Deemed "Onondaga County's largest absentee landlord," Moonbeam Capital Investments, which owns ShoppingTown, owes several million dollars to the county, yet the company is laying the groundwork for a potential lawsuit.

"This situation is at a crisis point where a company or a landlord can go four years without paying any taxes, collecting rents and not reinvesting back into the property as tenant after tenant leaves and still be a part of this community," said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

Come January, the company will owe more than $9 million in back taxes.

The county reached out to Moonbeam in November, trying to resolve the issue. Onondaga County is looking to seize the property for back taxes or if it can turn it over to the county's Industrial Development Agency. The courts are expected to hear the litigation in February.

"I don't want to fight but we're not going to sit here any longer and be a punching bag to this company," said McMahon.

This development is the most recent since the county sought to auction the property and then later seize the property. In July, the company submitted a "new" plan for the property which was nearly identical to the initial plan it submitted to the Town of Dewitt in 2015.

Moonbeam is a developer with more than 50 properties in the country, 10 of which are malls. Many of those malls are facing similar dilemmas.