Chamber official: Gwinnett Place Mall owner needs to go

“So if you're interested in replacing Moonbeam, call me, call Joe Allen the Gwinnett Place CID executive director, call Jace Brooks, the District 1 commissioner. Let's all hashtag-get- rid-of-Moonbeam. The answer is we don't have a professional developer that owns the property that knows what the hell they're doing. So let's get rid of them... you can quote me on that."

Masino was not part of the actual panel but emerged from the audience after someone asked what could be done to address the mall.  He later told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he stood by his comments.

"You can't find a place in the United States, and they own about 90 properties, where they've done anything they say they're gonna do,” he said.

Moonbeam, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday, purchased the already-flailing Gwinnett Place Mall in late 2013.

In January, it suggested it had plans for a grand makeover, one that included demolishing one department store to build apartments and converting two other wings into office space. The company said it would submit redevelopment plans to the county in March.

That never happened and, last month, Moonbeam CEO Steve Maksin declined to offer a new timetable.

Read the full story — including what other interested parties are saying — at myAJC.com.