COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Town Center Mall is expected to reopen at 11 a.m. after recently closing due to unpaid Georgia Power bills, according to WSBTV.
Town Center Mall posted a sign on Tuesday saying that the mall is shut down “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Ross Cavitt, a Communications Director at Cobb County Government, said they are aware that the power has been shut off at the mall.
“Our police department and public safety organizations are takin the necessary steps to make sure that the mall and the mall area remain secure as long as the situation lasts,” he said.
Cavitt adds that officials are working to supply extra fire assistance due to security systems being down.
The mall’s owner claimed a maintenance issue resulted in the closure and that it would be resolved in two hours.
Georgia Power officials told WSBTV that they have been working with Town Center for several months to resolve the payments and disconnecting service at the mall was a “last resort.”
The anchor stores, Belk, Macy’s and JCPenney, were able to stay open since they paid their own bills and have separate entrances.
“We showed up this morning, everything was shuttered,” Starcade owner Shane Star said. “Without telling any of the tenants, myself included, they just pulled the plug and locked everything up and now we can’t get in.”
“This is your livelihood. Yeah, I got bills, I got mortgage, I got car notes, all this stuff,” store owner Frantz Baptiste said.
Georgia Power officials say they sent mall management and tenants letters and posted onsite signage alerting them to the upcoming closure.
Town Center at Cobb’s website shows that the mall opens at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays.