Franklin Place shops submit new site plans

Marshalls, HomeGoods move in area

In the shopping center where Target and Gabe's clothing store are located at 5235 Monroe St., two new stores have filed plans to put buildings there.

Site plans for a new building at the Shops at Franklin Place confirm the Sylvania Township shopping area is about to welcome two new occupants: HomeGoods and Marshalls stores.

Design plans show Marshalls — a department store that features a range of items from clothing to furniture and beauty products — and HomeGoods, a home-furnishings store, are going to be the new kids on the Monroe Street shopping block. Marshalls previously had a store in the Toledo area, but it is the debut for HomeGoods.

They will occupy a new building that will be built where the former Franklin Park Cinemas was located. The theater closed in 2005 and was razed last fall.

The 27.5-acre shopping complex at 5235 Monroe St. — commonly known as the Target shopping center — was purchased last year for $8.55 million by Devonshire REIT, a local real estate investment trust. The property was sold by National Amusements Inc. of Dedham, Mass., which had owned it since the 1960s.

The rear portion of the center features Target, Golf Galaxy, and Gabe’s, which opened last year in the former Media Play site. A separate building on the property’s east side includes OfficeMax, Shoe Carnival, and a couple empty spaces.

The architectural drawings for a new building on the west side of the property were submitted by Devonshire REIT to Sylvania Township’s zoning department as part of a site plan review with minor changes, officials said.

The new building, which will face toward the center of the complex, is divided. HomeGoods and Marshalls, which are both part of TJX Cos., will occupy about 45,500 square feet. The rest of the building — approximately 35,500 square feet — is reserved for a future tenant.

Bill Bostleman, Devonshire’s development manager, said there were no major changes to the plans during the township’s review, but the parking lot may be redesigned for better traffic flow. He would not comment on who the third tenant may be.

As of now, the plans designate about 249 parking spaces in front of Marshalls and HomeGoods, with another 165 parking spaces for the third tenant.

Mr. Bostleman said the goal is to break ground this spring, but the construction schedule is dependent on the weather.

Township officials said no special permits or zoning changes are needed to build at this point.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.