The mall went through foreclosure and has experienced declining annual sales during recent years.

A struggling mall near Kennesaw was recently added to the portfolio of an investment group that specializes in outdated and distressed shopping malls.

Kohan Retail Investment Group recently acquired the majority of Town Center at Cobb for $71 million in late January, according to Cobb County property records. First reported Tuesday by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Town Center joins more than 50 American shopping malls owned by New Yorkbased Kohan Retail.

Regional malls nationwide have struggled in the wake of the e-commerce boom and COVID-19 pandemic. Several Atlanta area malls are being reimagined or redesigned to incorporate apartments, office space, entertainment attractions and other uses.

Town Center features 1.3 million square feet of retail space across a 92-acre prop

erty, located between I-75 and I-575. Kohan Retail bought the core of the mall, while other segments and big box stores have different owners including Macy’s and Jcpenney.

The core of Town Center was owned by Simon Property Group until 2021. The luxury mall owner, best known locally for Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, defaulted on payments on the

Town Center loan, and the mall returned to its lender, Deutsche Bank.

According to the Chronicle, Town Center reported a 92% occupancy rate last September but declining sales. In 2021, the mall reported about $14 million in net operating income, the newspaper reported, down 33% from its peak in 2014.

Kohan Retail did not immediately respond to The Atlanta

Journal-constitution’s inquiries about the future of Town Center at Cobb.

Town Center is the only Georgia mall the company currently owns, according to its website.

The Town Center Community Improvement District released a master plan last year, featuring suggestions for ways to revitalize the mall. Those ideas include turning the mall into a mixed-use district and linking it to the county’s trail network.

AJC 2021 Town Center at Cobb shopping mall near Kennesaw had a 92% occupancy rate but declining sales. Kohan Retail Investment Group acquired most of it for $71 million in late January. The company owns more than 50 U.S. malls.

AJC 2021 Town Center at Cobb near Kennesaw, along with malls nationwide, struggled as the pandemic kept shoppers home. An investment company acquired most of the mall.