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 1999 Frank Pasquerilla had a stroke and died.
In 2003, the shopping mall development and management unit, Crown American Realty Trust, was sold to * PREIT. 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's son, Mark E. Pasquerilla, serves as chairman of Crown American Hotels. He 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.
Pasquerilla Enterprises LP/Crown American Associates sold its last hotel, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Johnstown, in May 2024. The Crown American Associates building was sold in December 2025 to 1st Summit Bank, and was the last Pasquerilla Enterprises LP property.

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.
Mall nameYear openedYear closedLocationOwners
Carlisle Plaza Mall1964Carlisle, PACrown American 1969–2002; Michael Joseph Development Corp. 2002–2005; Cedar Realty Trust 2005–2012; Giant PA 2012–present
Logan Valley MallNovember 1965Altoona, PACrown American 1965–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–present
North Hanover Mall1967Hanover, PACrown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 2014–present
Shenango Valley Mall1967May 31, 2024Hermitage, PACrown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; JSMN Shenango Valley Mall 2009–2018; Iowa Square Realty LLC 2018–2019; GFM 23 LLC 2019–2022; Butterfli Holdings LLC 2022–present
Nittany MallJanuary 1968State College, PACrown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 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 2016–2025; PREP Funds/Industrial Realty Group 2025–present
Middletown Mall1969Fairmont, 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 2019–2021; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2021–2023; 4th Dimension Properties 2023–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
1978February 24, 2023Pennsdale, PACrown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–2023, FamVest Partners LLC 2023–present
Valley View Mall1980La Crosse, WIEquitable Life Insurance Society of the United States Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–Unknown; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2023–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 Mall1981York, PACrown American 1981–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2012; M&R Investors 2012–Unknown; ATR Corinth Partners Unknown–2022; Paramount Realty 2022–present
Chambersburg Mall1982June 2023Scotland, PACrown American 1982–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Namdar Realty Group 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 2016–2019; RockStep Capital 2019–present
Oak Ridge Mall19892016Oak 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; Namdar Realty Group 2013–present
Ashland Town Center1989-10-04Ashland, KYCrown American 33% / Glimcher Realty 33% / Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation 33% 1989–Unknown; Glimcher Realty Unknown–2015; Washington Prime Group 2015–2025; CBL Properties 2025–present
Martinsburg Mall1991Martinsburg, WVCrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2012; Mountain State University 2010–2013; Paramount Developers 2013–present
Bradley Square Mall1991Cleveland, TNCrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; The Shane Morrison Companies 2009–present
Mount Berry Square1991Rome, GACrown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2012; Hull Property Group 2012–present