Akron public utilities workers are expected to disconnect the water at the Chapel Hill Mall on Friday for nonpayment.

This is the third time in the past year that the mall has faced a utility disconnection. Ohio Edison scheduled and rescinded electricity shutoffs in April and December after accepting late payment.

Each time, the private utility company notified businesses operating inside the old mall that the lights would soon go out.

On New Year’s Eve, Akron’s Office of Integrated Development informed the mall that the water would be disconnected after 9:30 a.m. Friday because its water and sewer bill hadn’t been paid.

A letter dated for New Year’s Eve and hand-delivered to business tenants at the mostly vacant mall offered support to retailers and companies still operating in the shopping center, which has seen anchor department stores converted to storage.

"In the event that water service is disconnected, you may no longer be permitted access to your leased space per applicable building and safety code requirements," wrote James Hardy, deputy mayor of Integrated Development, which combines economic development, planning and zoning. "After shutoff has occurred, the City will make available future dates for tenants’ limited access to the mall."

No water means no business. The mall’s owner and tenants would be locked out.

Michael Kohan of Kohan Retail Investment Group, which owns the mall, was reached by phone. "We paid it already," Kohan said of the city water bill.

Kohan then hung up.

Reached hours after speaking with Kohan, Mayor Dan Horrigan’s press secretary, Ellen Lander Nischt, said Thursday afternoon that the anticipated shutoff scheduled for Friday morning "is still expected to go forward."

The city did not comment on the exact amount of the public debt owed, other than it’s "significant." Shop managers reached by phone Thursday afternoon said they expect a normal business day Friday as management has told them the bill is paid in full.

Kohan Retail Investment Group, which is based in Great Neck, N.Y., and specializes in buying distressed malls, paid $8.6 million for Chapel Hill Mall in July 2016. Since then, the company has acquired at least 14 other distressed malls.

Recent media reports have chronicled Kohan Retail Investment Group’s struggles to meet financial obligations at its 30 properties across America, from pending utility disconnections to an auction for unpaid taxes.

Reach Beacon Journal reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.