From the 10/19/05 Toledo Blade:

 

Some land near Franklin Park going for $1 million an acre up

By MARY-BETH McLAUGHLIN

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Christmas has come early this year for land owners and landlords of property in sight of Westfield Franklin Park mall.  That's because the multi-million dollar expansion of the mall has proven so successful that buyers of land along Talmadge Road and Monroe Street have broken the $1 million an acre barrier and landlords for the first time are getting well in excess of $20 a square foot per year.

 

"There's no doubt the hottest area in town is the intersection of Monroe and Talmadge," said Sam Zyndorf, a retail specialist with the Toledo office of Signature Associates.  Property sale prices are at their peak because there is so little vacant land near the mall, experts said.  Other buildings in that area could be torn down to make room for new retail, they added.

 

Full story at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051019/BUSINESS05/510190391/-1/BUSINESS

 

Umm...not so good.  From the 2/24/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Many stores reshuffle at Franklin Park mall

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Ten months after a $117-million wing was added to Westfield Franklin Park, the mall has nearly 15 vacant store fronts, two empty kiosks, and seven vacant pushcarts.  While it may appear as if the area's premier mall is struggling to hold tenants, many retailers there are shifting locations.  "A lot of the tenants are coming up to the point in their leases where they're remodeling," said Kate Sachs, the mall's assistant manager.

 

Shopping mall consultant Stan Eichelbaum, of Marketing Developments Inc., of Cincinnati, said Franklin Park's reshuffling is being duplicated at many malls.  "It is common for movement to take place after Christmas and it is more severe this year than most," he said.  Studies show that moving to a better location in a mall can mean a 20 to 30 percent increase in sales volume, Mr. Eichelbaum said.

 

Full story at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060224/BUSINESS10/602240349/-1/RSS04

 

Last time I was at Westfield (not Franklin Park) it still looked like the "happenin" place to be.The problem with Westfield is kinda what C-dawg was touchin on; people in that Toledo arent sophisticated enough to shop at most of the new stores, which isnt exactly a bad thing. They just need to get more urban/down-to-earth themed stores. I dont think I have been in a single store in any of the new stores in the expansion, except the new theatre. What the hell ever happened to a good ol fashsioned arcade in the mall, are they that unprofitable?

Actually Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park is the official name.  Westfield is the company that owns the mall and other Ohio malls such as Westfield Shoppingtown Richland (in Mansfield) and Westfield Shoppingtown Great Northern (in North Olmsted).

From the 9/2/06 Toledo Blade:

 

3 new apparel stores open in Westfield mall

 

Two retailers new to the Toledo area have opened locations at Westfield Franklin Park, while a third retailer has opened its second area store at the mall.  Brooks Brothers, known for men's and women's apparel, has opened its "345" store, focusing on casual sportswear and accessories.  Vanity, a national chain specializing in cutting-edge apparel for young women, also has opened a store in the mall.

 

Last week, men's apparel retailer JoS. A Bank Clothiers, which has a Perrysburg store, opened one in Franklin Park.  In addition, the Toledo Police Community Relations Office in the mall has reopened after it was moved to a more visible area inside the food court.

 

Full story at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/BUSINESS10/60902003/-1/RSS04

 

Police facility to reopen at Franklin Park

Toledo Blade, 8/31/06

 

Toledo police are reopening their remodeled and relocated community relations office at Westfield Franklin Park mall this week, and the substation will be open to visitors during an open house today.  The office has been at the mall more than four years and recently was updated and moved to a more visible area inside the food court in the newest wing of the shopping center. 

 

The substation will be used by community services officers to follow up on complaints with people in the neighborhood who prefer not to go to a police station.  Officers also can stop and do reports, gather information from the public, and be closer to the community, according to a news release.

 

Brochures on safety issues will be available outside the doors, and officers will be in and out throughout the day Mondays through Fridays.

 

Westfield Franklin Park announces new stores in Toledo

Article published June 26, 2008

BLADE STAFF

 

Westfield Franklin Park today confirmed what has been a poorly kept secret: The major Toledo mall will fill a 49,000-square foot addition now under construction with shoe retailer DSW Warehouse, apparel store Old Navy, an Ulta cosmetics salon, and most likely a restaurant.

 

At an official announcement in the mall’s food court, Westfield officials said construction of its shopping annex, to be called the Shops on Sylvania, is on schedule, with the three named retailers expected to open on Nov. 1.

 

MORE: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/BUSINESS10/660206161

Toledo's Westfield Franklin Park Mall is changing ownership.  Two articles about it from the Blade.  The first, in this post, is about the sale.  The second, in the next post, is about the new ownership group:

 

Franklin Park sold in $1.64B package deal

Starwood buys Toledo mall, 6 other Westfield properties

BY JON CHAVEZ, BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Published: 9/16/2013

 

Toledo’s Westfield Franklin Park mall has been sold to private equity firm Starwood Capital Group as part of a $1.64 billion, seven-mall package.  The sale was announced on Monday by officials of Australia’s Westfield Group, which has owned the mall for 11 years.  Also included in the deal are Westfield’s other two Ohio properties, Belden Village Mall in Canton and Great Northern Mall in suburban Cleveland.  Also sold were Westfield malls in Indiana and Washington and two in California.

 

Westfield said it expects the deal to close sometime in the fourth quarter.  Starwood will be the majority owner and manage the malls, but Westfield will retain a 10 percent common equity interest in the properties.  Starwood Capital, which is based Greenwich, Conn., had no comment regarding the transaction, spokesman Tom Johnson said.  The private equity firm is not ready to disclose its plans for the acquisitions, he said.

 

Franklin Park, which has 1.2 million square feet, opened in 1971.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2013/09/17/Franklin-Park-sold-in-1-64B-package-deal.html

Private-equity firm that bought Westfield Franklin Park relatively new to malls

BY JON CHAVEZ, BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Published: 9/21/2013 

 

By Christmas, the region’s premier shopping mall, Franklin Park, is almost certain to have a new owner overseeing its 167 retail tenants.  On Monday, it was announced that Chicago-based Starwood Retail Partners, the mall acquisition and management arm of billion-dollar private equity firm Starwood Capital Group, had acquired 42-year-old Franklin Park mall from the Westfield Group LLC as part of a seven-mall package valued at $1.64 billion.

 

The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, will give Starwood Retail a 90 percent ownership stake in the seven malls — Westfield will retain a 10 percent stake — and full operating control of the properties, which include three malls in Ohio, two in California, and one each in Indiana and Washington.

 

It’s also certain that the current name of Toledo’s 1.2 million-square-foot mall, Westfield Franklin Park, is going to change once Starwood Retail takes control and Westfield’s 11-year stewardship of the property ends.  But what other changes Starwood Retail may have in mind for Franklin Park, located at 5001 Monroe St., is anyone’s guess.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2013/09/22/Private-equity-firm-that-bought-Westfield-Franklin-Park-relatively-new-to-malls.html

I wonder how long the property value with last? As a local resident I have seen first hand the increasing problems the area is facing with crime and undesirable elements loitering. At the mall there have been many violent out breaks, and other problems that have cause recent crack downs on youth, and crowds assembling.

http://m.toledoblade.com/Real-Estate/2016/04/10/Franklin-Park-Mall-makes-room-for-Dave-Buster-s.html

 

Franklin Park Mall makes room for Dave and Busters

http://m.toledoblade.com/Real-Estate/2016/04/10/Franklin-Park-Mall-makes-room-for-Dave-Buster-s.html

 

Franklin Park Mall makes room for Dave and Busters

 

Thats kinda cool. I remember hearing the Mud Hens wanted to include a "Dave and Busters" type of place in the Hensville project. That never happened and I thought it would have been cool there. I suppose its not too late though. They could put one in the ground floor of the Berdan Building, across the street from the stadium.

I heard the Dave n busters rumor at hensville as well..  I think that's 2 misses now, for the downtown neighborhood.. the first being the casino, but I kinda didn't want anymore buildings taken down anyway, but it would've been nice to have 24 hr downtown entertainment.. And obviously more spin off would occur over the nothing that has taken place in rossford...

 

But hey, it's 10 years late, but I'm still atleast happy D&B finally got here