — Youth Explosion
  • June 25th — Barnes & Bros. Circus
  • July 12th to September 13th — Farmers Markets
  • August 3rd & 4th — Vintage Market
  • September 14th & 15th — Flea Market/Craft Fair
  • October 26th — Fall Mall Bash
  • November 2nd & 3rd — Vintage Market

Edward Moore had been the Marketing Manager of the Mall since September and was promoted to General Manager early last month. He’s hoping to expand the list of events as he works to attract people to the mall.

Hill opened his new Orchards Antiques & Such between Zales Jewelers & The Bath & Body Works store at the Mall early last month. His shop is a full service antique dealer at the Mall, offering everything from vintage and classic furniture pieces to collectible record albums, sports cards & memorabilia, glassware, jewelry, musical instruments, household items and beyond. Hill buys and sells many of the items in his shop and is always searching for new items to add to his inventory.

Honest Hustle, a new and used appliance shop also opened several weeks ago just outside of the entrance to J.C. Penney in mall.

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