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'''Chapel Hill Mall''' was a shopping mall located in [[Akron, Ohio]], United States.<ref name=sheet/> It was built by Richard (R.B.) Buchholzer and [[Forest City Enterprises]],<ref>"West and South Side Malls" ''[[The Plain Dealer]]''. February 22, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref> and opened in October 1967. At its peak the mall featured more than 100 stores, with [[Sears]], [[JCPenney]], and [[Macy's]] as anchor tenants. The mall closed permanently in April 2021 and remains vacant {{As of|2023|September|lc=y}}.
'''Chapel Hill Mall''' was a shopping mall located in [[Akron, Ohio]], United States.<ref name=sheet/> It was built by Richard (R.B.) Buchholzer and [[Forest City Enterprises]],<ref>"West and South Side Malls" ''[[The Plain Dealer]]''. February 22, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.</ref> and opened in October 1967. At its peak the mall featured more than 100 stores, with [[Sears]], [[JCPenney]], and [[Macy's]] as anchor tenants. The mall closed permanently in April 2021 and remains vacant {{As of|2023|September|lc=y}}. The building previously occupied by the mall is now called '''Chapel Hill Business Park'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2000 Brittain Rd, Akron, OH {{!}} Commercial Property for Lease by ICP LLC |url=https://www.icpllc.com/commercial-property-for-lease/2000-brittain-road-akron-ohio/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=ICP |language=en-US}}</ref>


{{infobox shopping mall
{{infobox shopping mall
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== Post-closure (2021-present) ==
== Post-closure (2021-present) ==
The property is expected to become a [[business park]].<ref name="abj20210316" /> The [[carousel]] is planned to be moved to Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sean|last=McDonnell|url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/04/22/looks-like-chapel-hill-mall-carousel-staying-akron-lock-3/7334151002/|title=Famous Chapel Hill Mall carousel will live on at Lock 3 in Akron|date=April 22, 2021|work=Akron Beacon Journal|access-date=April 25, 2021}}</ref>
The property, now known as Chapel Hill Business Park, is expected to become a [[business park]]<ref name="abj20210316" /> with a focus on light manufacturing and other industrial uses. The [[carousel]] is planned to be moved to Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sean|last=McDonnell|url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/04/22/looks-like-chapel-hill-mall-carousel-staying-akron-lock-3/7334151002/|title=Famous Chapel Hill Mall carousel will live on at Lock 3 in Akron|date=April 22, 2021|work=Akron Beacon Journal|access-date=April 25, 2021}}</ref>


The building that used to be the Chapel Hill Mall underwent renovations in 2022; the outside of the building received new paint and landscaping,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Neil |date=April 12, 2022 |title=Site of former Chapel Hill Mall in Akron under renovations, will host light industrial businesses |url=https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/akron/former-site-akron-chapel-hill-mall-under-renovations-will-host-light-industrial-businesses/95-d7474b86-b8f9-4657-8f36-3082efc5e961 |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=wkyc.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and the interior walls were removed to create an open floor plan.
The building that used to be the Chapel Hill Mall underwent renovations in 2022; the outside of the building received new paint and landscaping,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Neil |date=April 12, 2022 |title=Site of former Chapel Hill Mall in Akron under renovations, will host light industrial businesses |url=https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/akron/former-site-akron-chapel-hill-mall-under-renovations-will-host-light-industrial-businesses/95-d7474b86-b8f9-4657-8f36-3082efc5e961 |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=wkyc.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and the interior walls were removed to create an open floor plan.

Revision as of 18:20, 5 September 2023

Not to be confused with Chapel Hills Mall.

Chapel Hill Mall was a shopping mall located in Akron, Ohio, United States.[1] It was built by Richard (R.B.) Buchholzer and Forest City Enterprises,[2] and opened in October 1967. At its peak the mall featured more than 100 stores, with Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's as anchor tenants. The mall closed permanently in April 2021 and remains vacant as of September 2023. The building previously occupied by the mall is now called Chapel Hill Business Park.[3]

Chapel Hill Mall
Entrance to JCPenney at Chapel Hill Mall, 2018
Map
LocationAkron, Ohio, U.S.
Coordinates41°06′50″N 81°28′07″W / 41.113997°N 81.468655°W / 41.113997; -81.468655
Address2000 Brittain Road, Akron, OH 44310
Opening dateOctober 12, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-10-12)
Closing dateApril 18, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-04-18)
DeveloperForest City Enterprises and R.B. Buchholzer
ManagementMcKinley Management Company
OwnerIndustrial Commercial Properties[4]
No. of stores and services0[1]
No. of anchor tenants3 (at peak)
Total retail floor area829,000 sq ft (77,000 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in former JCPenney and former Macy's)
Public transit accessBus interchange METRO
Websitehttp://www.chapelhillmall.com

Early history (before 1970)

Chapel Hill Mall sits on land once owned by Richard Buchholzer's father, J.J. Buchholzer. During the Great Depression, J.J. Buchholzer became owner of a Hower's department store in downtown Akron. The Buchholzers anticipated that the city of Akron would expand to the north, and they felt that another Hower's store should be built on their land. They later decided to build a climate-controlled shopping mall instead, predicting that it would provide them greater economic opportunities. Buchholzer teamed up with Forest City Enterprises to build what would be Akron's first indoor mall. Plans were ready by 1963, but before the mall opened, Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation built Summit Mall on the west side of Akron.[5] In the 1930s, young Richard Buchholzer found what appeared to be an old Indian council circle on his father's land. Because of this, Buchholzer named the development "Chapel Hill".[5]

The Chapel Hill Mall officially opened on October 12, 1967.[6]

Peak period (1980 - 2015)

Expansion plans to include a Higbee's store came up numerous times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A plan was considered in 1988 by part-owner Forest City Enterprises. It included a 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) addition for an additional department store.[7] Expansion was again mentioned in 1989.[8] A front-page story on the January 31, 1990 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal read "Higbee's Coming to Chapel Hill Mall", and said that the store, along with a food court and additional retail space, would be open by Fall 1991.[9]

In 1994, the mall's owners added a food court and retail expansion, as well as new flooring and ceiling tiles, a new fountain, and new lighting.[10][11]

Buchholzer and Forest City Enterprises owned the mall until September 2004, when it was sold to the Chattanooga, Tennessee company CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.,[12] who owned it until 2014.

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Chapel Hill Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.[13]

Decline and closure (2016-2020)

The mall gradually began to decline, and in March 2016, Macy's permanently closed their Chapel Hill Mall location.[14][15]

On July 15, 2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group, owned by Michael Kohan, bought Chapel Hill Mall for $8.6 million with plans to revitalize the location and focus on attracting younger customers.[16] On January 4, 2017, Sears Holdings announced that the Chapel Hill Sears store would be closing the following spring due to declining sales.[17] By August 2018, "about a quarter" of the storefronts were vacant.[18]

Former Express, Macy's Concourse

Mall tenants received multiple notices from the City of Akron of potential utility shutoff in 2019[19] and 2020 due to accumulating unpaid water and electricity bills.[20] The City decided to cancel the shutoffs due to partial payments received from Kohan,[21][22] but the overall debt continued to accumulate, and in September 2019 the Summit County fiscal office began to discuss the possibility of foreclosing on the property after they received a notice from the City about the delinquent account.[23]

On January 3, 2020, Ohio Edison filled a complaint against the company, citing over $195,000 of overdue bills. On January 13, Kohan was served with a foreclosure notice for over $750,000 of unpaid bills owed to Summit County.[24] Retail taxes, which had not been paid since January 2019, made up over half of the amount owed, including interest and fees.[25]

On January 16, 2020, it was announced that the Chapel Hill JCPenney would close on April 24, 2020 as part of a plan to close six stores nationwide, leaving the mall with no anchors.[26] On June 17, it was included in an updated list of 136 stores closing.[27] The JCPenney store officially closed in July 2020.

On March 16, 2021, Industrial Commercial Properties purchased the Chapel Hill property.[28] At this time, only 20 out of 75 available storefronts were in use, including kiosks.[29]

The Chapel Hill Mall closed permanently on April 18, 2021.

Post-closure (2021-present)

The property, now known as Chapel Hill Business Park, is expected to become a business park[4] with a focus on light manufacturing and other industrial uses. The carousel is planned to be moved to Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron.[30]

The building that used to be the Chapel Hill Mall underwent renovations in 2022; the outside of the building received new paint and landscaping,[31] and the interior walls were removed to create an open floor plan.

Major tenants

JCPenney opened in 1966 before the mall proper.[5] A second store, Macy's, operated in an anchor that was originally occupied by local chain O'Neil's until 1989, May Co. until 1993, and Kaufmann's from 1993 to 2006. Macy's closed in 2016.[32] Sears was a third anchor of the mall which opened in 1967 at the same time as the mall and operated until 2017. There used to be a multi-screen cinema at the mall as well. It opened in October 1966 as a two-screen theater, and eventually expanded to five screens. In 1987, General Cinemas–owner of the mall's cinema–opened an 8-screen multiplex just west of the mall, and in October 1996, Regal Cinemas opened their 10-screen theater immediately south of the mall. Less than two weeks later, the General Cinemas at the mall closed,[33] and Old Navy took over the former theater until it closed in 2016. Woolworth also operated a store at the mall until 1997; it was later occupied by The Gap, Inc., which has since closed as well. Before its final closing, Chapel Hill Mall was left with no operating tenants.

References

  1. ^ a b Chapel Hill Mall - Fact Sheet. Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 19, 2006.
  2. ^ "West and South Side Malls" The Plain Dealer. February 22, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  3. ^ "2000 Brittain Rd, Akron, OH | Commercial Property for Lease by ICP LLC". ICP. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Mackinnon, Jim (March 16, 2021). "New owner will convert Chapel Hill Mall into a business park". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Nevada, Charlene. "Man Behind Chapel Hill Mall–Richard Buchholzer's Idea Defines That Part of Akron." Akron Beacon Journal. July 6, 1997: E1.
  6. ^ "Akron Ohio Historical Timeline 1950 - 1999". Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2009. Akron Ohio Historical Timeline 1950-1999. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Jacqueline. "Forest City Waffles on Plan for Chapel Hill." Akron Beacon Journal. May 7, 1988: A8.
  8. ^ Pantages, Larry and Peter Geiger. "Another Higbee Possible; Chapel Hill Plan Studied." Akron Beacon Journal. April 28, 1989: A1.
  9. ^ Vanac, Mary. "Higbee's Coming to Chapel Hill Mall." Akron Beacon Journal. January 31, 1990: A1
  10. ^ Ethridge, Mary. "Chapel Hill Mall Getting A Face Lift; A 12-Restaurant Food Court, New Lights and New Ceiling Among Plans." Akron Beacon Journal. March 9, 1994: C7.
  11. ^ Adams, David. "Mall Courts Customers With Food; Dining Area Added at Chapel Hill to Keep Shoppers on the Premises." Akron Beacon Journal. November 4, 1994: B9.
  12. ^ Akron Beacon Journal, September 11, 2004.
  13. ^ "At Chapel Hill Mall | Seritage". seritage.com.
  14. ^ "PHOTOS | Chapel Hill loses another store as Macy's closes". kgw.com. March 25, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Macy's closing anchor store at Chapel Hill Mall". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ reporter, by Steve Wiandt |. "New owner of Chapel Hill Mall sees potential in young consumers". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "Chapel Hill Mall Sears to close by spring". Akron Beacon Journal. Gannett. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "New vision for empty space inside Chapel Hill Mall". wkyc.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Robin Goist, cleveland com (January 3, 2020). "Akron's Chapel Hill Mall avoids closing Friday with partial utility payment by owner". cleveland. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  20. ^ "Chapel Hill Mall tenants notified for the second time this year that electric bill has not been paid". wkyc.com. December 3, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Robin Goist, cleveland com (January 3, 2020). "Akron's Chapel Hill Mall avoids closing Friday with partial utility payment by owner". cleveland. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  22. ^ "Summit County pursuing foreclosure against Chapel Hill Mall". News 5 Cleveland WEWS. January 3, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  23. ^ Robin Goist, cleveland com (January 6, 2020). "Summit County to begin foreclosure proceedings against Chapel Hill Mall". cleveland. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "Chapel Hill Mall served with foreclosure notice Monday after back taxes, utility bills pile up". News 5 Cleveland WEWS. January 13, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  25. ^ Robin Goist, cleveland com (January 6, 2020). "Summit County to begin foreclosure proceedings against Chapel Hill Mall". cleveland. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  26. ^ "JCPenney closing Chapel Hill Mall store this spring". fox8.com. January 16, 2020.
  27. ^ "JCPenney Store Closings – JCPenney Company Blog". companyblog.jcpnewsroom.com.
  28. ^ Mackinnon, Jim. "New owner will convert Chapel Hill Mall into a business park". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  29. ^ Mackinnon, Jim (March 16, 2021). "Chapel Hill Mall store owners, shoppers hope once-popular site keeps its retail roots". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ McDonnell, Sean (April 22, 2021). "Famous Chapel Hill Mall carousel will live on at Lock 3 in Akron". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  31. ^ Fischer, Neil (April 12, 2022). "Site of former Chapel Hill Mall in Akron under renovations, will host light industrial businesses". wkyc.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  32. ^ "Macy's closing anchor store at Chapel Hill Mall". Akron Beacon Journal. Gannett. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  33. ^ Nevada, Charlene. "Retailers to Replace Movies at Chapel Hill; General Cinema Closes 5-Screen Theater at Mall." Akron Beacon Journal. November 19, 1996: C6.
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