BOARDMAN TWP., Ohio - After months of delinquent taxes, the owner of the Southern Park Mall paid back the $1,063,789.40 owed in property taxes and penalties.

Boardman leaders are excited to see the payment go through.

“We want to see that mall succeed,” said Jason Loree, Boardman Township administrator. “Every bit counts with changes in the way the state is processing property taxes, we're probably going to see a reduction. So getting some money back from delinquency is going to be huge to fill some holes.”

Township trustee Steve Yacovone agreed.  He also said he still has not heard anything from Kohan, but is happy that the payment went through.

In an exclusive interview with 21 News reporter Kaitlyn McCarthy, mall owner Mike Kohan said he plans on investing into the property in the future.

“We ran into some issues financially, but thank God, we turned it over and everything is good right now, and it's going to continue to be even better,” said Kohan.

The company announced its payment Friday, along with a change in mall management. 

Bill McClure, the new mall manager, is a longtime Boardman resident who used to work under Debartlo. McClure said he's going to be working on everything from attracting businesses to the mall to marketing.

“We're making plans, and we will be releasing those plans early into 2026. And it's going to involve marketing, it's going to involve new stores,” said McClure. “I can't worry about what came before me. I can only worry about what's happening right now.”

Kohan saId the biggest focus is on attracting tenants to the mall.

“I'm really inviting every you know, business owner in a community to come as we work with them, we will accommodate them,” said Kohan. 

He also said shoppers will see a difference in the mall within a few months. 

"Any outdated stuff in a capital side, we're just going to, we're just going to replace it, if it's a carpet or if it's some lighting or anything else," said Kohan.

For the first time, Kohan is coming clean about the missed payments and bounced checks that lead up to now. He says they've just overspent and did not have the funds to pay taxes. Now, Kohan is making a promise.

“I promise you that these, these, you know, problems will not happen,” said Kohan. “We had some mixed up in our financing, and I'm sorry about that, but, but again, we made it right, and we'll continue to make sure that everything's going to be up to date and there's not going to be any more fallouts.”

Kohan's payment came just days after Boardman trustees wrote a letter asking the Ohio Attorney General's Office to investigate Kohan Retail Investment Group for alleged fraudulent activity.

When asked about the letter, Kohan said the payment coming after calls for a criminal investigation is just a coincidence. 

“It was actually on in works to be paid. Okay? I don't think we should be negative. I think we are all supposed to be positive, and we move forward,” said Kohan.

Loree said the money paid is essential for operations, especially now.

“The township is looking at their financing and determining what we have to do to keep going forward. Because like everybody else, our costs have only gone up, but our dollars here at the township are pretty flat,” said Loree.

The mall's next property tax deadline is the first half collection period in March of 2026