New design disclosed for mall's expansion

9/25/2007

Westfield Franklin Park is about to begin construction on its latest expansion, a collection of six buildings that will add 82,200 square feet to the southeast of the Toledo mall.

The owners of the area's premier mall aren't talking about what may go in those spaces, but retail experts suggest the tenants may be a DSW Warehouse, an Old Navy, an Ulta Salon, and a restaurant, possibly one from the bd's Mongolian Grill chain.

Demolition recently finished on an apartment complex on 7.6 acres at the corner of Sylvania Avenue and Royer Road and the mall has requested a permit to start construction on one of the structures, a 14,500-square-foot building on the east side of the ramp to the parking deck. Clad-dagh Irish Pub is to the west of that ramp.

In that new building, retail experts say, could be the DSW Warehouse. The structure is to be built by Rudolph Libbe Inc.

The site plan for the expansion changed from four buildings planned in January to six, and includes a curved access road off Royer, plus a second access road.

Westfield officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Retail experts said a 15,000-square-foot building to the east of the first structure appears to be for Old Navy, which built the same size store in Salt Lake City last year and is building one this fall in Knoxville, Tenn.

A 10,000-square-foot site next door could be for Ulta Salon, a division of Ulta Beauty, which is a cosmetics retailer, experts said.

The retailer has beauty consultants and full-service hair styling salons and sells name-brand cosmetics, fragrances, beauty accessories.

A 7,000-square-foot structure along Sylvania Avenue is for a restaurant, the site plan shows. Local experts said the mall has not signed a tenant yet but is negotiating with bd's Mongolian Grill, a Mongolian-style barbecue chain that has several locations in Michigan and Ohio, but none in the northwest Ohio.

Also, a 12,325-square-foot building and a 24,000-square-foot structure are to have several small stores.

John Widmer, an administrator with the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commission, said small issues need to be resolved with the latest site plan, including a requirement for a hedge along Sylvania Avenue.

Westfield has worked on this addition, its second expansion of Franklin Park, since May, 2006.

It bought the apartment complex and 11 other acres for parking and this project for $12 million.

Contact Jon Chavez at:

jchavez@theblade.com

or 419-724-6128.