City sues to recover Southwyck costs

Payment sought for cutting weeds, cleaning up debris

Concrete blocks and a partial gate prevent cars from entering the grounds of the former Southwyck Mall.

The Bell administration filed a lawsuit seeking payment for cutting weeds and clearing debris against the owners and managing agents of the vacant property where the Southwyck Shopping Center once stood along Reynolds Road.

The city filed the suit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court Tuesday against LIO, a limited liability company of Cleveland; M.J. Feingold Trust of Shawnee Mission, Kan.; Higbee Co. of Cleveland; MG Herring Group Inc. of Dallas, and HDP Properties LLC of Cincinnati.

The city wants $21,503 for cutting weeds from all the defendants and $11,322 from only LIO for storm water service provided by the city on the property.

The Bell administration said in the suit that it notified the owners to cut weeds and remove debris but they did not comply.

Attempts to reach the owners for comment were unsuccessful.

Southwyck closed in 2008 and was torn down in 2009.

In June, a top Bell administration official said the property owners had hired a Cleveland company to market the land. Deputy Mayor Paul Syring, Toledo’s top economic development official, said the move was positive for the property along Reynolds Road north of the Ohio Turnpike. He declined to identify the company in Cleveland that will market the property.