The Centrum Mall in downtown Marion recently changed hands twice in one day after the property had been owned by the same person since 2008.
That owner, James E. Kraemer, sold 428 S. Washington St. to Esther Son, once an associate of Korean-born investor Michael An, who has been associated with multiple downtown Marion properties and is currently based out of California. The same day, Son sold it to Keith Dow and Erin Dow Seybold.
Kraemer bought the mall in the name of his company called The Centrum Mall LLC for $160,000 in 2008, when property records show it was assessed at $44,000.
Kraemer sold it to Son for $110,500 on June 27, 2013, according to the assessor’s office and property deed, respectively. Son sold it to Keith Dow and Erin Seybold for $115,000 the same day. The property is currently valued at $257,000, according to assessment records.
State business records and deeds show Kraemer formed The Centrum Mall LLC in June 2008, the same month he purchased the property. The company was dissolved in February 2012, records show, apparently because it had failed to submit any mandatory annual corporate reports or pay associated fees to the state since its inception. According to the first June 27 deed, the mall was sold to “distribute the remaining real property assets” of The Centrum Mall LLC.
Neither Son nor Kraemer could be reached for comment. When the Chronicle-Tribune tried to contact Erin Seybold, her husband, Chad Seybold declined to comment on her behalf.
Chad Seybold, brother to Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold, only confirmed that Erin is his wife and said she purchased the mall with cash.
Wayne Seybold said he was unfamiliar with the recent sales and purchases of the mall.
“I know nothing about it,” he said. “I had nothing to do with it.”
Chad Seybold has worked for An as project manager for An’s company Global Investment Consulting, which was renovating the former Grant County YMCA building on Third Street.
An could not be reached for comment.
The Centrum Mall was Kraemer’s first foray into commercial real estate.
He was familiar with the building because Midwest Loads, a freight brokering company Kraemer owned, had operated out of an office in the mall for about seven years prior.
“It’s a nice building. I jumped on it when it came up,” Kraemer told the Chronicle in July 2008. “I’m excited about the possibilities.”
By November 2008, Kraemer had brought several new tenants into the mall including Compute, Heart & Soul Restaurant and the Crisis Pregnancy Center. He also brought in a synthetic ice rink.
None of those businesses are among the handful currently listed on the mall directory posted inside the building. Neither is Midwest Loads.
In January 2011, Emeka Oniah, then the mall property manager and a real estate broker, told the Chronicle that Son was in a lease agreement with Kraemer with the chance to buy the mall. Grant County Superior Court records show Centrum Mall LLC sued Son in December 2011 for breach of contract and the case remains open.