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There could be a new owner for the closed Berkshire Mall soon.

UPDATED: Berkshire Mall Sold To Ohio Investment Firm

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. - The sale of the Berkshire Mall was recorded with the Registry of Deeds Thursday.
 
The sale price was recorded at $1 million, some $2.5 million less than Kohan had purchased it. 
 

Original Post: Wednesday, July 10 at 5:02 p.m.

 
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A potential sale may be pending at the closed Berkshire Mall.
 
Recently, a new entity paid all of the town's taxes. Durga Property Holdings, Inc. out of Cincinnati apparently paid the taxes owed to the town. However, there is no record of a deed exchange in the Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds just yet so it is unclear exactly what Durga's involvement actually is but local officials say the company identified themselves as the"new owner." 
 
Durga also owns the Orchards Mall in Michigan, which the company bought from the Berkshire Mall's current owner Kohan Retail Investment Group, along with a handful of other developments throughout the country.
 
Vijaya Kumar Vemulapalli is listed as the head of the company in the paperwork filed with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. 
 
The Berkshire Mall was closed earlier in the year after facing significant issues with back taxes and utilities. The mall is currently owned by Kohan Retail Investment Group, which bought the property in 2016 for $3.5 million. Before that, it was owned by Strategic Asset Services and before that Pyramid Companies. 
 
Kohan had purchased it right after both Macy's and Best Buy left the 700,000 square-foot facilities and the loss of stores continued. Eventually, the mall closed its doors for good, with only Regal Cinemas and Target, both of which own their buildings, still operating.
 
The mall's website was shut down and Kohan removed the mall from the list of properties its website.
 
Searches for Durga has turned up little but according to the Herald Palladium in Michigan, Velmulapalli has had "mixed results" with development. He had particularly been successful with the development of a couple of hotel resorts.
 
Rumors of the sale, or pending sale, have circulated around town and little is actually known. However, the payment of the taxes has come at a great relief to town officials.
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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
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