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Published: 12/13/2011 - Updated: 5 months ago

Closure plea likely for Woodville Mall

Structural woes found in main section

BY JON CHAVEZ
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

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A team of Northwood city and Wood County officials inspected the Woodville Mall on Monday, and the myriad problems they found in the 42-year-old nearly vacant shopping complex made it likely they will seek a court order this week to close its main section.

"There is no firm decision yet," Brian Ballenger, Northwood law director, said after the group finished a two-hour inspection of the mall, which is at 3725 Williston Rd.

But Mr. Ballenger said the group probably will reach a decision Tuesday morning and could have the Wood County prosecutor's office seek an injunction later this week to have it shuttered.

That would affect 12 retailers operating inside the cavernous 778,000-square-foot mall, which was built in 1969 by the DeBartolo Corp. of Youngstown. After the inspection, a Northwood official handed out packets to the tenants listing vacant area sites where they could relocate.

PHOTO GALLERY: Woodville Mall health and safety inspection

Two anchor stores attached to the mall — The Andersons General Store and Sears, both of which have separate outside entrances and have taken care of their areas — would be unaffected.

When contacted, Woodville Mall's owner, real estate investor Mike Kohan of Little Neck, N.Y., said he could not speak at the time. Later, he could not be reached for comment and did not return phone calls.

The inspection team consisted of Mr. Ballenger. Brad Espen, Wood County director of environmental health, and Michael Rudey, Wood County chief building inspector. A Northwood fire department official joined the group to examine the mall's fire sprinkler system, which is not functioning.

At the Fox Woodville Theater, Mr. Espen said they found fallen ceiling tiles, wet carpeting caused by the leaking roof, and no emergency lighting. The temperature inside the theater — and most of the mall — was 38 degrees. Employees had attempted to use space heaters to raise the temperature.

The group later entered a wing of the mall that had been cordoned off and ventured into a small vacant store. Inside they found fallen ceiling tiles, wet floors, mold, and the smell of mildew. Throughout the wing, the floor was buckled in many places, which Mr. Rudey said was caused by sporadic heat and cold underneath the floor.

In the backroom of a former Lane Bryant store, inspectors found a three-foot-wide hole in the ceiling and what appeared to be loose stone on the floor. The stone turned out to be portions of the roof that had caved in.

Throughout the mall the group found water-stained carpeting, warped and stained ceiling tiles, mold and mildew, and strategically placed buckets and trash cans to catch water from the leaking roof.

Mr. Espen said the team was concerned about safety issues resulting from the leaks, which could cause slippage hazards, and potential danger from falling tiles or collapsing roof sections. The mold also was a concern as a potential health hazard, he added.

The persistent cold inside the mall from a lack of heat, which has been a source of numerous complaints to Northwood and Wood County officials, could cause water pipes to burst inside the retail center, the team said. "We're afraid for the tenants in there. If we have a roof collapse with snowfall coming, that could be dangerous," Mr. Espen said.

Jennifer Warring, a housekeeping employee who has worked 19 years at Woodville Mall, said the heat was shut off last year. "You don't notice it in the summer, but now as it's gotten colder you feel it. But you adjust to it," she said.

Ms. Warring said she would be out of a job if the mall closes. "I hope they don't close it. I've put in 19 years here. That's half my life," she said.

Most of the mall's tenants said they had little warning of the inspection and potential closing. They received letters on Friday from the mall's former general manager, Juanita Jones, who is now managing a mall in Tennessee, that inspectors were coming on Monday and may end up closing the mall.

Patrick Falgout, owner of Hobby Outfitters, one of the 12 tenants in the mall, said he was "kind of shocked" when he got the letter. He had already spent money having the roof above his store fixed and was using electric heat to keep his store warm.

Closing the mall would be a huge financial burden on him, he added. "It's been a rough four to five years for us. If I have to move, it's going to eat into my retirement savings," Mr. Falgout said.

Sue Grover, owner of the Sports Maniac sports memorabilia shop, said she and other tenants cannot afford to move elsewhere. "We knew nothing of this. If we had known this was happening, I'd have never ordered Christmas stock," she said.

Ms. Grover said she hopes the city and county will allow the mall to stay open through the holiday season. That might provide enough revenues to allow the merchants to move out of the mall.

"It's a good mall. The money's here. They just need somebody to take care of it," she added.

Mr. Espen said Denniston Cinema Co. of Monroe, which owns the theater, had asked that it be allowed to continue operating if the mall is closed. But he said that idea is impractical because it would leave the mall open to theater customers.

"The mall owner said he would be willing to put a wall up to keep people from entering the mall. But we're also concerned about ceiling tiles falling inside the theater," Mr. Espen said.

Mr. Kohan listed the mall for sale this year, and in August he attempted to sell it to Royale Property Management of Lakewood, N.J. But the sale was contingent on the addition of a new roof to the structure, and that has not occurred.

The Woodville Mall was the first enclosed "super-regional" mall in metro Toledo. For years it was owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis.

It was sold in 2004 to two California investors, Jack Kashani and Sammy Kahen, for $2.5 million. The pair had said they planned to reinvest and modernize the mall, but their plans never came to fruition. Mr. Kohan bought the shopping center in 2007.

Mr. Kashani and Mr. Kahen also bought what was then the North Towne Square mall in Toledo in 2002. They still have a stake in that property, which the city of Toledo recently has considered buying.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.

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