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After years of decline and increasing vacancies, the McKinley Mall in Hamburg has been sold.
According to Hamburg Supervisor Jim Shaw, there is a sales agreement in place for the $8.5 million purchase of the mall to McKinley Mall Realty Holding, LLC after several months of the property being on the commercial real estate market.
The buyer, Mehran Kohansieh, or Mike Kohen, is headquartered in Great Neck, NY. Information has not been released about what the developer proposes to do with the property, Shaw said Monday.
The sale with Frederick Meno of The Woodmont Company of Fort Worth, Texas, the appointed receiver, awaits court approval. The mall property was once valued at $22 million.
Shaw said he was unaware of whether there was that much other interest in the mall property. The buyer purchased the property in as condition.
The mall on McKinley Parkway and Milestrip Road opened in 1985 and has been in decline over the past decade due in part to the exit of big-box stores and mall anchors like Macy’s, Sears and Bon-Ton, as well as other staple retailers inside.
When the mall reopened earlier this year after Covid restrictions lessened, Shaw estimated it was only around 30% occupied.
“Can’t do anything with it in its present state,” Shaw said Monday. “Hopefully [the buyer] can do something with it.”
Though the town doesn’t own the property, it recently passed an incentive zoning ordinance for the mall property and its outer parcels, which Shaw has said he believes would help with the sale and provide the town with incentives from the buyer in exchange for an openness to allow different types of development there.
- Michael Petro, Sun editor
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