Town Center Mall Closed for One Day Due to Unpaid Power Bill, Reopens the Next Day, Retailers Threaten Lawsuit

Kennesaw’s Town Center Mall reopened Wednesday — less than 24 hours after being temporarily closed due to unpaid power bills. On Tuesday, signs posted at various entrances announced the mall was closed due to “unforeseen circumstances,” leaving customers turned away.

The issue stemmed from the mall failing to pay its power bill, which led to the power being shut off. After meeting the “necessary requirements” outlined by Georgia Power, power was restored to the mall on Wednesday morning, a Georgia Power spokesperson confirmed. The mall reopened at 11 a.m., according to its website.

In a statement, the spokesperson noted that Georgia Power had been working with Town Center Mall for several months, offering various solutions to avoid disconnection. “Unfortunately, any customer that is highly delinquent in paying their bills ultimately has a negative impact on all of our customers,” the spokesperson said. “While we will continue to work with the customer and are hopeful a payment will be made, we can no longer continue to extend the grace period.”

The Cobb County Fire Marshal’s Office also confirmed that the power loss affected the mall’s fire alarm and sprinkler systems in certain areas. As a precaution, a fire watch was put in place while repairs were underway. This required property management to monitor the affected areas and notify tenants that the fire protection systems might not be functioning properly.

Although the mall was closed, anchor stores such as Belk, JCPenney, and Macy’s remained open during the outage becasue they paid their own bills and have separate entrances

Business Owner Considers Legal Action Over Utility Payment Dispute at Town Center Mall

Shane Starr, the owner of Starrcade inside Town Center Mall, has hired a lawyer to investigate the mall’s property owner, Kohan Retail Investment Group. Starr claims he has paid his utility fees to the company responsible for forwarding the payments to the utility provider. However, with the recent power outage caused by unpaid bills, Starr is questioning where the funds have gone if not toward the utilities.

Starr expressed his frustration and said he plans to band together with other business owners at the mall to explore the possibility of filing a class action lawsuit against Kohan Retail Investment Group. He hopes to uncover the truth behind the utility payment issues and hold the property owner accountable for any discrepancies.