Crown American


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.

History

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, 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.

List of former malls

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. 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.
Companies who own Crown American malls as of October 2019
Mall nameYear openedYear closedLocationOwners
Logan Valley MallNovember 1965Altoona, PACrown American 1965–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Mason Asset Management 2017–present
North Hanover Mall1967Hanover, PACrown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Mason Asset Management 2014–present
Shenango Valley Mall1967Hermitage, PACrown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; The Lightstone Group 2004–2009; JSMN Shenango Valley Mall Unknown – 2018; Iowa Square Realty LLC 2018–2019; GFM 23 LLC 2019–present
Nittany MallJanuary 1968State College, PACrown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Mason Asset Management 2014–present
Viewmont Mall1968Scranton, PACrown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–present
Washington Crown Center1969Washington, PACrown American 1969–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–present
Carlisle Plaza Mall 1969Carlisle, PACrown American 1969–2002; Carlisle Reality Partners 2002–2013; Giant PA 2013–present
Middletown Mall 1969Fairmont, WVCrown American 1969–1970; Crown American / First Union Real Estate Equity 1970–1995; Crown American 1995–1998; Dietrich Steven Fansler 1998–2018; General Acquisitions LLC 2018–present
Wyoming Valley Mall1971Wilkes-Barre, PACrown American 1971–1972; Crown American / First Union Real Estate Equity 1972–1995; Crown American 1995–2003; PREIT 2003–2019; GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2019–present
Uniontown Mall1972Uniontown, PACrown American 1972–2003; PREIT 2003–2015; Namdar Realty Group 2015–present
Palmer Park Mall1973Easton, PACrown American / PREIT 1973–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; CityView Commercial LLC 2016–present
Capital City Mall1974Camp Hill, PACrown American 1974–2003; PREIT 2003–present
Valley MallAugust 1974Hagerstown, MDShopco Malls 1974–1989; ERE Yarmouth 1989–1997; Crown American 1997–2003; PREIT 2003–present
South Mall1975Allentown, PAHess's Department Stores, Inc. 1975-1979; Crown American 1979–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Nicholas Park Mall, LLC. 2014–present
Francis Scott Key Mall1978Frederick, MDCrown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–present
Lycoming Mall1978Pennsdale, PACrown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–present
Valley View Mall1980La Crosse, WIEquitable Life Insurance Society of the United States Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–present
Schuylkill MallOctober 9, 1980January 15, 2018Frackville, PACrown American 1980–2003; PREIT 2003–2007; Empire Reality Investments 2007–2017; NP New Castle LLC 2017–2018
Crossroads Mall1981Beckley, WVBeckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–present
Jacksonville Mall1981Jacksonville, NCBeckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–present
West Manchester Mall 1981York, PACrown American 1981–2003; PREIT 2003–2005; The Lightstone Malls 2005–2012; M&R Investors 2012–present
Chambersburg Mall1982Scotland, PACrown American 1982–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Mason Asset Management 2013–present
Wiregrass Commons MallAugust 1986Dothan, ALMetropolitan Life Insurance Company Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–2018; Namdar Realty Group 2018–present
Patrick Henry Mall1987Newport News, VACrown American 1987–2003; PREIT 2003–present
New River Valley Mall1988Christiansburg, VACrown American 1988–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–present
Oak Ridge Mall
19892016Oak Ridge, TNCrown American 1989–2003; Crown Investments Trust 2003; Oak Ridge City Center LLC 2003–2016; RealtyLink 2016–present
Phillipsburg Mall19892020Phillipsburg, NJCrown American 1989–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Mason Asset Management 2013–present
Martinsburg Mall 1991Martinsburg, WVCrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2005; The Lightstone Malls 2005–2010; Mountain State University 2010–2013; Paramount Developers 2013–present
Bradley Square Mall1991Cleveland, TNCrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2005; The Lightstone Malls 2005–2010; The Shane Morrison Companies 2010-present
Mount Berry Square1991Rome, GACrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2005; Hull Property Group 2005-present