Before summer ends, Akron could own long-vacant Rolling Acres Mall after no one offered to buy the mall for nearly $1.3 million in back taxes at a sheriff’s sale Tuesday.
“There were no bids today,” said Kristen Scalise, Summit County fiscal officer. “We will begin the process to turn it over to Akron.”
The process could take a couple of months to complete, Scalise said.
“I am very happy we have finally reached a resolution with Rolling Acres,” she said.
Once official confirmation paperwork is filed, no one legally will be able to stop the turnover to the city, she said.
“I was not surprised there were no bids today,” Scalise said. The mall also received no bids at a sheriff’s sale earlier this month.
The inside of the mall has been closed since 2008. In 2014, Summit County foreclosed on California-based owner Premier Ventures, which owed 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; each time, Premier Ventures filed a last-minute bankruptcy to stop the sale.
In a related wrinkle, according to Summit County and U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents, Premier Ventures recently transferred a mortgage on the mall to a business entity called Southland Solutions LLC of Paramount, Calif. Southland Solutions then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday in central California. Southland lists the mall at 2400 Romig Road as its principal asset.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Central California also filed paperwork seeking to dismiss the case, saying insufficient documentation had been given to the court.
Lee Linson, a California lawyer representing Southland Solutions, said he could say little other than the business just filed for bankruptcy. He said in a brief telephone conversation that he thought Southland had property in California, not in Akron.
A Summit County document said the sheriff’s sale would go forward despite the California bankruptcy filing.
“We truly don’t believe it has any significance for us,” said Regina Van Vorous, assistant Summit County prosecutor. “They [Southland] are just a junior lien holder. ... We didn’t think it was pertinent to our case.”
As best as the county has determined, Premier Ventures has not transferred ownership interest to any other entity, she said.
Scalise and Premier Ventures reached an agreement in December that she would not put the former mall on a February sheriff’s sale in exchange for Premier agreeing to delay any bankruptcy filings for six months or until Aug. 1.
Scalise gave Premier 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 had not heard from representatives of the mall since December, Van Vorous said.
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.
A judge would have to sign off on the property transfer. Van Vorous said her goal to transfer the property before July 31.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.