Atlanta, GA – The Town Center at Cobb, a metro Atlanta mall, resumed operations Wednesday after a temporary shutdown due to outstanding electricity bills. Shane Starr, a local business owner within the mall, expressed his frustrations and announced intentions to pursue legal action against the mall’s management over the unresolved financial practices.
Starr, the proprietor of Starrcade in the mall, has engaged legal counsel to explore possible action against Kohan Retail Investment Group, the New York-based entity that owns the property. Starr is also looking to consolidate support from other affected business owners to initiate a class-action lawsuit, alleging mismanagement of their utility payments.
“We’ve been diligently paying for utilities as part of our lease obligations for over a year, only to learn that the management has failed to uphold their part in settling the bills,” Starr explained. This failure prompted a major service interruption, sparking outrage among tenants.
Kohan Retail Investment Group is no stranger to such controversies. Reports confirm that the group has faced similar utility-related interruptions across its properties in multiple states including Kansas, Ohio, and Iowa. For instance, Kohan-owned Towne West Square in Kansas experienced seven electricity disconnections within a twelve-month period due to nonpayment.
Additionally, in Ohio, a property known as Chapel Hill Mall received multiple warnings regarding potential service shutoffs prior to its eventual closure, underscoring a troubling pattern of financial negligence by the management group.
Financial strain extends further to tax obligations, with the Cobb County Tax Commissioner’s Office citing three tax liens against the property for 2024, totaling more than $1,000,000 in delinquent taxes due last October. Despite repeated communications from the tax office, the outstanding taxes remain unpaid, prompting potential tax sale proceedings if unresolved by May.
Business owners and patrons alike lament the administrative shortcomings. “It’s disheartening, this scenario undermines our businesses and the mall’s reputation,” Starr added, emphasizing his hope for the mall’s recovery and future prosperity.
The community reflects this concern. Customers like Ezra Morrison express a combination of disappointment and dedication to supporting local businesses impacted by these administrative failures. “We care deeply about this mall and are dismayed at how management’s disregard could affect all of us,” Morrison said.
In response to the incident, anchor stores such as Belk, Macy’s, and JCPenney, which maintain independent utility accounts and external access, remained operational, shielding them from the shutdown’s immediate impact.
This development follows an initial misunderstanding reported by management citing a “maintenance issue” that would be resolved within hours, an explanation later contradicted by details of delinquent utility bills disclosed by Georgia Power. The power company stated that disconnection was a reluctant but necessary last resort after months of unsuccessful negotiations over unpaid bills.
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