Southwestern Ohio's Towne Mall

This logo promoted Warren County's shiny new TOWNE MALL. Built on a site midway between Cincinnati and Dayton and east of Middletown, the complex was officially dedicated -with forty-one stores- in February 1977.
Graphic from the Jacobs, Visconsi, Jacobs Company

Planning for the shopping hub was underway by 1973. At the time, a TOWNE EAST MALL was to be built on a site located at the Interstate 75 and Ohio Route 122 interchange. This dumbell plan complex was to feature two anchor department stores and a Convenience Center with supermarket and 4-screen cinema.
Drawing from the Warren County Development Company

A Cincinnati-based McAlpin's pre-dated the adjacent shopping mall by 2 years. A downtown Middletown location had been established in July 1951, which moved to the MIDDLETOWN SHOPPING CENTER in October 1958. The store above opened, at the TOWNE MALL site, in February 1975. It included The Kopper Kettle, a sit-down restaurant.

Elder-Beerman, the west anchor of TOWNE MALL, is nearing completion in this snapshot. The store would welcome first shoppers in April 1977.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

In another vintage view, we see the mall's Main Entrance, with the McAlpin's store off in the distance.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

A site plan of the original shopping center. It covered approximately 465, 400 leasable square feet. Inline stores and anchors are situated on a single level and everything converges on a sunken Center Court. In June 1977, TOWNE MALL contained fifty stores and services, with free parking for 3,500 autos.

TOWNE MALL TENANTS 1977:

McALPIN'S (with Beauty Salon and Kopper Kettle restaurant) / SEARS (with attached Auto Center) / ELDER-BEERMAN (with Beauty Salon, Pharmacy and attached Auto Center) / Bresler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream / Camelot Music / Cards-N-Such / Carousel Snack Bar / Cassano's Pizza King / Casual Corner ladies' wear / Chess King men's wear / Chick-fil-A / Dunhill's Men's Wear / Fanny Farmer Candies / First National Bank of Warren County (ouptarcel) / Flowerama / Foxmoor Casuals ladies' wear / Fun-N-Games Gameroom / GNC / Hickory Farms of Ohio / Hot Sam Pretzels / J. Riggings men's wear / J.B. Robinson Jewelers / Jean Nicole ladies' wear / Kay-Bee Toys / Kinney Shoes / Lomark Drugs / Lowrey Organ Center / Litwin Diamond Cutters / Middletown Federal Savings & Loan / Nobil's Shoes / Paul Harris ladies' wear / Plaza U ladies' wear / Radio Shack / Robert Hall apparel / Silverman's men's wear / So-Fro Fabrics / Spencer Gifts / Sterling Optical / Susie's Casuals / Sycamore Shop ladies' wear / The Bottomhalf ladies' wear / The Earring Tree / The Gap men's wear / The Limited ladies' wear / Tiffany's Bakery / Thom McAn Shoes / York Steak House / Waldenbooks / World Bazaar 

TOWNE MALL remained essentially the same through the 1980s and '90s. It was never expanded beyond its original parameters. The snapshot above -and the one that follows- are early 2000s views of the shopping hub. Sears (seen here) anchored the center section of the complex for over 40 years.
Photo from http://www.urbanohio.com forum / "Ink"

Elder-Beerman anchored the west end of TOWNE MALL for nearly 40 years.
Photo from http://www.urbanohio.com forum / "Ink"

Dillard's rebranded McAlpin's stores in June 1999. The Little Rock retailer maintained a TOWNE MALL presence for nearly 10 years.

By the late 1990s, TOWNE MALL was struggling to keep tenants. Several redevelopment plans were proposed. This rendering depicts a New Urbanism-type reinvention. Although several concepts were pondered between 2006 and 2009, none were carried out.
Drawing from www.cblproperties.com / CBL & Associates Properties

A new owner took charge in late 2012 and initiated several improvements. A new name and logo debuted in 2013.
Graphic from Bless Properties, Limited Liability Company 

Meanwhile, in October 2015, regional shopping centers north of Cincinnati encountered a new competitor. LIBERTY CENTER encompassed 1.1 million square feet and was anchored by Dillard's and Dick's. The open-air complex included retail, dining, entertainment, "upscale residential" and hospitality components.
Drawing from http://www.liberty-center.com

The TOWNE MALL Dillard's was vacant for 7 years. New stores opened in the building in late 2015. Planet Fitness (in another part of the mall) was dedicated in early 2016. Elder-Beerman did an "anchors away" in January 2017, followed by Sears, which went dark in September.

TOWNE MALL

Roosevelt and Towne Boulevards
Warren County (Franklin Township), Ohio

Plans for a major Greater Middletown shopping center were announced in October 1973. A fully-enclosed mall was being envisaged by the Warren County Development Company, a joint venture of local investors. The mall-to-be would include two anchor department stores and be adjacent to Village East, a 350-unit condominium complex.

TOWNE EAST MALL would be built on part of an 86-acre tract, located northwest of the Interstate 75 and Ohio Route 122 interchange, 4 miles southeast of downtown Middletown. The prospective mall site would be entirely within Warren County's Franklin Township. Minnesota's Ralph B. Shimer was hired to design the new shopping facility.

Approval for mall construction was granted by Warren County commissioners in January 1974. In August, the project received a boost. Dayton-based Elder-Beerman backed out of a plan to build a new store at MIDDLETOWN MALL, in downtown Middletown. They opted to become an anchor at the prospective TOWNE EAST MALL.

By December 1974, the name of the new shopping hub had morphed to simply TOWNE MALL. Cincinnati-based McAlpin's had been part of the project since the beginning. Development of the retail hub had been assumed by a joint venture of the Miami Valley Properties Company and Mersco Realty Company (a subsidiary of Mercantile Stores, the McAlpin's parent company).

Construction had commenced at the mall site, now comprised of 53.6 acres, in early 1974. A 1-level (113,300 square foot), Cincinnati-based McAlpin's debuted on February 16, 1975. In April, Sears confirmed that they would also anchor TOWNE MALL. The store would relocate from a downtown Middletown location.

By this time, a third entity was in charge of the development of TOWNE MALL; Greater Cleveland's Jacobs, Visconsi, Jacobs Company. Over 350,000 square feet of selling space was added to the west side of McAlpin's. When fully-realized, TOWNE MALL encompassed approximately 465,400 leasable square feet and contained fifty-seven stores under its roof.

A mall-wide grand opening commenced on February 9, 1977. Forty-one stores were in operation, including a 1-level (68,000 square foot) Sears. The 1-level (118,000 square foot), Dayton-based Elder-Beerman was dedicated on April 29th of the same year. Charter tenants included GNC, J. Riggings, Chess King, Casual Corner, Chick-fil-A, The Limited, Spencer Gifts, Lowmark Drugs, Camelot Music and a York Steak House.

The interior of TOWNE MALL featured tropical gardens, a sunken Center Court and seating area and several skylights. Works of art were created by Clarence E. Van Duzer {of Cleveland}, Joseph Anthony McDonnell {of Bedford Village, New York} and Norman Poirier {of Cleveland Heights}.

Major shopping centers in the vicinity of TOWNE MALL included the aforementioned MIDDLETOWN MALL (1974), plus TRI-COUNTY CENTER (1960) {15.2 miles southwest, in Springdale} and DAYTON MALL (1970) {10.9 miles northeast, in Montgomery County}.

TOWNE MALL was successful in its early years, as it was the only shopping venue in Southwestern Ohio to feature both Elder Beerman {of Dayton} and McAlpin's {of Cincinnati}. In fact, the McAlpin's did so well that it eventually opened three smaller boutique-type stores within the mall.

For years, Middletown had made overtures toward annexing the property. This was bitterly contested by local residents. The issue was eventually decided by the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1996, Middletown prevailed and TOWNE MALL was taken into the city limits.

Middletown had been coveting tax dollars generated by the mall for years. Ironically, by the time they annexed the complex, it was beginning to decline. The proliferation of discount stores in its vicinity -such as Meijer ["miy-ir"], Target and Wal-Mart- hurt business. It is also opined that exorbitant rents charged for store space contributed to the decline of TOWNE MALL. Whatever the case, by the early 2000s, the shopping venue was virtually vacant.

Ownership of TOWNE MALL changed hands in January 2001, when Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates Properties bought the holdings of the Richard E. Jacobs Group (formerly Jacobs, Visconsi, Jacobs).

McAlpin's had morphed into a Dillard's following the Mercantile Stores merger of August 1998. Other smaller inline tenants made a gradual exodus from the shopping center. By the mid-2000s, there were thirty vacant storefronts out of a total of fifty-two. This prompted CBL to propose various redevelopment plans between 2006 and 2009. These multi-million dollar projects would have reinvented the structure in one of the following formats;

1. A two-anchor lifestyle center with the enclosed mall having been opened up as a central plaza.
2. A New Urbanism Town Center, with the entirety of the mall having been demolished and replaced by retail, residential and office components.
3. A mixed-use Lifestyle Center of newly-constructed retail, office and hospitality components, surrounding a central greenspace.

Eventually, the City of Middletown and Warren County decided not to contribute funding for any renovations. Dillard's shuttered their TOWNE MALL operation in June 2008. Another impediment to the redevelopment was the opening of CINCINNATI PREMIUM OUTLETS {3.8 miles south, in Monroe}. The first stores in this open-air shopping hub began business in August 2009.

Following this, TOWNE MALL limped along in a state of retail twilight. Sears and Elder-Beerman remained in business...along with stores such as GNC, Radio Shack, Bath & Body Works, Finish Line and Dunham's Sports. By mid-2012, there were just eighteen operational stores.

In October 2012, the mall was sold to George Ragheb, of California. The Sears and Elder-Beerman buildings were not included in the transaction, but the latter was eventually purchased, along with the vacant Dillard's.

The new owner proposed a 25 million dollar rehab and repositioning of the shopping center. New names were put forward; THE DISTRICT AT MIDDLETOWN, MIDDLETOWN GALLERIA and TOWNE MALL GALLERIA. TOWNE MALL GALLERIA was selected as the center's new moniker.

Unfortunately, the mall's retail renaissance was hindered by several mixed-use projects built in its vicinity. BRIDGEWATER FALLS {11.6 miles southwest, in Butler County} was dedicated in 2011. AUSTIN LANDING {8.8 miles northeast, in Montgomery County} opened in stages between 2011 and 2014. Finally, LIBERTY CENTER {8.7 miles south, in Butler County} held its grand opening in 2015.
 

A proposed rehab of TOWNE MALL GALLERIA failed to materialize . Several stores gave up and shut their doors. These included Worthmore Men's, Kay Jewelers, All About You Catering, Finish Line, Home Connection and GameLand & PCs.

News of a prospective Burlington (Coat Factory), announced in July 2014, was welcomed by stores still in operation. The (56,000 square foot) Burlington, taking half of the old Dillard's, opened on March 13, 2015. Remaining space was occupied by a (57,300 square foot), Morgantown, West Virginia-based Gabe's. This store was dedicated on October 10, 2015.

A new strip center was built in the front parking area. TOWNE MALL SHOPPES encompassed 12,700 leasable square feet and housed Buffalo Wild Wings, Aspen Dental, Sport Clips and a GNC (which had moved from inside the mall). Stores were open by May 2017.
 

New store openings were met with bad tidings. Elder-Beerman shuttered their 39-year-old unit on January 31, 2017. Sears, another charter 1977 anchor, went dark in September. In 2021, the shopping concourse closed as a precaution against the Covid-19 pandemic. It never re-opened. In order to be in control of the moribund mall's redevelopment, the City of Middletown bought the property in June 2024. 

Sources:

The Dayton Daily News
The Middletown Journal (Middletown, Ohio)

The Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio)

http://www.shoptownemall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://auditor.warrencountyohio.gov / Warren County, Ohio 

http://www.urbanohio.com forum / Comment post by "PreservationRestoration"

https://www.cblproperties.com / CBL & Associates Properties (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://specialtyretail.com
http://www.bizjournals.com

http://www.cityofmiddletown.org

Southwestern Ohio's Middletown Mall

The original logo for MIDDLETOWN MALL. The symbol was designed in the early 1970s, as construction was getting underway on the center city, Urban Renewal shopping complex.
Graphic from the City of Middletown

Before there was a MIDDLETOWN MALL, there was downtown Middletown. This logo montage is composed of trademarks of stores and services in operation -in the Central Business District- in 1950. 

A G.C. Murphy 5 & 10, which stood at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Broad Street. Murphy's, which opened in the early 1920s, originally occupied only the right half of this store. They expanded into the left half in 1953.   

Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

A circa-1965 rendering from an early proposal to reinvent the declining downtown area. This plan did not advocate constructing an enclosed shopping mall, but just giving face lifts to existing store fronts.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

A circa-1971 rendering of the prospective MIDDLETOWN MALL. In this view, we see the Verity Parkway entrance, which is flanked by The Central Store and J.C. Penney. The exterior design of the Brutalist structure would be softened a bit for the mall that was eventually built.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

Another 1971 rendering; this of the interior of the prospective "climate-controlled mall for the Central Business District." The interior of the completed mall looked exactly like this drawing, except that most of the store spaces were never leased.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library.

Heavy construction along Central Avenue, in August 1973. Shopping at any stores that remained in business along the Avenue had become quite treacherous. Longtime downtown merchants, such as The Joy Shop, John Ross Company and S.S. Kresge, had gone bust by this time.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

A sign, at the future southeast (Verity Parkway) mall entrance, proclaims Middletown's up-and-coming Urban Renewal project.
Photo from the George C. Crout Collection, courtesy of the Middletown Public Library

A  computer-generated rendering of the northwest (Main Street) entrance of MIDDLETOWN MALL. Opened in December 1974, this "center city-saving" retail facility would never live up to expectations held in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Our first layout depicts the MIDDLETOWN MALL of 1975. Its total gross leasable area was 225,000 square feet. Twenty-five stores flanked the north-south and east-west concourses. A parking garage also accommodated 752 autos. Major stores were J.C. Penney, G.C. Murphy and an adjacent (but not mall-connected) Sears. Mabley & Carew and The Central Store pulled up stakes soon after the mall's completion.

In this snapshot, and the three that follow, we see a fully-realized MIDDLETOWN MALL-CITY CENTRE MART. Above is a view of the dramatic, pulsing fountain in the Rotunda.

Photo from http://www.midpointedigitalarchives.org / MidPoint Digital Archives

The east concourse and J.C. Penney, which was one of three anchors at the original MALL-MART. The Late Moderne-design store had been a downtown Middletown landmark since 1951.

Photo from http://www.midpointedigitalarchives.org / MidPoint Digital Archives

Worthmore men's shop, another long-time downtown merchant. The existing storefront was extended 8 feet to connect with the air-conditioned mall.

Photo from http://www.midpointedigitalarchives.org / MidPoint Digital Archives

Dohn's (rhymes with "owns") Hardware was another long-time downtown merchant.

Photo from http://www.midpointedigitalarchives.org / MidPoint Digital Archives

The mall's name was changed to CITY CENTRE MART in 1977. This circa-1980 layout illustrates the best case scenario...or what was supposed to have been built by this time. There would be two new department stores (Swallen's and Elder-Beerman) and north and south parking structures. Additional inline retail space is indicated in medium gray.

Elder-Beerman backed out of building a downtown Middletown store in August 1974. They, along with Sears, opted to locate at the up-and-coming TOWNE MALL. Cincinnati-based Swallen's went ahead with a new CITY CENTRE MART store, which opened in late 1979. It would serve as the mall's sole anchor after J.C. Penney shut down in 1981.

The MALL-MART was unceremoniously demolished between 2001 and 2002. Today, some locals blame the failed shopping hub for the decline of downtown Middletown...something of a snap judgement. Weighing in all the facts, a different picture begins to emerge. CITY CENTRE MART did not single-handedly kill the downtown area. This process had been put in motion as far back as the late 1950s, as detailed in the diagram above.

MIDDLETOWN MALL

Central Avenue and Broad Street
Middletown (Butler County), Ohio

Middletown, Ohio was settled in 1791. Many locals believe that it was so named because it is, more or less, midway between Cincinnati (to the south) and Dayton (to the north). In fact, it was named "Middletown" due to its location at the middle of the farthest navigable point on the Miami River, traveling north from where it enters the Ohio River.

The downtown business district of this city of 52,000 was, for years, the primary shopping destination for the entire region. It has been said that one could find most anything they could ever want to buy within the four blocks of stores where Central Avenue and Broad Streets intersected.

This started to change in October 1958, when the MIDDLETOWN SHOPPING CENTER opened, in the city's eastern environs. In an attempt to curb a retail store exodus from downtown, the city government formulated a plan to close-off the Central Business District along Central and Broad and build an enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall. Plans were approved by city commissioners in December 1968.

Ground was broken for MIDDLETOWN MALL in April 1972. Federal Revenue Sharing Grants provided 75 percent of the funding for the 28 million dollar project. The enclosed mall, and its associated structures, were designed by Daniel T. Meehan & Associates of Cincinnati. The mall was to include two multilevel parking garages, two office towers and two newly-built anchor department stores.

The second garage, to be constructed at the south end of the Broad Street concourse, was proposed but never completed. Neither were the office towers. Moreover, only one new anchor store would ever see fruition. A Dayton-based Elder-Beerman, would have occupied the southeast corner of the 4-block site. After years of negotiations, Elder-Beerman cancelled plans for a MIDDLETOWN MALL store in August 1974. They opted to build at a new mall being developed in the southeastern environs of the city.

Meanwhile, by the summer of 1973, the downtown area of Middletown was akin to a battle zone. The two central streets were excavated; pedestrian access to existing stores was made nearly impossible and more than a bit dangerous. Several local businesses along the future mall concourses were soon out of business.

After nearly 2 years of heavy construction, and with many of its prospective tenants now shuttered, MIDDLETOWN MALL was officially dedicated on November 24, 1973. Charter stores and services included Worthmore Men's, Dohn's Hardware, Troup Furniture, Miller's Jewelers, Rogers Jewelers, Weber's Century Tavern and a G.C. Murphy 5 & 10.

A death knell rang for MIDDLETOWN MALL in February 1977. The shiny new TOWNE MALL {3.9 miles southeast, in Warren County} opened its doors. The complex had over 3,000 free parking spaces and was conveniently located adjacent to Interstate 75. TOWNE MALL snatched the downtown  Sears, which was not physically connected into MIDDLETOWN MALL, but was a few doors south of its Main Street entrance.

To add insult to injury, three other MIDDLETOWN MALL anchor stores would go dark. The 3-level (93,700 square foot) Middletown-based Central Store was shuttered soon after the complex was dedicated. A 3-level (42,700 square foot), Cincinnati-based Mabley & Carew closed in 1978. G.C. Murphy moved out in 1980, with a 5-level (33,300 square foot) J.C. Penney being shuttered in 1981.

Most commerce in Middletown had -or was- moving to the southeastern environs of the city. Nothing could stop this trend. The first defection from downtown had been done by McAlpin's, in 1959. Montgomery Ward followed suit in 1964. By this time, new discount stores were also being built. These included Fashion Fair (1963), Rink's Bargain City (1966), Hills (1972), Ayr-Way (1973) and Kmart (1978).

Alas, MIDDLETOWN MALL never lived up to the grandiose plan envisioned in 1968. As a remarketing effort, the name of the struggling facility was changed to CITY CENTRE MART on April 1, 1977. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested in hiring a series of consultants and development firms. Apparently, the only thing they accomplished was cashing pay checks.

New tenants were secured for a few of the empty spaces and a 3-level (196,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based Swallen's opened in December 1979. Still, the complex was in a pronounced state of decline by the 1980s. Another name change, to CITY CENTRE MALL, was instituted on May 1, 1987.

Soon, the City Of Middletown was faced with the problem of maintaining a nearly-deserted inner-city mall. Annual upkeep on the aging structure was hitting the 500 thousand dollar mark by the late 1990s and the mall was badly in need of repairs. Something had to be done. A new Downtown Redevelopment Plan, proposing the removal of the enclosed mall and some adjacent structures, gained momentum. The wrecking ball was brought in in July 2001. In December 2002 , a new (MALL-less) downtown Middletown was dedicated.

The MALL-MART had been demolished, with only its parking garage left standing (this would eventually be razed, as well). One could, once again, drive down Central Avenue from Verity Parkway to Main Street.

The demolition of the mall and replacement of store fronts and streets required some 13 million dollars in city, county and state funds. The Feds, who had contributed over 20 million dollars to build the structure, were not helping to get rid of it.

Sources:

The Dayton Daily News

The Middletown Journal

Personal recollections of the author

w.w.w. lanepl.org

http://www.midpointedigitalarchives.org / MidPoint Digital Archives

http://propertysearch.butlercountyohio.org

The Cincinnati Enquirer / "City Centre Prospects Debated" article / Janet C. Wetzel / Thursday, March 4, 1999

The Cincinnati Enquirer / "City Centre Estimate: 10.3 M" article / Janet C. Wetzel / Saturday, September 11, 1999

The Cincinnati Enquirer / "Leaders Hope Mall Has Life" article / Michael D. Clark / Wednesday, April 11. 2001

Northwestern Ohio's Lima Mall

The eleventh mall-type complex developed by Ohio's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation was located in the northwest corner of the Buckeye State. LIMA MALL was officially dedicated, with thirteen stores, in November 1965. 

Drawing from the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation

A full-line "Penneys," anchoring the west end of LIMA MALL, opened its doors in January 1966.

Photo from Curteichcolor

While the DeBartolo Corporation was developing LIMA MALL, another Youngstown-based company was building their own "Limaland" shopping complex. Stores in William Cafaro & Associates' AMERICAN MALL began opening in February 1965.

Graphic from William Cafaro & Associates 

The cinema that never was. In September 1965, plans for a Lima Mall Theatre were announced. The 900-seat venue would connect into the climate-controlled shopping concourse and feature an ultra-wide screen and stereophonic sound. Although the theater is included on some 1965 and '66 tenant lists, it was never completed. The last mention of the prospective movie house was in March 1966.

Drawing from Broumas Theatres 

LIMA MALL, circa-1966. The tri-anchor facility encompassed approximately 500,000 leasable square feet and contained twenty-nine stores and services. Free parking was provided for 4,500 autos. LIMA MALL was the third fully-enclosed shopping center in Ohio; the first and second having been Greater Cleveland's SEVERANCE CENTER and Greater Akron's SUMMIT MALL.

LIMA MALL TENANTS 1966:

SEARS (with Coffee House, lawn & garden center and attached Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY (with Coffee Shop, beauty salon, lawn & garden center, portrait studio and freestanding Auto Center) / THE LEADER (with beauty salon, bridal shop and Art Needle Workshop) / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / Abraham's ladies' wear / Butler's Shoes / Claire Hats / Cleveland Fabrics / Corwin's Pastries / First Lady Beauty Salon / Holloway House Cafeteria / Howard's Camera Shop / Kinney Shoes / Lima Optical Fashion Center / Madison's apparel / Metropolitan Bank / Moore's Auto Supply / Neumode Hosiery / Pangles Master Market (with InStore Bakery and Snack Shop) / Paul Harris ladies' wear / Petrie's ladies' wear / Richman Brothers men's wear / Sills Shoes / Singer Sewing Center / Suburban Barbers / The Hobby Center / Thrift Drug (with luncheonette) / United Men's Wear / Zale's Jewelers

The LIMA MALL Lazarus opened in late 1971, as a part of a West Wing expansion. The original store encompassed 165,000 square feet and featured two restaurants; The Skyline Room and Inn-A-Hurry Coffee Shop.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Dirty Harry"

LIMA MALL, circa-1975. A West Wing addition (in dark gray) added eighteen inline stores and was dedicated in February 1972. The north anchor has just been enlarged and rebranded as a Dayton-based Elder-Beerman. With these modifications, the shopping hub covered approximately 787,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-one tenant spaces. 

LIMA MALL TENANTS 1975:

LAZARUS (with The Skyline Room restaurant and Inn-A-Hurry Coffee Shop) / THE LEADER (with beauty salon, bridal shop and Art Needle Workshop) / SEARS (with Coffee House, lawn & garden center and attached Auto Center) / J.C. PENNEY (with Coffee Shop, Beauty Salon, lawn & garden center, portrait studio and freestanding Auto Center) / F.W. WOOLWORTH (with luncheonette) / Abraham's ladies' wear/ Brooks Fashions / Butler's Shoes / Camelot Music / Can-Do Shop / Carousel Snack Bar / Central Savings & Loan Association / Chess King men's wear / Claire's Boutique / Corwin's Pastries / Foxmoor Casuals ladies' wear / Hickory Farms of Ohio / Hot Sam Pretzels / Howard's Camera Shop / Jo-Ann Fabrics / Kinney Shoes / Lima Optical Fashion Center / Madison's apparel / Mary Jane Shoes / MCL Cafeteria / Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio / Metropolitan Bank / Modern Finance Company / Moore's Auto Supply / Morgan's Fashions & Uniforms / Motherhood Maternity / National Shirt Shops / Neumode Hosiery / Olan Mills Studio / Orleans Leather Shop / Pangles Master Market / Parklane Hosiery / Paul Morris Sportswear / Petrie's ladies' wear / Plum Tree ladies' wear / Radio Shack / Regal Shoes / Regis Hair Stylists / Richman Brothers men's wear/ Robert Hall Clothes / Rogers Jewelers / Sill's Shoes / Singer Sewing Center / Spencer Gifts / Suburban Barbers / The Hobby Center / Thom McAn Shoes / Thrift Drug (with luncheonette) / Waldenbooks / Zales Jewelers

An early 2000s view of the mall's west end. The "JCPenney" nameplate replaced the store's 1960s-vintage "Penneys" trademark in the 1970s. 
Photo from www.eyecorp.com

Ruby Tuesday opened a freestanding restaurant, in the periphery of the mall, in the year 2000.
Photo from Allen County, Ohio 

By 2008, all anchor stores have been enlarged. Lazarus completed a southern addition in late 1978. The store morphed into a Lazarus-Macy's in August 2003 and full-fledged Macy's in February 2005. Sears finished an addition in early 1979. J.C. Penney concluded theirs in mid-1984, with Elder-Beerman growing into adjoining store space in late 1994. With these modifications, LIMA MALL covered approximately 847,000 leasable square feet.

By mid-2021, the mall is in dire straits. Elder-Beerman, in operation since September 1975, was shuttered in January 2016. The demise of the mall's 52-year-old Sears would follow, in September 2018. Macy's pulled their proverbial plug in March 2021. Out of a total of fifty-seven store spaces, eighteen are now vacant. 

 

A new mall owner has devised a redevelopment plan for the past its prime property. A LIMA TOWN CENTER layout shows a newly-built Target, that takes the place of an abandoned and razed Macy's. Apparently, J.C. Penney will be shuttered and demolished along with a vacant Sears. These stores may be replaced by 185,000 square feet of big box retail. 

Drawing from https://rockycompanies.com / The Rocky Companies 

 

LIMA MALL

Elida and North Cable Roads
Allen 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-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 first features on March 31, 1978. It 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. Elder-Beerman, a LIMA MALL tenant since September 1975, shuttered their store on January 31, 2016. Sears closed for good on September 2, 2018, with Macy's going dark on March 21, 2021. 

Meanwhile, 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. Kohan flipped the property, which was sold to the Pikesville, Maryland-based Rocky Companies in December 2023. The new owner drafted plans for a major mall renovation. The complex is being reconfigured as LIMA TOWN CENTER, a hybrid enclosed mall and open-air power center. 

 

This facility will be anchored by a 1-level (129,000 square foot) Target. To accommodate this new structure, the Lazarus-Macy's store, on the west end of the mall, was razed. Demolition commenced in March 2025 and was complete by June of the same year. The Lima Target should be up and running by the summer of 2026.  

Sources:

The Lima News

http://limaohio.com
http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group

https://washingtonprime.com / Washington Prime Group

https://www.limamall.com 
https://allencountyohauditor.com /Allen County, Ohio 

https://www.kohanretail.com / Kohan Retail Investment Group

https://rockycompanies.com / The Rocky Companies

https://www.limaohio.com 

https://www.hometownstations.com