Mayfield and South Taylor Roads
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Ground was broken for Ohio's first fully-enclosed shopping mall in February 1962. SEVERANCE CENTER, designed by Seattle's John Graham, Junior, was developed by a joint venture of Cleveland's Austin Company and Seattle-based Winmar Pacific. The 136-acre mall site was located 7 miles east of Cleveland's Public Square. It had previously been part of Longwood, the estate of local philanthropist John L. Severance.
Two Cleveland-based anchor stores opened for business on August 5, 1963; a 3-level (257,000 square foot) Higbee's and 2-level (150,000 square foot) Halle Brothers Company's or Halle's ["Hal-eez"]. Higbee's, designed by Los Angeles-based Welton Becket & Associates, stood at the northeast end of the mall, Halle's, at the southwest.
SEVERANCE CENTER was officially dedicated on October 17, 1963. The 9 million dollar complex encompassed approximately 854,000 leasable square on 2 levels. Most retail stores were located along a Mall Level, that stretched between the two anchors.
There was also a basement floor, which included a bowling alley and five office suites. A Convenience Wing extended from the basement, toward the northwest. It housed a Fisher Foods supermarket, Diamond's Deli and four additional stores. These had only exterior entrances onto a lower level parking area and were not connected into the upper (Mall Level) concourse.
In mid-1964, the center housed fifty-two stores and services, with a total of seventy-three tenant spaces. Included on the charter tenant list were Gray Drug, Hot Shoppes Cafeteria, Winkelman's ladies' wear, Milgrim's ladies' wear, Richman Brothers men's wear, a Sirloin & Saddle restaurant and F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. The National Theatres Corporation Severance Theatre at the Mall showed its first feature March 10, 1965.
Retail rivals of SEVERANCE CENTER included CEDAR-CENTER PLAZA / UNIVERSITY SQUARE (1956) {1.2 miles southeast, in University Heights}, RICHMOND MALL (1966) {3. 1 miles northeast, in Richmond Heights}, RANDALL PARK MALL (1976) {5.7 miles southeast, in North Randall} and BEACHWOOD MALL (1978) {3 miles southeast, in Beachwood}.
SEVERANCE CENTER received a face lift renovation in 1972. The complex was physically expanded 9 years later, with a new Southwest Wing. Formally opened on November 5, 1981, it housed a 1-level (85,000 square foot) Gold Circle discount mart.
A 20 million dollar renovation was completed in 1986. The Gold Circle space, which had been vacated in 1984, was enlarged and retenanted by Dunham's Sporting Goods, the 14-bay Galaxy Food Court and National Theatres Corporation Severance Movies 6plex. This new theater, which opened April 5, 1986, operated in conjunction with the circa-1965 venue, which had been divided in 1971 and renamed the Severance Movies Twin. With this renovation, SEVERANCE CENTER housed 103 stores under its roof.
Unfortunately, the mall was becoming a haven for crime. In a move to quell any negative perceptions, the Cleveland Heights City Hall, jail and court complex relocated to new buildings, at the northwest corner of the mall site, in 1986. The civic center and retail hub became known, collectively, as SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER.
The Halle's chain had gone belly-up on March 27, 1982. This created a vacancy that wasn't filled until August 17, 1989, when the Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company opened a store in the vacated -and renovated- building.
Horne's was shuttered on July 12, 1992. News surfaced about the store re-opening as a second Higbee's location. In actuality, it became part of a Dillard's "double-header," which was established in August 1992. Higbee's became Dillard's East (a Women's store) with the old Halle's / Horne's re-opening as Dillard's West, which carried Men's, Children's & Home merchandise.
Dillard's closed both SEVERANCE CENTER stores in June 1995. Within months, a plan to redevelop the shopping hub had been formally announced. The abandoned anchor stores were the first structures to be demolished.
A 1-level (113,800 square foot) Home Depot, built on the old Halle's / Horne's spot, welcomed first shoppers on October 29, 1998. A 1-level (126,200 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter, assuming the Higbee's spot, opened for business in January 1999. By this time, the inline store section of the mall had been bulldozed, with the Convenience Wing left standing. It was worked into a 475,000 square foot power plaza, that retained the SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER name.
The complex was officially re-dedicated in late 1999. Its stores and services included a (30,400 square foot) Marshalls, (25,700 square foot) Borders Books, (68,400 square foot) Dave's Supermarket and Regal Severance Town Center Stadium 14 megaplex.
Within a few years, there was a new lifestyle center in the vicinity. LEGACY VILLAGE {2.5 miles southeast, in Lyndhurst} was dedicated in 2003. Chicago-based Syndicated Equities acquired SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER in April 2004. Lake Bluff, Illinois-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty was enlisted to manage and lease the complex.
A major vacancy was created on October 15, 2013, when Wal-Mart was shuttered. The cinema shut down in March 2015. By this time, the shopping hub was over 40-percent vacant. It was foreclosed on and sold at a sheriff's auction in November 2015. The buyer, New York City-based CWCapital Asset Management, bought and flipped the property. Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group assumed ownership in May 2016.
In July 2017, a tentative redevelopment plan came to light. It would reinvent the struggling retail facility in three phases, over a period of 15 to 20 years, and add amenities such as an arts center, public park and several entertainment venues.
Sources:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Unfortunately, the mall was becoming a haven for crime. In a move to quell any negative perceptions, the Cleveland Heights City Hall, jail and court complex relocated to new buildings, at the northwest corner of the mall site, in 1986. The civic center and retail hub became known, collectively, as SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER.
The Halle's chain had gone belly-up on March 27, 1982. This created a vacancy that wasn't filled until August 17, 1989, when the Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company opened a store in the vacated -and renovated- building.
Horne's was shuttered on July 12, 1992. News surfaced about the store re-opening as a second Higbee's location. In actuality, it became part of a Dillard's "double-header," which was established in August 1992. Higbee's became Dillard's East (a Women's store) with the old Halle's / Horne's re-opening as Dillard's West, which carried Men's, Children's & Home merchandise.
Dillard's closed both SEVERANCE CENTER stores in June 1995. Within months, a plan to redevelop the shopping hub had been formally announced. The abandoned anchor stores were the first structures to be demolished.
A 1-level (113,800 square foot) Home Depot, built on the old Halle's / Horne's spot, welcomed first shoppers on October 29, 1998. A 1-level (126,200 square foot) Wal-Mart SuperCenter, assuming the Higbee's spot, opened for business in January 1999. By this time, the inline store section of the mall had been bulldozed, with the Convenience Wing left standing. It was worked into a 475,000 square foot power plaza, that retained the SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER name.
The complex was officially re-dedicated in late 1999. Its stores and services included a (30,400 square foot) Marshalls, (25,700 square foot) Borders Books, (68,400 square foot) Dave's Supermarket and Regal Severance Town Center Stadium 14 megaplex.
Within a few years, there was a new lifestyle center in the vicinity. LEGACY VILLAGE {2.5 miles southeast, in Lyndhurst} was dedicated in 2003. Chicago-based Syndicated Equities acquired SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER in April 2004. Lake Bluff, Illinois-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty was enlisted to manage and lease the complex.
A major vacancy was created on October 15, 2013, when Wal-Mart was shuttered. The cinema shut down in March 2015. By this time, the shopping hub was over 40-percent vacant. It was foreclosed on and sold at a sheriff's auction in November 2015. The buyer, New York City-based CWCapital Asset Management, bought and flipped the property. Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group assumed ownership in May 2016.
In July 2017, a tentative redevelopment plan came to light. It would reinvent the struggling retail facility in three phases, over a period of 15 to 20 years, and add amenities such as an arts center, public park and several entertainment venues.
Sources:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
1964 and 1990 Severance Center brochures submitted by Mike Dannhauser
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
https://clevelandhistorical.org
http://www.ech.case.edu / The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.city-data.com
http://www.syndicatedequities.com / Severance Towne Center
http://www.pinetreecommercial.com / Pinetree Commercial Realty
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
https://clevelandhistorical.org
http://www.ech.case.edu / The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
http://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.city-data.com
http://www.syndicatedequities.com / Severance Towne Center
http://www.pinetreecommercial.com / Pinetree Commercial Realty
https://namdarrealtygroup.com / Namdar Realty Group
FAIR USE OF SEVERANCE CENTER IMAGES:
FAIR USE OF SEVERANCE CENTER IMAGES:
The photos from The Michael Schwartz Library at Cleveland State University illustrate a key moment in the
mall's history that is described in the article. The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The
use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to
distribute them in any way. The images are being used for non-profit,
informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from
the original images in any way.
