Going, going … reborn.
Chapel Hill Mall, as a mall, is gone. Only scattered remnants of what was once a bustling, mainstay Akron retail center remain inside.
Those remnants — which include signs, banners, counters, shelving, a large disco ball still hanging from a ceiling, plus other odds and ends — will disappear in upcoming weeks. It will all be knocked down and taken away by demolition crews working numerous front-end loaders brought inside for the messy and dusty task.
Take a look:Chapel Hill Mall through the years
Nostalgic shoppers don’t need to fret over one thing: The kids’ carousel in the former food court is being preserved; it was taken down and donated to the city of Akron.
Those former shoppers likely would not recognize the place, which opened in 1967, if they could wander inside now. The walls that separated store from store are largely no more. The exterior hides an interior that is basically one big open space that, in upcoming years, should be filled with commercial and light industrial businesses.
So, goodbye, Chapel Hill Mall. Hello, Chapel Hill Business Park.
“The project is in full-blown demolition mode,” said Chris Semarjian, founder of Industrial Commercial Properties, a Solon-based business that specializes in buying large and no longer needed commercial, industrial and retail sites and finding new uses for them.
ICP in March purchased the 800,000-square-foot mall and related outbuilding in a transfer from the city of Akron and previous owner, New York-based Kohan Real Estate Investment Group. Mike Kohan bought the mall in 2016 for $8.6 million and was unable to build up tenants there; the 60-acre property went into foreclosure in 2020 for non-payment of more than $631,000 in Summit County property taxes.
About Industrial Commercial Properties: Chapel Hill Mall buyer transforms buildings and land across Northeast Ohio
ICP will spend at least $6 million to refurbish the property as part of its sales agreement with the city. The city, in turn, has rezoned the property to allow for light industrial uses.
“It’s opening up now. A majority of the walls inside are already down,” Semarjian said.
ICP has lots of experience in this kind of thing. It has similar projects elsewhere in Northeast Ohio, including redeveloping the former Randall Park Mall, and in other states. Semarjian also is a partner in The East End, the redeveloped former Goodyear headquarters.
Enter Michelle Robinson, an Akron native and ICP director of sales and leasing whose responsibilities include finding new business tenants for the soon-to-be completely wide-open interior. She and colleagues typically work out of the former mall office. (The property has 24/7 on-site security.)
“I think it’s going to be awesome for jobs,” said Nicholson, who said she “grew up in the mall.”
The former Sears store already houses the first tenant, Craft33, a building products company that has expanded there. The former Sears Auto Center outbuilding, meanwhile, also is earmarked for repurposing.
ICP has prospects elsewhere inside the mall, Nicholson said.
“We can do a lot with this space,” she said.
The current dark inside is in the process of being painted white, including exposed decking, beams and other features that were hidden by now-removed drop ceilings. That will help brighten up the interior, Nicholson said. Highly efficient LED lighting will do the rest, she said.
Meanwhile, the exterior of the entire property will be painted white and slate. The lettering that spells out Chapel Hill Mall will be removed.
The renovation project does not include the former Macy’s store that has been converted into a storage business. ICP’s purchase did not include that part of the former mall.
Semarjian said he thinks that sometime in 2023 the Chapel Hill Business Park will be completely occupied with up to 10 businesses. He hopes to announce a significant new tenant in the near future.
But before the old mall is filled, ICP will have spent millions of dollars to tear down, clean up and then rebuild much of the property.
“Nobody wants to come to an old mall — they want to come to a thriving business park,” Semarjian said. “You have to completely change the narrative on the mall.”
What once was a property in decline is being transformed, Semarjian said, into a “positive provider.”
Beacon Journal reporter Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.