Durga Properties, the owner of Orchards Mall in Benton Township, is no stranger to delinquent tax notices, and the property taxes are piling up again. Last summer, the owner paid roughly $98,000 to settle unpaid tax bills from 2018 and 2019. Tax bills for the next three years are still outstanding, and with the addition of 2022’s unpaid taxes, the bill totals $328,000 dollars. Berrien County Treasurer Shellie Weich says she’s staying in close contact with Durga Properties’ management team.
“The last we talked, the 2021 taxes were to be paid off this year, in 2023” Weich said. “That was the last conversation we had.”
The Orchards Mall owners are under increasing public scrutiny due to the mall’s deteriorating conditions. Foreclosure for unpaid property taxes is a three-year process. The county treasurer says as long as an owner makes an honest effort to pay the tax bill, they stay out of foreclosure. Durga Properties is currently paying its 2020 property tax bill of $97,000 at a rate of $250 a month. Calls for comment from a representative of Durga Properties were not successful.
