The Chautauqua Mall is pictured in the village of Lakewood. The mall has a new owner, Kohan Retail Investment Group. P-J file photo

LAKEWOOD — The Chautauqua Mall has a new owner and, soon, will have one fewer retail outlet.

A sign inside American Eagle states that the store is closing soon, though there are no signs announcing a closing sale. American Eagle had announced in 2021 that it planned to close at least 200 of its mall-based stores between 2021 and 2023 while opening new stores under its Aerie brand. An email late last week about the store closure to American Eagle was not returned as of Monday.

A new owner will lead efforts to breathe new life into the Chautauqua Mall. The Kohan Retail Investment Group has purchased the mall, according to the company’s website. The Chautauqua Mall website also lists Kohan Retail Investment Group as the new owner. Terms of the sale and when it occurred weren’t immediately available from the Washington Prime Group nor from the Kohan Retail Investment Group.

A message left with Kohan Retail Investment Group’s owner was not returned Monday. Lakewood Mayor Randall Holcomb told The Post-Journal he wasn’t aware of the ownership change when asked by the newspaper Monday.

A sign advertising open retail space at the mall still includes the name Washington Prime.

The Kohan Retail Investment Group now owns roughly 70 malls across the country, including the McKinley Mall in Buffalo. Kohan purchased the Chautauqua Mall from the Washington Prime Group, which was formed in 2014 following a spinoff from the Simon Property Group.

Washington Prime operates about 100 malls across the country, but the months since the company emerged from bankruptcy have seen its property portfolio decrease.

Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy on June 13, 2021. Many of its properties were already weakened as consumers began shopping more online and less in brick-and-mortar stores.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic led many malls to be closed, including for a time in New York state, and crippled revenue streams for Washington Prime. The company emerged from bankrtupcy in October 2021 with its debt reduced by nearly $1 billion. It now operates as a private holding company with majority ownership by SVPGlobal, which had been Washington Prime’s biggest creditor when the bankruptcy filing began.

Several of Washington Prime’s minority shareholders have filed a lawsuit saying they were shortchanged in the deal. Cygnys Capital is leading the lawsuit, which was filed in August in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

The Lakewood Village Board in December unanimously approved a measure for the village’s portion of reimbursement to the Chautauqua Mall for property tax overpayment. The village will pay a total of $58,187.28 with $29,064.64 due now and the remaining $29,064.64 due by Jan. 5, 2024.

The mall had filed a lawsuit saying it paid too much in taxes to the village, the town of Busti, Chautauqua County and the Southwestern Central School District.

A court approved a reassessment for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, and all four taxing jurisdictions will have to pay a portion of the reimbursement. The mall is located at 318 Fairmount Ave., Lakewood, but also is located within the SWCS district, the county, and the town of Busti.