The long-vacant Rolling Acres Mall finally went on the sheriff’s sale block Tuesday — and received no bids.
If it again receives no bids at a sheriff’s sale on June 21, Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise’s office will start the process to take the property and give it to the city, possibly by the end of July.
The inside of the mall has been closed since 2008. In 2014, Summit County foreclosed on the current owners, who owe more than $1.3 million in back taxes.
The former mall on Romig Road in Akron has been scheduled for four previous sheriff’s sales in the last two years, but each time, the owner, California-based Premier Ventures, filed a last-minute bankruptcy to stop the sale.
However, Scalise and the mall property owners reached an agreement in December that she would not put the former mall on a February sheriff’s sale in exchange for the mall owners agreeing to delay any bankruptcy filings for six months or until Aug. 1.
Scalise gave the owners six months to find a viable buyer, but also told them that she would put the mall in this month’s sheriff’s sale if no sale by the owners had occurred.
The county has not heard from representatives of the mall since December, so it’s not aware of any pending sales, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Regina Van Vorous said.
A message left with the owner of the mall was not returned.
Van Vorous said she has received some inquiries, but none produced any buyers.
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 and reverts to county ownership.
In an email statement, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said: “The city continues to monitor the situation closely in hopes that a developer with a vision comes forward to purchase the property. If not, the city remains committed to using our best efforts to attract future development.”
State of the mall
On Tuesday, there was some semi-truck activity coming in and out of the parking lot of the former Sears, which houses a private business. Two brothers were riding their four-wheeler in the parking lot in front of the former mall entrance.
The brothers, who declined to give their names out of fear of getting in trouble for riding in the parking lot without permission, said they’ve been coming to the former mall for about six years to ride.
“It’s a good place to be,” said one brother who is 25. “The police don’t bother us. ... We can really have some fun.”
The man said the wide-open parking lot — which is not filled with potholes that litter other parts of the mall’s lots and the exterior driveways — is safer than riding on Akron’s streets.
“I don’t want to ride on the streets and don’t want the police chasing after us,” he said. “This is the best place we have in the city to get out and get some exercise and release some stress. That’s what bike life is about.”
On Sundays, the former mall lot is often full with other four-wheel riders, they said.
When the other brother, 21, was told that the city of Akron may get ownership of the former mall, he put in a word for keeping an area for riders.
“It would definitely be nice if the city would give us this parking lot,” he said. “We just want a place to have fun, ride in and be safe.”
Future of mall?
If there are no bids at a 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.
A judge would have to sign off on the property transfer. Van Vorous said her goal to transfer the property before July 31.
Van Vorous said the minimum bid is the same as the current amount owed: $1,257,525.73.
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 show 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. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.