big changes ahead for the old mall:

 

Article published Tuesday, July 26, 2005

 

SOUTHWYCK MALL

Deal reached to rejuvenate Southwyck

Perrysburg developer plans $100M open-air retail plaza

 

 

Southwyck offers few clues to its heyday as a top Toledo shopping destination.

( THE BLADE/LORI KING )

 

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

 

If Larry Dillin gets his way, the nearly empty Southwyck mall will be replaced by a $100 million "lifestyle center" with open- air plazas, shops, row houses, and even offices.

 

The retail developer, who is best known for the successful Town Center at Levis Commons project in Perrysburg, has reached agreement with the owners of the Southwyck Shopping Center to redevelop the struggling 33-year-old property in southwest Toledo.

I don't know if that small area (about 5 mile south) between southwyck and Levis or the distance bt southwyck and the proposed fallen timbers (about 5 miles to the east) can support all that retail. 

There will now be 3 lifestyle malls in the SW chunk of Toledo and suburbs: the Levis Commons in Perrysburg, the Fallen Timbers Mall under construction in Maumee, and the new Southwyck open air mall.

 

It will be the lifestyle mall capital of the world.  :lol:

Story link:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050726/NEWS16/507260342

 

From the 7/27/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Larry Dillin expresses his revitalization hopes.  ( THE BLADE/DON SIMMONS )

 

Developer sets sights on Southwyck environs

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

As local developer Larry Dillin dives into the difficult task of netting a redevelopment plan for the nearly empty Southwyck mall, he will look beyond that big box along Reynolds Road near Heatherdowns Boulevard.

 

Although planning is in the preliminary stages and his exact goals are uncertain, Mr. Dillin said he hopes to offer suggestions for redevelopment of a larger area between Airport Highway and the Ohio Turnpike interchange.

 

Contact Gary Pakulski at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6082.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050727/BUSINESS10/507270386/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 7/31/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Once-thriving stores present blank faces along the nearly empty corridors of the struggling south Toledo shopping center.  ( THE BLADE/LORI KING )

 

PHOTO: An open-air design like that of Levis Commons is the goal for the rejuvenation of Southwyck.  ( THE BLADE/LISA DUTTON )

 

REDEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR STRUGGLING MALL

Discount retail expected at Southwyck

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Trapped in a death spiral for four years, Southwyck Shopping Center finally got good news last week with an announcement that the 33-year-old mall is to be redeveloped into an open-air “lifestyle center” with retail, offices, and housing.

 

Contact Jon Chavez at: [email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/BUSINESS07/50731016/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 11/5/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Mayor Jack Ford talks about the latest development plan a Perrysburg developer offers for Southwyck Shopping Center.  ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

Ford heralds idea of Southwyck mini-village

By JOSHUA BOAK

and JON CHAVEZ

BLADE STAFF WRITERS

 

Mayor Jack Ford unveiled plans yesterday to transform Southwyck Shopping Center, its near-deserted parking lot filled mostly with weeds and political opportunity, into a miniature village replete with dozens of stores, office space, and 256 "midluxury" apartments.

 

Contact Joshua Boak at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6728.[/i]

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051105/NEWS09/511050435/-1/NEWS

 

From the 2/28/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, left, listens as Roy Swanson outlines his concerns during the mayor's second town hall meeting.  ( THE BLADE/JESSICA CROSSFIELD )

 

NEIGHBORHOOD TOWN HALL

Residents tell mayor to revitalize Southwyck

City, developer want control of South Toledo mall

 

South Toledoans last night let Mayor Carty Finkbeiner know that they want the Southwyck Shopping Center revitalized - and soon.

 

The continued lack of progress on Southwyck's redevelopment dominated the mayor's second town hall meeting - this one held in the mall. About 200 people attended the two-hour session.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS16/602280377/-1/NEWS

 

*shiver*  looking at all those surface lots makes me feel sick.

Levis Commons.....Fallen Timbers.......Village at Southwyck........Toledo is becoming such a lifestyle center :)

 

.......at least Southwyck is in the city limits!!!!

 

 

Oh and on a side note, a little riddle: How much timber has to fall for that new Monclova Mall? :(

All I know is Im taking my dollars to this new Southwyck place, it would have been nice if they came up with a more creative name for the development, but anyways its always good to see a new massive project IN Toledo. When is ground-breaking? I heard it will be open for business in fall 07', so ground breaking must be soon.

From the 5/9/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

SITE PLAN: Proposed Village at Southwyck

 

Plans unveiled for Southwyck

Developer says first tenant signed

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

The man converting Southwyck Shopping Center into a retail, office, and residential complex said yesterday he has signed his first major tenant for the project.

 

Stautzenberger College, a private business school on Southwyck Boulevard next to the mall, will move to the 40,000-square-foot former Lion for the Home store, which will be renovated next year, said Larry Dillin, president of Dillin Corp.

 

Contact Jon Chavez at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060509/BUSINESS10/605090359/-1/RSS04

 

^i used to get sorta decent really cheap shit at that gap, ever since the new one at franklin park opened, i haven't found anything there that i liked.  the gap might be going down the tubes.  it closed at mentor's great lakes mall, which i thought was an ok operation.

From the 8/9/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

ELECTION 2006

Council hopeful worries about Southwyck plans

By LAREN WEBER

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Bob Vasquez, one of four candidates running for an at-large Toledo City Council seat, is concerned the Southwyck Shopping Center redevelopment plans could be pushed to the back burner because efforts to develop the Marina District on Toledo's east side have taken center stage.

 

Contact Laren Weber at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6050.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS09/608090401/-1/NEWS

 

From the 9/22/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

GRAPHIC: Proposed stores at Southwyck

 

Southwyck plan envisions well-known mid-price stores

By MARY-BETH McLAUGHLIN

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

If developer Larry Dillin has his way, the revitalized Southwyck mall will offer a mix of well-known retailers to serve residents within five miles of the Reynolds Road site.

 

A merchandising plan for the redeveloped Village at Southwyck shows the largest non-anchor stores could be such nationally known chains as Borders Books, Pier One, and Linen & Things, as well as a Sunflower Market with more than 20,000 square feet of space.

 

Contact Mary-Beth McLaughlin at

[email protected] or 419-724-6199.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060922/BUSINESS05/609220361/-1/RSS04

 

From the 11/4/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

SOUTHWYCK

Developer says enclosed mall has no appeal

 

The Southwyck Shopping Center, in its current format, has zero appeal for today's retailers, said Larry Dillin, the local developer overseeing a $125 million effort to revitalize the 30-year old enclosed retail complex on Reynolds Road in Toledo.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/BUSINESS05/611040388/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 11/13/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Council gets Southwyck pledge

City: $1.3M to be restored in '07

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Reacting to fears that the Southwyck Village project could lose city funding, the Finkbeiner administration is assuring Toledo City Council that the $1.3 million being transferred to the Marina District project will be restored to Southwyck in 2007.

 

Contact Tom Troy at: [email protected] or 419-724-6058.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061113/NEWS16/611130328

 

From the 11/14/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Finkbeiner signs pledge to restore Southwyck funds

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Advocates of converting Southwyck Shopping Center into an urban village said yesterday afternoon they wanted a written guarantee that $1.3 million being transferred from that project to the Marina District project would be restored in 2007.

 

Contact Tom Troy at:

[email protected] or 419-724-6058.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061114/NEWS16/611140389

 

City looks at finances to revamp Southwyck

Slum, blight study to be proposed

TOM TROY / TOLEDO BLADE

 

Map of Designated Area

 

TOLEDO - The city of Toledo may ask the state for a “slum and blight” designation for the Reynolds Road commercial corridor so it can use tax-increment financing to help fund the planned renovation of Southwyck Shopping Center.

 

[email protected]

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061211/NEWS16/61211001/-1/NEWS

Does anyone know where I might find some renderings of Southwyck's proposed replacement?

Let the battles begin!!

 

Southwyck is undergoing a massive redevelopment to compete with the new Fallen Timbers Mall in Maumee/Monclova. There is now a website up with lots of renderings. :-D

 

It's being called the Village at Southwyck as is expected to open at about the same time as the Mall at Fallen Timbers. It looks like the retail scene in Southwest Toledo is about to explode.

 

http://villageatsouthwyck.com/

Does anyone know where I might find some renderings of Southwyck's proposed replacement?

 

Try the link above

just curious -- does anyone really call it westfield franklin park??? its franklin park!

From the 4/26/07 Blade:

 

 

GRAPHIC: Stautzenberger: At a glance

 

STAUTZENBERGER COLLEGE

2-year school plans to leave Southwyck

Slow pace of mall makeover is cited

By MEGHAN GILBERT

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Stautzenberger College, the first major tenant that signed on for the Southwyck Shopping Center renovation, announced yesterday it is moving to Maumee.

 

The private business school, which has been at its Southwyck location since 1979, needs a larger and more up-to-date facility, but plans to get that at the proposed Village at Southwyck have stalled, college President George Simon said.

 

Contact Meghan Gilbert at: [email protected] or 419-724-6134.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/NEWS21/704260364/-1/RSS

 

From the 5/18/07 Blade:

 

 

Dillard's commits to Southwyck

Decision brightens picture for redevelopment of mall

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

The long-stalled plans to redo the Southwyck Shopping Center in Toledo took a significant turn for the better yesterday with the revelation that Dillard's Inc. has made a commitment to remain at the center through 2011.

 

Contact Jon Chavez at: [email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070518/BUSINESS07/705180390/-1/RSS04

 

Link contains a photo.  From the 6/5/07 Blade:

 

 

Developer rethinking plan for Southwyck

Revision to delay work on center until fall

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Local retail developer Larry Dillin said yesterday that he went to a shopping center convention last month in Las Vegas with a specific vision for a redeveloped Southwyck Shopping Center.

 

But the man who created Perrysburg's Town Center at Levis Common said he came back with a revised notion. Redeveloped Southwyck, instead, could have a closer mix of housing and stores than was originally proposed, he said. The change stemmed from suggestions by retailers and others at the convention.

 

Contact Jon Chavez at: [email protected] or 419-724-6128.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/BUSINESS05/706050395/-1/RSS04

 

SOUTHWYCK'S FINAL CLEARANCE

Curtain closes on long-troubled south-Toledo mall

Article published June 29, 2008

By JC REINDL

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

The countdown reaches zero today for Southwyck Shopping Center, nearly 36 years after the South Toledo mall opened and became a leading regional shopping venue.  Following management’s orders, the mall’s final holdout businesses — all four of them last week — will have closed shop for good by 6 p.m., effectively leaving Southwyck a retail ghost town of darkened store windows, empty corridors, idle water fountains, and pulled-down metal gates.

 

The deadline brings an end to the gradual decline in Southwyck businesses that gained speed last fall when the Y-shaped mall’s final anchor store, Dillard’s, closed in coordination with the opening of its new location in the Shops at Fallen Timbers in Maumee.

 

Southwyck, in its heyday, could boast 103 stores and three anchors, along with several dozen smaller shops in its “Old Towne” mini-mall wing that was modeled upon the marketplace of late 19th-century Boston.

 

MORE: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS16/400795138

Demolition timeline set for Southwyck

Posted: Jan 02, 2009 2:46 PM EST

 

SOUTH TOLEDO (WTOL) - It's been empty since June, but there's now word that the owners of the old Southwyck have agreed to tear it down.  We talked with Councilman Mike Collins who represents this area.  He says the three owners of the building have decided it's too expensive to let it sit here, and they're moving forward with tearing it down.

 

They'll start interior demolition during the next three months and will have the Southwyck site leveled by summer of this year.  Collins says there are no plans, just yet, for future development of site.  That will be dictated by the building's owners, and the economy

 

MORE: http://www.wtol.com/global/story.asp?s=9608460

End of mall is drawing near

Asbestos removal precedes demolishing of Southwyck

Article published March 19, 2009

By IGNAZIO MESSINA

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Southwyck Shopping Center will be cleaned up and torn down to clear the way for a redevelopment of the South Toledo site into a mix of residential and commercial buildings, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said yesterday.

 

The cleanup and demolition will cost the owners of the property $2.6 million, which includes a $1.5 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield loan awarded to fund the asbestos removal.  Mayor Finkbeiner said demolition of the mall, which would proceed in four phases and run simultaneous to asbestos removal, will take about seven months.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20090319/NEWS16/903190346

Developer Larry Dillin vows to finish projects

He awaits marina funds, stability for Southwyck

Article published February 24, 2010

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Developer Larry Dillin said Tuesday that he is still committed to completing the Toledo Marina District project, and the redevelopment of the former Southwyck Shopping Center. 

 

Mr. Dillin said once private equity funding is secure, he can move forward on both the Marina District and Southwyck.  There’s probably more interest from retailers going into a redeveloped South­wyck site, he said.  That mall was demolished last year. “For me, [demolition] was a win,” Mr. Dillin said.

 

The developer said with commercial lending mostly dried up, retailers are wary of new malls and shopping centers without surrounding neighborhoods.  As a result, in the last year, many are anxious to know when he’ll develop Southwyck, which has plenty of surrounding rooftops.  But Southwyck, Mr. Dillin said, will take “three to five years before the market turns around for development.”

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100224/BUSINESS07/100229838

Firm requests $50K for market study on idea of turning Southwyck into recreation, retail center

BY IGNAZIO MESSINA, BLADE STAFF WRITER

Published: 8/16/2012

 

A development company wants the city of Toledo to give it a $50,000 loan for a market study and other preliminary work for its plan to create a recreation and retail development at the former Southwyck Mall area, The Blade has learned.

 

The Bell administration is asking Toledo City Council to approve the money for M.J.W., Inc.  Members of the firm, which they said was a partnership of other businesses, told The Blade they want to put a soccer and baseball fields, an ice rink, a hotel, retail space, and a water park on the 55 acre vacant property.

 

■ Southwyck development plans 1 - pdf link

■ Southwyck development plans 2 - pdf link

 

READ MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2012/08/16/Firm-requests-50K-for-market-study-on-idea-of-turning-Southwyck-into-recreation-retail-center.html

^ Yeah, forget about all that Southwyck redevelopment stuff.  Seems that the developer behind the proposal is bad news.  Something that the Toledo Blade discovered by doing some basic research.  And something that the current Toledo mayoral administration did not discover until it was brought to their attention by the Blade.  What an embarassment! :oops:

 

Southwyck rehab plan collapses

Bell failed to vet developer; $50,000 loan scuttled

BY IGNAZIO MESSINA, BLADE STAFF WRITER

Published: 8/19/2012

 

Bold plans to build a veritable recreation wonderland on the site of the former Southwyck Shopping Center started to crumble hours after Mayor Mike Bell and a team of developers made the long-awaited announcement for the vacant South Toledo property.  Friday night-- one day after the announcement and after The Blade raised questions about one of the developers -- Mr. Bell said he would scuttle plans to lend $50,000 to finance a market study and other expenses such as legal fees and a "preliminary design." 

 

"The concept and what they were talking about seemed like it had merit, but the inability of financing makes it seem like something we wouldn't want to bring forward," Mr. Bell told The Blade.  The public on Thursday was treated to its first look at the plan offered by the developers -- complete with a water park, a soccer field, an indoor ice rink, volleyball courts, retail space, and a central hotel.  It also came with a request to help the development alliance with the $50,000 loan from the city.

 

The next day, city leaders were surprised to learn from a Blade review of easily accessible public records that Cliff Gaston, the Toledo man introduced by Mayor Bell and Deputy Mayor Tom Crothers as the lead developer to redevelop the vacant and blighted Southwyck, which closed in 2008 and was torn down in 2009, has a history of buying and selling cheap houses, presided over the collapse of an Old West End adult group home, has been sued dozens of times in Lucas County, and was part of development team a decade ago that failed to deliver on promises to renovate a historic apartment building in central Toledo using taxpayer money.

 

READ MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/08/19/Southwyck-rehab-plan-collapses.html

Seems like a similar situation to the "Mister Tien" situation in Cleveland not too long ago.

 

http://www.clevescene.com/gyrobase/the-mysterious-mister-tien/Content?oid=2772517&storyPage=1

 

Makes me wonder if these people in charge always click on the flashing "You have won!" banners on the top of websites, only to get automatically signed up for recurring marked-up shipments of acai berry energy drinks by the 100 count.

I don't think this is a good idea. There are already some other sports complexes pretty close to this location. I don't think it's viable, and obviously, this developer was blowing hot air.

 

I think Toledo could be in a position where it can let these suburban annex areas turn back into nature. If shrinking cities models are all the rage these days in the Rust Belt, then crappy suburban ghettos like Southwyck are the places to let go. Toledo should focus entirely on its urban core, which despite losses, still has a lot of potential and a great location near large bodies of water. While Downtown, Uptown, and the Warehouse District have some momentum going, the next tier of urban neighborhoods need serious help. Lots of great buildings are being lost and there are too many vacant lots now. I'd like to see those areas developed (Vistula, North Summit, East Toledo, Marina District, Old West End, Lagrange, Old South End, etc.) before any city money goes to outer ring suburban neighborhoods like Southwyck.

 

I think the only outer neighborhoods worth investing in are the ones by UT since there is obviously a captive audience there with a lot of student loan money. I think the chances of success with a Southwyck redevelopment have diminished greatly over the last couple of years. Reynolds Road collapsed fast. Is Toledo the only Ohio city with an abandoned high-rise outside of its downtown? That old 11-story Holiday Inn was looking pretty bad last time I was in the Southwyck area (2011). That part of the city very much had a "death of American suburbia" feel to it.

 

Dillin's old plan may have worked in a 2005 world, but not anymore. Gen Y is hitting up urban areas more than ever, and all development in Toledo, which is a city rightfully plagued by an out-migration of its smart and talented young people, should focus on the stuff close to downtown. I just don't see a future at Southwyck.

Still today the Southwyck property sits vacant, nothing but barren pavement and old memories.

 

They did recently repave the roads around the barren Southwyck lot, but it was too little too late. The whole area is suffering, though there have been some new business changes and developments. A nearby vacant hotel was re-purposed into a Senior center: http://www.toledofreepress.com/tag/southwyck-mall/ .

 

The talk of making a sort of open air, outdoor mall were pretty foolish. Nearby there are two other such locations; Fallen Timbers, and Leviscommons. Both locations are frequently rumored to not be doing well, and both have many vacant stores at them. Frankly, our weather is too hostile to make an outdoor mall as viable as other locations further south.

My parents lived on Cresthaven Lane (the circular road outside of Southwyck Boulevard) for a year or so in the 80s. Pretty crazy how depressing that whole area is now.

this is all just sad to hear. it used to be a fairly bustling mall. it cant be a mall again, but what? divided up for light industry and housing? maybe the mayor's new chinese developer friends have some ideas for it? or, in typical ohio fashion, will it continue to just placehold there biding time for many more years? its frustrating.

 

The Southwyck/Reynolds area was in freefall last time I visited Toledo. That used to be my mall growing up, so I saw the entire decline happen from bustling to closure and demolition. I also used to be a bouncer near there. It wasn't just Southwyck that declined, but most of Reynolds Road. The whole area got to be really depressing.

 

Like much of the Toledo area, a lot of the target market went from middle class to working poor and/or unemployed, with most young people too broke to support the mall. A few gangs also moved into the area, and when that happens in Toledo, it's not long after that working class and middle class families start leaving. In the south side today, I suspect only really Beverly and Harvard Terrace are doing OK...though they still might be losing population as houses go from five people to two and 2-bd or 3-bd apartments house singles.

 

That's a story playing out metrowide. While it's great to have all that space to yourself, it's a symptom of the area's terrible economy, and it puts further downward pressure on city and county finances.

 

What to do with all that vacant property in Southwest Toledo? I have no idea.

Council approves Southwyck sale

 

 

Toledo city council unanimously approved selling the former Southwyck site during a council meeting Tuesday afternon.

 

Meantime, several Toledo city councilmembers offered a change to the ordinance asking approval for the city to sell the 58-acre Southwyck site along Reynolds Road.

 

More below:

http://www.13abc.com/content/news/Council-offering-change-to-Southwyck-purchase-proceeds-385592241.html

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/12/30/Deal-to-sell-former-Southwyck-site-in-South-Toledo-is-terminiated.html

 

Deal to sell former Southwyck site in S. Toledo is terminated

is the mall entirely torn down?

 

if no, has anyone been inside? it would be a great dead malls site.

I'm pretty sure this is the last mall I ever smoked in. 2002.

I was just in this area off the turnpike. The mall is torn down I believe, but the roads and infrastructure look surprisingly well maintained. The median on Reynolds road has brick pavers, planters, and decorative lighting. Other than the mall being torn down it really doesn't look like that run down of an area to me.

Mall was demolished atleast 10 years ago..  reynolds rd has seen some upgrades the last few years to try to inspire growth..  There was about a 12 story clarion hotel that sat vacant just south of the mall site, it was taken down last year, had turned into an eye sore..

 

A lot of the killer to that strip, is the fact that fallen timbers mall was built about 4 miles away, and if ya go another exit up, the Similar levis commons is in perrysburg..

 

All of toledos malls have been taken down, aside from Franklin park mall... woodville mall in eastern northwood was last year but had been closed for a handful of years being nearly empty, and northtowne on alexis was taken down 7 years ago?

^ so southwyck mall is now totally cleared out all of structures?

 

also, another question sorry, but with the newer malls, is franklin park still considered the top mall in town?

 

i have a great memory of franklin park mall as that is where i met muhammed ali and his family. he really loved toledo. i believe toledo is where he had his first pro fight.

Southwyck is completely demolished.. no anchor stores standing either... northtowne and woodville malls both have atleast 1 anchor store standing though not sure if they are currently open businesses

 

Franklin is still the number 1 mall around here (and only indoor mall left) fallen timbers and levis commons are both lifestyle center malls..

 

And that's interesting about Ali.. I never knew this, but toledo was always considered a boxing town.. there was a jack Dempsey heavyweight title match just feet from where I work in Bayview park north toledo, early 1900s...

 

Toledo also home to Olympian boxer Devin vargas, and current ibf lightweight champion Robert easter

Even with the recent improvement in the local economy, Toledo remains over-retailed. There are essentially two "malls" in area - Franklin Park is an upper-scale, enclosed mall surrounded in nearly all directions by everything except big box stores, and Fallen Timbers is a struggling, mid-scale open-air mall, with a range of shops that you might have found in all of Toledo's malls in the 1970s-1990s. Levis Commons has no department stores, it's a row of specialty shops catering mostly to women of means in the southern part of the metro area. The other malls are, AFAIK, completely gone.

 

I think that the Southwyck site will be redeveloped in the next five to ten years barring a very deep recession or nuclear war. There are few spaces that large in the developed parts of the city, with the surrounding infrastructure and transportation options, but it will have to be a mix of mid-level retail and housing. Right now, the housing market is recovering nicely in Toledo, but not to the point where there is any pressure on housing costs that would drive up the price of housing to necessitate new construction on that scale in that neighborhood. If we manage to avoid a deep recession in the next three or so years, I think there will be enough interest to develop some or all of that area. The mix I could imagine:

 

20% retail

40% housing

20% office space

10% new parkland

10% institutional

 

The historic strength of that area is that it was the only exit from the Ohio Turnpike between Toledo Airport and I-280 - so a very large percentage of the Toledo Turnpike traffic exited there. When the I-75 exit was complete (20-25 years ago?) that reduced the importance of the Southwyck area, which was compounded by the other forces affecting the other malls in city - loss of middle class jobs, shifts to big-box retailing, and the demographic and racial shifts in the southwest areas of Toledo.

Levis caters to more than just the housewives of perrysburg... aside from that, there's a bunch of new construction going on there... a new hotel, more retail and more townhomes..

 

I'd say FT has a more diverse selection of shops, but levis has better and more dinning options, and soon to be 3 hotels on the grounds... does Fallen timbers even have 1?

 

 

^ so southwyck mall is now totally cleared out all of structures?

 

also, another question sorry, but with the newer malls, is franklin park still considered the top mall in town?

 

i have a great memory of franklin park mall as that is where i met muhammed ali and his family. he really loved toledo. i believe toledo is where he had his first pro fight.

 

Over the holidays, I visited Toledo and hit Franklin Park Mall. It was remarkable to see. The mall was incredibly diverse and integrated in a way I would never see in Oakland or San Francisco (there are no real malls in Oakland while SF has the excellent downtown Westfield and a small mall at Stonestown near SFSU). We're not just talking racial, class, and ethnic diversity, but religious diversity too. I never see hijab in the Bay, but it was common in West Toledo. Franklin Park's retail seems to hit every single demographic in Toledo. It was incredible people-watching and it looked vibrant with a good mix of stores hitting different income levels. We have nothing remotely like that diversity in the Bay Area. Things are much more segregated here by class and income while ethnic diversity has assimilated away (and I don't think anyone is religious anymore lol). Judging by the crowds, I'd say Franklin Park is still the main (and only real) mall in the Toledo market. They have survived against the odds. Toledo's retail scene was still much stronger than Oakland's (Oaklanders shop in San Francisco, Alameda, Berkeley, or Emeryville). This proves economy isn't everything. Toledo is one of the nation's poorest cities and it's getting poorer. Oakland is one of the nation's wealthiest cities and it's getting infinitely wealthier (though crime and rioting are what has killed Oakland's retail scene, not economy). Franklin Park looked healthier than expected.

 

By contrast, Fallen Timbers looked dead and still struggling with vacancy. While this could be excused since it opened at the start of the recession, at this point, there is more going on. Online retail's tax advantage hurts all brick-and-mortar retail, but Franklin Park seems to have overcome this. Fallen Timbers just didn't have anything unique about it. If you're going for a destination retail experience, you need more local businesses. Franklin Park and Levis Commons have more local businesses from the Toledo region. I think this is why they are doing better.

 

Levis Commons was always more high-market and niche to suburban Perrysburg's top incomes. I was mad when it opened since I was worried it would kill Perrysburg's great little downtown retail scene by the Maumee River, but it appears that Downtown Perrysburg is still healthy. The historic buildings were intact and I didn't see many vacant storefronts. Maumee's historic "Uptown" retail district also looked healthy. Ditto with Sylvania. This was good to see. The pull of those new suburban developments was not strong. Toledo's streetcar suburbs still had vibrant historic retail districts.

 

In fact, I'd bank on Fallen Timbers closing within five years. :| The Toledo area had very little new suburban development going on aside from a few projects in Perrysburg Township (near Levis Commons). Downtown Toledo appeared to have the most development momentum in the region.

 

*Theoretically, Southwyck could be redeveloped if Fallen Timbers goes under. Southwest Toledo is pretty far from Northwest Toledo where Franklin Park Mall is located (though Toledo's light traffic makes driving easy). Southwyck has a good location by I-80/90, which is one of the busiest freeways in the United States. There is also still a middle class in adjacent Maumee, Monclova, and Springfield. Those three suburbs are enough to support a mall, and Southwest Toledo, while declined, still has a large population. For a suburban annex area, parts of Southwyck are not bad. There are some streets of decent apartments with good density, and Swan Creek's nature preserve is pretty cool. It's a heavily wooded area. As far as suburban areas in America go, you can do much worse (like deep East Oakland's notorious Eastmont "Mall" lol). I'd rather see Reynolds Road redeveloped than any new development further out from that. The infrastructure is already in place. It also has good connections to Maumee and other parts of the Toledo region.

 

Given the struggles of Fallen Timbers, I now think it's possible that Southwyck could come back as a retail destination. Fallen Timbers anticipated a lot of suburban development that never materialized. While it could theoretically pull in people along US 24 from as far away as Defiance, that doesn't seem to be happening.

There's actually a lot of development out by fallen timbers, go check it out on mapquest.. it's been gradually building up since ft was first constructed, and the newly redone trail is sparking development from waterville to whitehouse.. that whole area is on a big upswing..

 

I think it's safe to say downtown perrysburg is alive n well, and levis continues to grow, slowly than planned, but it's getting there..

^It is very limited development compared to most of America. The pace of change in Northwest Ohio is glacial...

 

It was good to see historic Perrysburg has survived the growth at suburban Levis Commons. Perrysburg has the best of the historic streetcar suburb downtowns in the Toledo area. Maumee would be a lot better if they could do something about the dated hipsters and throwback hippies at Village Idiot lol. Maumee is looking hella dated. I think it's time for a revamp in Uptown Maumee and some infill buildings on empty lots in the core. Since it's so close to Downtown Perrysburg, it needs to step up its game. They are both great towns with beautiful historic cores, but Maumee appears to have had some decline.

 

Perrysburg is clearly ahead of Maumee now.