Barely a month after paying his overdue tax bill from 2015, Orchards Mall owner Michael Kohan is throwing in the towel. The Orchards Mall is going on the auction block in a three-day online only auction from June 4th to June 6th. Steven Silverman with Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, an investment advisory and brokerage service in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has posted a listing for the mall with a starting bid of $750,000.
The entire more than 60-acre site and the nearly 530,000 square foot mall will be included in the sale to the highest bidder. You’ll need to be a serious shopper though, because it will cost you $10,000 to participate in the auction. That deposit will gain you access to multiple documents to help you conduct your due diligence including:
- The offering memorandum
- 34-pages of Operating & Financial data
- A 3-page purchase agreement
- The Land Survey
- Third Party Reports
- and Title & Insurance documents
The mall, first built in 1979 and renovated in 1993 is located at 1800 Pipestone Road in Benton Harbor and is co-anchored by JC Penney and Jo-Ann Fabrics.
Here is what the auction listing shares as the Detailed Description of what’s on the market:
Property tours will be offered by appointment only. Please contact Steven Silverman at 248-848-4089 or Steven.Silverman@freg.com to schedule a tour.
The offering is for The Orchards Mall, an enclosed regional mall located in Benton Harbor, MI. Along with the mall, the offering also includes a vacant box (former Sears) and excess vacant land. The Mall enjoys a strong existing tenant base that have been at the site for 5+ years. The Mall serves the Berrien County population and surrounding areas. Residents for a large radius have come to enjoy the Mall as a “go to” destination for shopping given that the nearest enclosed mall is The Crossroads in Portage, MI 40 miles away.
The area near the Orchards Mall is one worthy investment. Whirlpool Corporation, a fortune 500 Company, which has been in the area since 1911, built a $68 million world headquarters in Benton Harbor, a major re-commitment to the area. Other major employers include Indiana-Michigan Power, the Lakeland Regional Health System, and Leco Corporation are making Benton Harbor.
The mall now poses an opportunity for an experienced investor/operator to acquire the property at well below replacement cost and also significantly below the basis of other retail shopping centers in the immediate area. New tenants will be attracted by improved management, ultra-competitive lease terms, and freed up capital may also be used for capital improvements.
Aside from the substantial value-add component, the ±60 acre site poses excellent re-development/re-purposing opportunity as the mall is located directly off of a key I-94 interchange with 60,000+ vehicles per day passing by. Additionally, the site connects the west side of Michigan to Chicago, Indiana, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Metro Detroit.
The timing is right for an investment in The Orchards Mall. The emergence of Benton Harbor from its major investments by Whirlpool Corporation and the great location the area enjoys, all make this project one worthy of rehabilitation and investment.
Here’s a link to the online auction offering:
https://www.ten-x.com/commercial/listing/1800-pipestone-road-benton-harbor-mi-49022/1000007091/
Stay tuned for additional information as it becomes available.
Shops and organizations in the Orchards Mall are now, and will continue to be, open for business throughout the auction process. The mall is still open.
