Leaders at Benton Township say they’re watching the attempted sale of the Orchards Mall property and are willing to keep an open mind if some new developers are interested in the site.

Moody on the Market reported this week the mall is now listed as being for sale — at a whopping $7.5 million — and Benton Township Supervisor Cathy Yates tells us that was news to her when she saw the article. Still, she says she wishes luck to the sellers.

“If they feel they can no longer manage the mall to be viable to the community, then I agree with them trying to sell it,” Yates said. “I hope they can do so with someone that will make something that we can all enjoy as a community, whether it’s businesses, residents, however it is. But whomever should purchase, or if they continue to keep the mall, they should be working with our housing department in order to make sure it’s a good fit for the community.”

That’s so the building can be kept up to code, something Yates said has been a challenge. We asked if the township would consider supporting a non-commercial proposal for the site.

“I think that we would listen and consider other things within the zoning.”

Yates said she’s not sure if the mall’s owners owe money to the township, but they sure do owe money to the county.

Berrien County Treasurer Shelly Weich tells us the mall still owes $198,000 for the 2024 property taxes and $197,000 for the 2025 property taxes. She notes the mall’s owner paid the 2023 property taxes in late March, just in time to avoid foreclosure, something they have a track record of doing.

Weich also said she had the assessed value of the building itself listed as $1.7 million. However, that’s not the full picture because the 63-acre site is broken up into about ten different parcels.

Photo: the Orchards Mall in 2023.