When I reported to you last week about the departure of the new Orchards Mall manager, Christine Waterhouse, I reported that a major concern for the mall was the mounting unpaid property tax bill. In consulting with Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski at that time, he hadn’t fully researched the full delinquency that mall owner Mike Kohan had racked up.
The guesstimate at the time of that story, which can be seen by clicking the link below, was in the neighborhood of some $160,000 owed in back taxes by Kohan’s investment firm. Reality is that the debt is twice that deep. Witkowski tells me that the actual amount owed by the Orchards Mall is $324,000.00.
Witkowski says he is now hearing from multiple vendors at the mall concerned about the fate of the property, and he’s working to determine the best route to answer whatever questions they might have about the future.
Stay tuned.
Here’s the link to the earlier story:
