LIMA MALL
Elida and North Cable RoadsAllen County (American Township), Ohio
By the mid-1960s, Youngstown, Ohio's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation had advanced from building small strip shopping plazas to developing large regional-class malls. Some of their first were GLEN BURNIE MALL {outside of Baltimore}, SUMMIT MALL {outside of Akron} and LIMA MALL.
Plans for the latter were announced in May 1964. LIMA MALL would be designed by the DeBartolo Corporation's in-house architecture department. It would occupy a 69-acre parcel, located 3 miles northwest of downtown Lima, in an unincorporated section of Allen County known as American Township. Ground was broken for the 12 million dollar complex on September 1, 1964.
Sears' 1-level (100,000 square foot) unit became the first operational store on September 30, 1965. Thirteen stores opened for business on November 18, 1965, including The Hobby Center, Howard's Camera Shop, Thrift Drug, Moore's Auto Parts, the First Lady Beauty Salon and 1-level (65,000 square foot), Lima-based The Leader.
An official grand opening was held on November 18. This was attended by Edward DeBartolo, Ohio representative Walter White, US Congressman William M. McCulloch (R) and C.W. Backus, a Woolworth official. Mall manager Eugene Warnecke served as Master of Ceremonies, with music provided by the Elida High School Band. The cutting of a ceremonial ribbon was eschewed in favor of the presentation of a red ribbon of 100 dollar bills; this given to the Allen County Children's Home.
J.C. Penney's 2-level (126,600 square foot) store held its grand opening on January 20, 1966. When fully-leased, LIMA MALL housed thirty-two stores and services. These included Singer Sewing Center, Richman Brothers men's wear, Petrie's ladies' wear, Paul Harris ladies' wear, Zale's Jewelers, a 1-level (50,500 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and (19,000 square foot) Pangles Master Market.
LIMA MALL had just one major competitor. AMERICAN MALL {1.5 miles south, in Allen County} began opening stores in February 1965. Often derided as "the other mall", it began to decline in the 1990s, closed for good in 2009 and was razed in 2013. Other less formidable rivals included WESTGATE CENTER (1956) {.6 mile south, in Allen County}, NORTHLAND PLAZA (1961) {2.1 miles east, in Lima} and KMART CENTER (a.k.a. EASTGATE CENTER) (1973) {4.8 miles southeast, also in Allen County}.
A 3-level (165,000 square foot), Columbus-based Lazarus was built west of LIMA MALL. This store was officially dedicated on August 5, 1971. An eighteen-store West Wing was also built, which connected the mall and its new Lazarus. West Wing stores included Robert Hall apparel, Rogers Jewelers, Hickory Farms of Ohio and Foxmoor Casuals. Tenants began opening in November 1971. The addition was dedicated in February 1972.
Over the years, the mall's four anchor stores were expanded. The Leader chain was acquired by Dayton-based Elder-Beerman in February 1974. The LIMA MALL location was enlarged by 20,000 square feet and rebranded in September 1975. Lazarus completed a 25,000 square foot addition in November 1978. Sears wrapped up a 5,000 square foot enlargement in early 1979. Lastly, J.C. Penney grew by 40,000 square feet by adding to their upper floor and northeast side. Their expansion was finished in June 1984.
Meanwhile, a 3-plex movie house was installed in a strip center adjacent to the west parking area of LIMA MALL. The General Cinema Corporation Lima Center Cinema I-II-III showed its first features on March 31, 1978 and was in operation until 2006.
The mall became a Simon DeBartolo holding with the 1996 merger of the Simon Property Group and DeBartolo Realty Corporation. In 1998, mall ownership came under the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group (who had dropped the DeBartolo co-heading).
LIMA MALL was given face lift renovations in 1978, 1997, 2011 and 2013. During the most recent remodeling, Old Navy moved into space vacated by MCL Cafeteria and New York & Company. Shoe Department Encore set up shop in the old Old Navy space.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" malls, including LIMA MALL. In early 2015, Washington Prime Group merged with Columbus, Ohio's Glimcher Realty Trust. A new corporate entity, known as WP Glimcher, was formed. The company's name reverted to Washington Prime Group in September 2016. Great Neck, New York's Kohan Retail Investment Group bought LIMA MALL in April 2023.
LIMA MALL was given face lift renovations in 1978, 1997, 2011 and 2013. During the most recent remodeling, Old Navy moved into space vacated by MCL Cafeteria and New York & Company. Shoe Department Encore set up shop in the old Old Navy space.
The Simon Property Group created a spin-off Real Estate Investment Trust in May 2014. Known as the Washington Prime Group, it assumed ownership of forty-four of Simon's "Grade B" malls, including LIMA MALL. In early 2015, Washington Prime Group merged with Columbus, Ohio's Glimcher Realty Trust. A new corporate entity, known as WP Glimcher, was formed. The company's name reverted to Washington Prime Group in September 2016. Great Neck, New York's Kohan Retail Investment Group bought LIMA MALL in April 2023.
Meanwhile, Elder-Beerman, a LIMA MALL tenant since September 1975, had shuttered their store on January 31, 2016. Sears closed for good on September 2, 2018, with Macy's going dark on March 21, 2021.
Sources:
The Lima News
http://limaohio.com
http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
www.simon.com (Simon Property Group)
http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
www.simon.com (Simon Property Group)
https://washingtonprime.com (Washington Prime Group)
https://www.limamall.com
Allen County, Ohio tax assessor website
Allen County, Ohio tax assessor website
https://www.kohanretail.com (Kohan Retail Investment Group)
