The long-vacant Rolling Acres Mall is once again on the schedule for a sheriff’s sale — for the fifth time.
The inside of the mall has been closed since 2008 and in 2014, Summit County foreclosed on the current owners, who owe more than $1.2 million in back taxes.
In December, Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise and the owners of the mall, Premier Ventures LLC, reached an agreement that she would not put the former mall on the February sheriff’s sale in exchange for the mall owners agreeing not to file bankruptcy in any state for six months or until Aug. 1.
The legal proceedings have been a game of Whack-A-Mole, with Premier filing a last-minute bankruptcy in a different state each of the four times the former mall on Romig Road in Akron was scheduled for sheriff’s sale in the last two years.
Scalise gave the owners six months to find a viable buyer, but also told them that she would file by this month to place the mall on the June 7 sheriff’s sale if no sale has occurred. In December, Scalise said she intended to file for the June sheriff’s sale, even if there was a pending sale.
The county has not heard from representatives of the mall since December, so it knows of no pending sales. There have been several inquiries to the county about the mall, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Regina VanVorous said.
VanVorous said the county has provided information regarding the sheriff’s sale, but “we can’t tell how serious the inquiries are at this point.”
John Kia, Premier principle, hung up on a reporter Thursday and a message was left with an attorney for the mall.
VanVorous filed the paperwork for the sheriff’s sale Thursday morning.
The property will be offered for sale June 7 and then again on June 21 if there are no bidders.
Scalise has said the county intends to give the property to the city of Akron if it remains unsold after two unsuccessful sheriff’s sales in June and reverts to county ownership. If there are no bids at the sheriff’s sale, no buyer directly from Premier, or Premier does not pay off all its delinquent taxes, the mall could be transferred directly to the city well before the Aug. 1 deadline allowing the company to file bankruptcy, county officials have said.
The foreclosed property is only the interior of the mall and does not include the former department stores. They are owned separately.
Invest Commercial, also of California, bought the then-open Rolling Acres Mall for $1.7 million in July 2006. Within four months, the property was back on the market for $4.9 million. The firm failed to get any bids for a listed opening price of $2.5 million at auction in 2009.
Premier Ventures bought the 570,000 square feet inside Rolling Acres Mall and the surrounding nearly 50 acres for $3 million in 2010.
Premier and Invest never announced plans for the mall.
The inside mall area has been closed since October 2008, when electricity was about to be turned off for nonpayment.
YouTube videos filmed since then show vandals and thrill-seekers riding mopeds inside amid broken glass and second-floor areas with no railings. Photos snow inside the mall in the winter and plants during the spring and summer months.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.