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.
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. 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.
List of Former Malls
At Crown American's peak in 1993, they owned 30 shopping malls. When they merged with PREIT in 2003, they owned 26 malls.
Mall Number | Mall Name | Year Opened | Location | Owners |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Logan Valley Mall | November 1965 | Altoona, PA | Crown American 1965 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
2 | North Hanover Mall | 1967 | Hanover, PA | Crown American 1967 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
3 | Shenango Valley Mall | 1967 | Sharon, PA | Crown American 1967 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2005, The Lightstone Malls 2005 - Present |
4 | Nittany Mall | January 1968 | State College, PA | Crown American 1968 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
5 | Viewmont Mall | 1968 | Scranton, PA | Crown American 1968 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
6 | Washington Crown Center | 1969 | Washington, PA | Crown American 1969 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
7 | The Point @ Carlisle Plaza | 1969 | Carlisle, PA | Crown American 1970 - 2002, Carlisle Reality Partners 2002 - 2013, Giant PA 2013 - Present |
8 | Uniontown Mall | 1969 | Uniontown, PA | Crown American 1969 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
9 | Wyoming Valley Mall | 1971 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Crown American 1971 - 2003 PREIT 2003 - Present |
10 | Palmer Park Mall | 1972 | Easton, PA | Crown American 1972 - 1989, Crown (50%) / PREIT (50%) 1989 - 1996, PREIT 1996 - Present |
11 | Westgate Mall | 1973 | Bethlehem, PA | Crown American (25%) / Harold S. Campbell (75%) 1973 - 1996, Harold S. Campbell 1996 - Present |
12 | Capital City Mall | 1974 | Camp Hill, PA | Crown American 1974 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
13 | Valley Mall | August 1974 | Hagerstown, MD | Shopco Malls 1974 - 1989, Crown American 1989 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
14 | South Mall | 1975 | Allentown, PA | Crown American 1975 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
15 | Francis Scott Key Mall | 1978 | Frederick, MD | Crown American 1978 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
16 | Lycoming Mall | 1978 | Pennsdale, PA | Crown American 1978 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
17 | Valley View Mall | 1980 | La Crosse, WI | Crowm American 1980 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
18 | Schuylkill Mall | October 1980 | Frackville, PA | Crown American 1980 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2007, Empire Reality Investments 2007 - Present |
19 | Crossroads Mall | 1981 | Beckley, VW | Crown American 1981 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
20 | Jacksonville Mall | 1981 | Jacksonville, NC | Crown American 1981 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
21 | West Manchester Mall | 1981 | York, PA | Crown American 1981 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2005, The Lightstone Malls 2005 - 2012, M&R Investors 2012 - Present |
22 | Chambersburg Mall | 1982 | Scotland, PA | Crown American 1982 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2013, Mason Asset Management 2013 - Present |
23 | Wiregrass Commons Mall | August 1986 | Dothan, AL | Crown American 1986 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
24 | Patrick Henry Mall | 1987 | Newport News, VA | Crown American 1987 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
25 | New River Valley Mall | 1988 | Christiansburg, VA | Crown American 1988 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - Present |
26 | Oak Ridge City Center | 1988 | Oak Ridge, TN | Crown American 1988 - 1996, Independent 1996 - Present |
27 | Philipsburg Mall | 1989 | Phillipsburg, NJ | Crown American 1989 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2013, Mason Asset Management 2013 - Present |
28 | Martinsburg Mall | 1991 | Martinsburg, VW | Crown American 1991 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2005, The Lightstone Malls 2005 - 2013, Paramount Developers 2013 - Present |
29 | Bradley Square Mall | 1991 | Cleveland, TN | Crown American 1991 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2005, The Lightstone Malls 2005 - Present |
30 | Mount Berry Square | 1991 | Rome, GA | Crown American 1991 - 2003, PREIT 2003 - 2005, Hull Storey Gibson 2005 - Present |
References
- New York Times, "Pennsylvania REIT to Buy Crown American Realty Trust," May 15, 2003.
- Press Release - 14 May 2003 of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Crown American Realty Trust Announce Merger Agreement; Combined Company to Become a Leading Mid-Atlantic Shopping Mall REIT
- "Family pledges $5 million to fund spiritual center," Intercom Online, Volume 27, Issue 26, Pennsylvania State University, April 2, 1998.
- Tomas Kellner, "Open for Business," Forbes Magazine, September 6, 2004.
- "IRWeblink." IRWeblink. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013