Everhard Road Northwest and Whipple Avenue Northwest
Stark County (Jackson Township), Ohio
The Hall of Fame City's second fully-enclosed retail hub was developed by a joint venture of Herbert Strawbridge (CEO of the Cleveland-based Higbee's chain) and the Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs Company, also of Cleveland.
Ground was broken at a 66-acre parcel, located 5 miles northwest of center city Canton, on July 23, 1969. The site, once part of the Belden family farm, was situated in an unincorporated section of Stark County known as Jackson Township. BELDEN VILLAGE MALL was designed by the Dalton, Dalton & Little and Louis Resnick firms -of Cleveland- and Ralph Shimer firm, of Minneapolis. When fully realized, the single-level facility spanned approximately 850,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-three stores and services.
Charter BELDEN VILLAGE MALL tenants included Bakers Shoes, Camelot Music, Casual Corner, Chess King, Cleveland Fabric Shop, Diamond's Men's Shop, Docktor Pet Center, Fleischer Shoes, Foxmoor Casuals, Gray Drug, Hughes & Hatcher, Vicary's men's wear and Waldenbooks.
In addition, there were a (52,000 square foot), Cleveland-based) Halle's ["Hal-eez"] fashion store and in-mall Fazio's supermarket. The shopping hub also had a theatrical venue in its periphery. The Earl Pollack Belden Village Twin Cinema 1 & 2 was located in a small strip center southwest of the mall proper. This venue opened for business on December 19, 1973.
During its first 30 years, BELDEN VILLAGE MALL had only slight modifications. Face lift renovations were done, with a 12-bay Food Court opening (in a vacated Fazio's space) in June 1987. Sears added a partial second level in 1995, increasing that store's size to 196,000 square feet. The mall now encompassed approximately 948,000.
For several years, BELDEN VILLAGE was in direct competition with MELLETT MALL (1965) {4.1 miles south, in Canton}. Eventually, BELDEN VILLAGE prevailed. Late in the 20th century, a more formidable rival came on the scene. THE STRIP power center {.8 mile northwest, in Stark County} was dedicated in 1996.
The first anchor store rebranding at BELDEN VILLAGE had taken place on January 27, 1989, when O'Neil's became a Cleveland-based May Company of Ohio. The store morphed into a Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's on January 31, 1993 and a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Meanwhile, stores in the Higbee's chain were converted to the Dillard's banner in August 1992.
BELDEN VILLAGE MALL had been acquired by Sydney, Australia's Westfield in December 2001. It was renamed WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN BELDEN VILLAGE, with this moniker shortened to WESTFIELD BELDEN VILLAGE in June 2005. By this time, WESTFIELD BELDEN VILLAGE housed 107 inline stores. There were several outparcels, including Sears Auto Center (1970), Max & Erma's (2005) and Bravo! Cucina Italiana (2006).
An outdoor "Main Street" promenade, with 110,000 square feet of new retailers and sit-down restaurants, was proposed in 2007. This project, which was to be added to the north-facing facade of the mall, was to include a southwest parking deck. Plans for the expansion were abandoned as a result of The Great Recession.
In fact, Westfield placed the mall, and sixteen other "B-grade" United States properties, on the selling block in April 2011. It was hoped that proceeds from these sales would fund improvements to "A-grade" Westfield malls, such as CENTURY CITY {Los Angeles, California}, VALLEY FAIR {San Jose, California} and GARDEN STATE PLAZA {Paramus, New Jersey}.
In July 2013, Westfield sold BELDEN VILLAGE to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group. Soon after the transaction closed, the official name of the shopping hub reverted back to BELDEN VILLAGE MALL.
An exterior renovation, the mall's first since the late 1980s, got underway in July 2016. The Main Entrance was rebuilt and new walkways and landscaping installed. The project was completed in the fall of 2016. In April 2017, construction commenced on a small addition. Built in a former truck court on the north-facing front of the complex, it housed an (11,000 square foot) Melt Bar & Grill. The restaurant opened for business in November 2017. As one new store was added to the mall, another began a retail retreat.
Sears downsized their 196,000 square foot store into its (73,000 square foot) first floor. A (34,000 square foot) Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe was installed in the second floor, with its grand opening held on November 4, 2019. Sears closed for good on January 11, 2020. Sections of the vacant building's first floor were gutted and reconfigured as five store spaces. An (83,500 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods-Golf Galaxy opened for business on October 16, 2020.
For several years, BELDEN VILLAGE was in direct competition with MELLETT MALL (1965) {4.1 miles south, in Canton}. Eventually, BELDEN VILLAGE prevailed. Late in the 20th century, a more formidable rival came on the scene. THE STRIP power center {.8 mile northwest, in Stark County} was dedicated in 1996.
The first anchor store rebranding at BELDEN VILLAGE had taken place on January 27, 1989, when O'Neil's became a Cleveland-based May Company of Ohio. The store morphed into a Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's on January 31, 1993 and a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Meanwhile, stores in the Higbee's chain were converted to the Dillard's banner in August 1992.
BELDEN VILLAGE MALL had been acquired by Sydney, Australia's Westfield in December 2001. It was renamed WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN BELDEN VILLAGE, with this moniker shortened to WESTFIELD BELDEN VILLAGE in June 2005. By this time, WESTFIELD BELDEN VILLAGE housed 107 inline stores. There were several outparcels, including Sears Auto Center (1970), Max & Erma's (2005) and Bravo! Cucina Italiana (2006).
An outdoor "Main Street" promenade, with 110,000 square feet of new retailers and sit-down restaurants, was proposed in 2007. This project, which was to be added to the north-facing facade of the mall, was to include a southwest parking deck. Plans for the expansion were abandoned as a result of The Great Recession.
In fact, Westfield placed the mall, and sixteen other "B-grade" United States properties, on the selling block in April 2011. It was hoped that proceeds from these sales would fund improvements to "A-grade" Westfield malls, such as CENTURY CITY {Los Angeles, California}, VALLEY FAIR {San Jose, California} and GARDEN STATE PLAZA {Paramus, New Jersey}.
In July 2013, Westfield sold BELDEN VILLAGE to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group. Soon after the transaction closed, the official name of the shopping hub reverted back to BELDEN VILLAGE MALL.
An exterior renovation, the mall's first since the late 1980s, got underway in July 2016. The Main Entrance was rebuilt and new walkways and landscaping installed. The project was completed in the fall of 2016. In April 2017, construction commenced on a small addition. Built in a former truck court on the north-facing front of the complex, it housed an (11,000 square foot) Melt Bar & Grill. The restaurant opened for business in November 2017. As one new store was added to the mall, another began a retail retreat.
Sears downsized their 196,000 square foot store into its (73,000 square foot) first floor. A (34,000 square foot) Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe was installed in the second floor, with its grand opening held on November 4, 2019. Sears closed for good on January 11, 2020. Sections of the vacant building's first floor were gutted and reconfigured as five store spaces. An (83,500 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods-Golf Galaxy opened for business on October 16, 2020.
Sources:
The Akron Beacon Journal
The Canton Repository
The Dover Daily Reporter (Dover, Ohio)
Stark County, Ohio tax assessor website
http:''www.eyecorp.com
http://www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
https://starwoodretail.com / Starwood Retail Partners
https://www.shoppingbeldenvillagemall.com
"Westfield Belden Village" article on Wikipedia
The Akron Beacon Journal
The Canton Repository
The Dover Daily Reporter (Dover, Ohio)
Stark County, Ohio tax assessor website
http:''www.eyecorp.com
http://www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
https://starwoodretail.com / Starwood Retail Partners
https://www.shoppingbeldenvillagemall.com
"Westfield Belden Village" article on Wikipedia
