The land Shenango Valley Mall sits on is owned by the McConnell family. JCPenney opened at the mall in January 1969, after being previously located in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Shenango Valley Mall was renovated in 1997, costing $3.5 million. It was the malls first major renovation since opening in the 1960s and Kaufmann's also expanded its store. Crown American Realty Trust, the mall's owner, was sold to PREIT in 2003. The mall was then sold by PREIT, along with five others to The Lightstone Group in 2004. Kaufmann's was re-branded as Macy's in August 2006. Shenango Valley Mall and three other malls entered receivership in January 2009, with Jones Lang LaSalle taking over management. Jones Lang LaSalle offered the mall, along with three others, for sale in May 2009. An attempted sale with two other malls failed in 2010. Shenango Valley Mall made national news due to the closure of both its Macy's and Sears in March 2017. Sears Auto Center was not part of the closure. Firestone and Sears Auto Center were both damaged in the same month by a storm. In 2017, Hermitage City and School District challenged the mall's tax reassessment that significantly reduced its value due to the loss of two anchors. JSMN Shenango Valley Mall defaulted on the mall's $3.430 million loan in February 2018, with courts assigning Metro Commercial as the malls operator. The malls lender, Iowa Square Realty LLC, won it at sheriff's sale for $50,000 in July 2018. Sears Auto Center closed inOctober 2018. Court hearings occurred in December 2018 over Iowa Square Realty's ownership of the mall due to issues with maintenance, unpaid rent, and taxes. The mall in December was $243,000 in debt due to unpaid rent and taxes. Ownership of the mall was given to GFM 23 by the court in January 2019 due to Iowa Square Realty not paying a court ordered $25,000 bond. Issues in early 2019 include the parking lot and a leaky roof. The mall's tax assessment issues were resolved in June 2019.
Future
On August 1, 2019, LRC Realty of Akron, Ohio announced that they will acquire the mall. The company is looking to create a "first-class shopping facility" with "best in-class restaurants and retailers". The company plans on creating an open-air design with public places that will be attractive to the area. The president of LRC Realty says the community should expect a project similar to The Block Northway on McKnight Road in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, which was a former mall turned into a lifestyle center by LRC. The company also designed the nearby Hermitage Plaza. Specific dates or plans have yet to be announced.
