Fairlane Town Center mall in Dearborn could have a new owner next month.
The shopping mall has been in court-ordered receivership since early this year, and the receiver recently set Oct. 7 as the property's auction/sale date.
So far, documents in Wayne County Circuit Court show just one interested buyer. That would-be buyer is a limited liability company — HSF Fairlane — linked to the Hull Property Group in Augusta, Georgia.
What's more, HSF Fairlane has been suing Fairlane's current owner, Mike Kohan, over the default of a $28 million mortgage loan that was used to buy the property in April 2023. HSF Fairlane took over as plaintiff in the lawsuit from the original mortgage lender, the Peachtree Group in Atlanta.
On Aug. 4, Wayne County Judge Annette
Berry sided with HSF Fairlane and entered a default judgement for $35 million against Kohan and a limited liability company that was used to take out the 2023 loan. The judgement says Kohan had given a guarantee of payment for the defaulted loan.
Whatever proceeds Fairlane mall fetches at next month's auction/sale are to be deducted from the $35 million judgement against Kohan and the LLC. The court documents don't say how much HSF Fairlane is offering for the mall.
Neither Kohan nor his attorney could be reached for comment on Monday afternoon, Sept. 21. The lawyer for HSF Fairlane, Floyd Gates Jr. of Bodman in Grand Rapids, declined comment.
The mall's receiver also couldn't be reached for comment. In late August, the receiver reported that eviction proceedings were about to begin against 10 Fairlane tenants.
The Hull Property Group's website describes the firm's core business as buying and "repositioning" retail properties that "have lost their dominance and relevance."
"HPG is positioned to acquire an asset, articulate a plan and immediately fund and complete aesthetics necessary to attract the interest which is a prerequisite for transformation," the website says.
Kohan's New York-based firm, Kohan Retail Investment Group, is known for buying struggling and sometimes distressed shopping malls, including the since-demolished Eastland Center in Harper Woods. The group acquired Fairlane for a total $52.8 million.
Fairlane's previous owner, Dallas-based real estate firm Centennial, had owned the mall for less than a year before selling it to Kohan. Centennial had paid $68 million for the mall in May 2022, land records show.
The owner before Centennial, Starwood Retail Partners, bought Fairlane in 2014 for a reported $98.5 million from Taubman Centers.
Originally developed by A. Alfred Taubman, Fairlane opened in 1976 and is spread out over three floors. It is currently anchored by a Macy's, JC Penney, H&M and a Powerhouse gym.
Fairlane has garnered a string of unflattering headlines in recent years, including for unpaid taxes and utility bills, unplowed snow in the parking lot and a 2024 Christmas tree inside the mall that wasn't take down until this year.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fairlane Town Center mall in Dearborn could have new owner in October
