| Crown American | |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | 1950 |
| Location: | Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Industry: | Commercial real estate |
| Products: | Hotels, restaurants, office, retail |
| Key People: | Michael A. Barletta, President and CEO |
| Homepage: | crownamericanassociates.com |
Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops commercial real estate. The corporate headquarters is in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a building designed by architect Michael Graves.[1]
The company was founded in 1950 as Crown Construction. Frank J. Pasquerilla, who joined less than a year later, became president in 1956 and sole owner in 1961. The company's name was changed to Crown American in 1972 and in 1979, it acquired the Hess's department store chain. In 1993, the company split into two entities. The shopping mall portion of the company became a publicly held real estate investment trust, Crown American Realty Trust, and Crown American Hotels controlled the company's hospitality businesses. At its peak, Crown American operated 30 shopping malls, the Hess's department store chain (with 73 locations), and 20 hotels and motels.
In 2003 the shopping mall development and management unit, Crown American Realty Trust, was sold to Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust. The hospitality unit, Crown American Hotels, was retained. In 2005, 22 of the company's 26 hotels were acquired by W2001 Eastern Hotel Realty, an affiliate of the Archon Group, which assumed responsibility for their management. Frank Pasquerilla died from a stroke in 1999. His son, Mark E. Pasquerilla, serves as chairman of Crown American Hotels. Mark Pasquerilla joined the company in 1981 and was named president in 1990. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, completed a master of science degree in international relations at the London School of Economics, and studied international affairs at the University of Cologne. Michael Barletta is president and chief executive officer.
Crown American has owned a total of 30 shopping malls during its history. When they merged with PREIT in 2003, they owned 26 malls, and were partners in one other.[2] [3] Crown American also owned a ground lease for an anchor pad at the Westgate Mall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, though they did not own the mall itself.[4]
| Mall name | Year opened | Year closed | Location | Owners | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle Plaza Mall | 1964 | Crown American 1969–2002; Michael Joseph Development Corp. 2002–2005; Cedar Realty Trust 2005–2012; Giant PA 2012–present[5] | |||
| November 1965 | Altoona, PA | Crown American 1965–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–present[6] | |||
| 1967 | Crown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 2014–present[7] [8] | ||||
| 1967 | Crown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; JSMN Shenango Valley Mall 2009–2018; Iowa Square Realty LLC 2018–2019; GFM 23 LLC 2019–2022; Butterfli Holdings LLC (FLICORE LLC) 2022–present[9] [10] [11] [12] | ||||
| January 1968 | Crown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 2014–present | ||||
| 1968 | Crown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–present | ||||
| 1969 | Crown American 1969–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–present[13] | ||||
| Middletown Mall | 1969 | Fairmont, WV | Crown American 1969–1970; Crown American (50%) / First Union Real Estate Equity (50%) 1970–1995; Crown American 1995–1998; Dietrich Steven Fansler 1998–2018; General Acquisitions LLC 2018–present[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] | ||
| Wyoming Valley Mall | 1971 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Crown American 1971–1972; Crown American (50%) / First Union Real Estate Equity (50%) 1972–1995; Crown American 1995–2003; PREIT 2003–2019; GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2019–2021; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2021–2023; 4th Dimension Properties 2023–present[19] [20] | ||
| Uniontown Mall | 1972 | Uniontown, PA | Crown American 1972–2003; PREIT 2003–2015; Namdar Realty Group 2015–present[21] | ||
| Palmer Park Mall | 1973 | Easton, PA | Crown American (50%) / PREIT (50%) 1973–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; CityView Commercial LLC 2016–present[22] | ||
| Capital City Mall | 1974 | Camp Hill, PA | Crown American 1974–2003; PREIT 2003–present | ||
| Valley Mall | August 1974 | Hagerstown, MD | Shopco Malls 1974–1989; ERE Yarmouth 1989–1997; Crown American 1997–2003; PREIT 2003–present[23] | ||
| South Mall | 1975 | Allentown, PA | Hess's Department Stores, Inc. 1975–1979; Crown American 1979–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Nicholas Park Mall, LLC. 2014–present[24] [25] | ||
| Francis Scott Key Mall | 1978 | Frederick, MD | Crown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–present | ||
| Lycoming Mall | 1978 | February 24, 2023[26] | Pennsdale, PA | Crown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–2023, FamVest Partners LLC 2023–present[27] [28] | |
| Valley View Mall | 1980 | La Crosse, WI | Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–present[29] | ||
| Schuylkill Mall | October 9, 1980 | January 15, 2018 | Frackville, PA | Crown American 1980–2003; PREIT 2003–2007; Empire Reality Investments 2007–2017; NP New Castle LLC 2017–2018 | |
| Crossroads Mall | 1981 | Beckley, WV | Beckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–present[30] [31] | ||
| Jacksonville Mall | 1981 | Jacksonville, NC | Beckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–present | ||
| West Manchester Mall | 1981 | York, PA | Crown American 1981–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2012; M&R Investors 2012–present[32] | ||
| Chambersburg Mall | 1982 | June 2023 | Scotland, PA | Crown American 1982–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Namdar Realty Group 2013–present[33] | |
| Wiregrass Commons Mall | August 1986 | Dothan, AL | Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–2018; Namdar Realty Group 2018–present[34] | ||
| Patrick Henry Mall | 1987 | Newport News, VA | Crown American 1987–2003; PREIT 2003–present | ||
| New River Valley Mall | 1988 | Christiansburg, VA | Crown American 1988–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–2019; RockStep Capital 2019–present | ||
| Oak Ridge Mall | 1989 | 2016 | Oak Ridge, TN | Crown American 1989–2003; Crown Investments Trust 2003; Oak Ridge City Center LLC 2003–2016; RealtyLink (TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC) 2016–present[35] [36] | |
| Phillipsburg Mall | 1989 | 2020 | Phillipsburg, NJ | Crown American 1989–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Namdar Realty Group 2013–present[37] | |
| Ashland Town Center | 1989-10-04 | Ashland, KY | Crown American 33% / Glimcher Realty 33% / Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation 33% 1989–unknown; Glimcher Realty unknown–2015; Washington Prime Group 2015–present[38] [39] | ||
| Martinsburg Mall | 1991 | Martinsburg, WV | Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2012; Mountain State University 2010–2013; Paramount Developers 2013–present[40] [41] | ||
| Bradley Square Mall | 1991 | Cleveland, TN | Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; The Shane Morrison Companies 2009-present | ||
| Mount Berry Square | 1991 | Rome, GA | Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2012; Hull Property Group 2012-present[42] [43] [44] |