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 20th century 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 (with 73 locations), and 20 hotels and motels. In 1999 Frank Pasquerilla had a stroke and died.

21st century 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 name Year opened Year closed Location Owners Carlisle Plaza Mall 1964 Carlisle, PA Crown American 1969–2002; Michael Joseph Development Corp. 2002–2005; Cedar Realty Trust 2005–2012; Giant PA 2012–presentLogan Valley Mall November 1965 Altoona, PA Crown American 1965–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–presentNorth Hanover Mall 1967 Hanover, PA Crown American 1967–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 2014–presentShenango Valley Mall 1967 May 31, 2024 Hermitage, PA Crown 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 (FLICORE LLC) 2022–presentNittany Mall January 1968 State College, PA Crown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Namdar Realty Group 2014–presentViewmont Mall 1968 Scranton, PA Crown American 1968–2003; PREIT 2003–presentWashington Crown Center 1969 Washington, PA Crown American 1969–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–2025; PREP Funds/Industrial Realty Group 2025–present Middletown Mall 1969 Fairmont, WV Crown American 1969–1970; Crown American (50%) / First Union Real Estate Equity (50%) 1970–1995; Crown American 1995–1998; Dietrich Steven Fansler 1998–2018; General Acquisitions LLC 2018–presentWyoming Valley Mall 1971 Wilkes-Barre, PA Crown American 1971–1972; Crown American (50%) / First Union Real Estate Equity (50%) 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–presentUniontown Mall 1972 Uniontown, PA Crown American 1972–2003; PREIT 2003–2015; Namdar Realty Group 2015–presentPalmer Park Mall 1973 Easton, PA Crown American (50%) / PREIT (50%) 1973–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; CityView Commercial LLC 2016–presentCapital City Mall 1974 Camp Hill, PA Crown American 1974–2003; PREIT 2003–presentValley Mall August 1974 Hagerstown, MD Shopco Malls 1974–1989; ERE Yarmouth 1989–1997; Crown American 1997–2003; PREIT 2003–presentSouth Mall 1975 Allentown, PA Hess's Department Stores, Inc. 1975–1979; Crown American 1979–2003; PREIT 2003–2014; Nicholas Park Mall, LLC. 2014–presentFrancis Scott Key Mall 1978 Frederick, MD Crown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–present 1978 February 24, 2023 Pennsdale, PA Crown American 1978–2003; PREIT 2003–2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group 2016–2023, FamVest Partners LLC 2023–presentValley View Mall 1980 La Crosse, WI Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–Unknown; Kohan Retail Investment Group 2023–presentSchuylkill Mall October 9, 1980 January 15, 2018 Frackville, PA Crown American 1980–2003; PREIT 2003–2007; Empire Reality Investments 2007–2017; NP New Castle LLC 2017–2018 Crossroads Mall 1981 Beckley, WV Beckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–2017; Namdar Realty Group 2017–presentJacksonville Mall 1981 Jacksonville, NC Beckley-Jacksonville Ltd. Partnership Unknown–1998; Crown American 1998–2003; PREIT 2003–presentWest Manchester Mall 1981 York, PA Crown American 1981–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2012; M&R Investors 2012–Unknown; ATR Corinth Partners Unknown–2022; Paramount Realty 2022–presentChambersburg Mall 1982 June 2023 Scotland, PA Crown American 1982–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Namdar Realty Group 2013–presentWiregrass Commons Mall August 1986 Dothan, AL Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Unknown–2002; Crown American 2002–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–2018; Namdar Realty Group 2018–presentPatrick Henry Mall 1987 Newport News, VA Crown American 1987–2003; PREIT 2003–presentNew River Valley Mall 1988 Christiansburg, VA Crown American 1988–2003; PREIT 2003–2016; Farallon Capital Management 2016–2019; RockStep Capital 2019–presentOak Ridge Mall 1989 2016Oak Ridge, TN Crown American 1989–2003; Crown Investments Trust 2003; Oak Ridge City Center LLC 2003–2016; RealtyLink (TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC) 2016–presentPhillipsburg Mall 1989 2020 Phillipsburg, NJ Crown American 1989–2003; PREIT 2003–2013; Namdar Realty Group 2013–presentAshland 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–presentMartinsburg Mall 1991 Martinsburg, WV Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2010; Mountain State University 2010–2013; Paramount Developers 2013–presentBradley Square Mall 1991 Cleveland, TN Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; The Shane Morrison Companies 2009–presentMount Berry Square 1991 Rome, GA Crown American 1991–2003; PREIT 2003–2004; Lightstone 2004–2009; Jones Lang LaSalle 2009–2012; Hull Property Group 2012–present

Notes

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

External links Crown American Associates Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust