MANSFIELD — Park National Bank announced Tuesday it was withdrawing a proposal to develop a new downtown office on Mansfield’s Municipal Parking lot.
“The decision comes after thoughtful consideration of feedback from Mansfield’s small business community and residents, particularly regarding the importance of preserving existing parking in the downtown area,” said Chris Hiner, PNB’s Mansfield regional president.
“Our proposal was made with the sincere intent to invest in Mansfield’s future and contribute to the vitality of our downtown,” he said regarding the plan for the 1.42-acre lot at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets.
PNB emailed its decision at 4:41 p.m., just a couple of hours after downtown merchants, employees and residents staged a protest against the plan that was announced Oct. 6. (see story below.)
“We’ve heard clearly from our community that maintaining the current parking lot is a priority, and we respect that,” Hiner said.
“At Park, listening is one of the most important ways we serve — and we’re proud to respond in a way that reflects our values and our commitment to Mansfield,” he said.
The original proposal included the donation of Park’s current downtown office building, which it said was valued at $1.28 million, to the Mansfield Community Improvement Corporation; the $175,000 purchase of parcels at Fourth and Main for new construction; and a $130,000 donation to support the development of additional parking in the Carrousel District.
“While we are stepping back from this particular initiative, our dedication to serving our community remains strong,” Hiner said.
“We’ve been part of this community for more than a century, and we will continue to advocate for solutions that support small businesses, enhance economic development, and reflect the community’s voice,” he said.
Park National Bank continues to serve customers at its current downtown office at 3 N. Main St.
“We are grateful for the open dialogue and the passion our community shows for its future,” Hiner said. “This is what makes Mansfield special, and we’re honored to be part of it.”
Mansfield City Council had delayed a vote on the proposal during its Oct. 7 meeting, a move Mayor Jodie Perry said she hoped would give her time to talk about parking options.
“I have acknowledged publicly my blind spots on how this rolled out and can understand the immediate concern,” she said Tuesday in announcing legislation regarding the development was being pulled.
“However, in the rush to stop this, I do feel there are many positive impacts being overlooked and opportunities to move downtown ahead by crafting a better plan that works for all,” the mayor said.
“I have built my whole career around finding common ground with different people and am approaching this no differently,” said Perry, who took office in January 2024.
“People may not agree with every decision I make, but I have always tried to take input into consideration when looking at projects,” said Perry, who led the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development for a decade before running for mayor.
“The feedback was loud, though certainly not unanimous, and I believe some of the biggest concerns can be addressed — though not in the current environment with emotions running so high,” she said.
“My intention remains to see if any common ground can be found on this project without a looming vote,” she said. “And regardless of the outcome, I will continue in my efforts to working wholeheartedly to help Mansfield grow,” Perry said.
(The following was written before Park National Bank announced its decision.)
Downtown merchants, residents rally against Municipal Parking lot development proposal
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Joyce Wells looked over her shoulder Tuesday afternoon at the Richland Carrousel Park and the ongoing Main Street Corridor Improvement project.
She shook her head.
“I think Mayor Jodie (Perry) has the best interest (of the community) in trying to bring news business downtown. We all want new business and more business,” the RCP chief executive officer said.
“However, you have to remain loyal to the downtown merchants that have been here for years, going through thick and thin and staying the course,” Wells said.
Wells organized a public rally at 1 p.m. to oppose Perry’s proposal to sell the western half of the 1.42-acre Municipal Parking lot to Park National Bank, which would build a new regional headquarters on the site.
Nearly 50 people gathered on the sidewalk along West Fourth Street next to the parking lot, which contains about 180 free parking spaces. Those in attendance opposed losing 90 parking spaces — and some also disagreed with the idea of a bank being built in the lot.
A petition was circulated during the rally, opposing the plan, which Wells said would be taken to the next City Council meeting on Oct. 21. Local lawmakers agreed on Oct. 7 to delay a vote on the plan until at least their next meeting.
Wells criticized the timing of the proposal, with another year to go on the Main Street project, improving a road that runs next to the RCP.
“(The Main Street project) is destroying most of us, and that includes the carousel, and if it keeps up …. because the minute this is done and the beautiful renovation is done … then they’re going to start construction on a bank,” Wells said.
“We kind of just felt blindsided and I hope there’s a resolution to this,” she said.
Perry seemed to have gotten the message even before the rally began.
More than 12 hours before the event began, Perry posted on social media Monday night that she was committed to finding a compromise over an issue that became heated the moment it was announced Oct. 6.
She also accepted blame for how the proposal was rolled out to the public.
“I feel that it is important that I acknowledge the rollout of the downtown project proposal could have been handled better. I see now that we didn’t communicate early or clearly enough about the vision, the parking plan, or how this fits into the bigger picture for downtown. And the timing with the construction was terrible. That’s on me,” Perry said in a Facebook post.
“I know I have blind spots, after all I am only human. I’m grateful to those who’ve cared enough to speak up — even though it’s been hard to hear. Your voices matter,” she wrote.
“At the same time, I still believe there’s real potential here. This project could bring meaningful investment, new energy, and confidence in our downtown’s future. But it has to work for everyone — our merchants, our visitors, and our residents,” Perry wrote.
“So, I am asking that we take a step back together. I’m committed to working on a compromise that protects what we love about downtown while allowing Mansfield to keep growing. I have built my whole career around finding common ground, and believe there may be a solution here,” the mayor wrote.
“Leadership means listening, learning, and sometimes adjusting course — and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Perry wrote.
(Photos and a video below were taken during a protest Tuesday afternoon by downtown business owners and others opposed to a proposed sale of half of the Municipal Parking lot which would become a new Park National Bank regional office. The story continues below the photos.)
Wells said she was against any development at the moment if it meant losing the parking spaces.
“Until they come up with something … and that would have to be something that’s in this vicinity because people aren’t going to walk up and down the hill to a parking lot — it needs to remain parking,” she said.
“People are not going to walk blocks to get here. This is going to affect the Final Friday concerts (in the nearby Brickyard) and everything. It’s just gonna be devastating,” Wells said.
Melissa Lawrence, who owns the City Grille on West Fourth Street across from the parking lot, participated in the rally and agreed with Wells.
“Everybody has to share all of those (parking) spaces. I think it dramatically impacts not just me, or not just the people on Fourth Street and Main Street. All of us as are affected. If the parking’s gone, then nobody survives, whatsoever,” Lawrence said.
“Not only that, it’s poor timing. These people on Main Street won’t even get a chance to recover from the Main Street beautification that they’re doing before they’re going to be thrown another curveball and have to deal with a whole other set of obstacles,” she said.
Nichole Hamilton, owner of Two Cousins Pizza Co. on Main Street, also spoke Tuesday against the proposal. She said her 12 employees park in the Municipal Parking lot.
“Parking is a concern already, so taking up parking just does not make any sense to us,” Hamilton said. “This is a place where everybody goes.
“There’s handicap spots (in the municipal lot). I have a handicapped employee that uses one of these handicap spots,” she said.
“Are you going to frequent any kind of downtown businesses because it’s not going to be accessible? When this (Main Street) construction’s done, we’re only going to get about maybe top 10 parking spots on the street. That’s not going to make up for the parking that’s potentially going to be taken away from us,” Hamilton said.
David Falquette, an At-large member of City Council, came Tuesday to watch the rally.
“No parking, no bank. That’s what I will do,” he said. “I can’t speak for the rest of the council members. I get the feeling they are probably going to head in that direction.
“We’ve asked the mayor to give us a heads up by Thursday, so we can get it on the (Oct. 21) agenda,” Falquette said.
The lawmaker said he wasn’t sure if he would support a bank at the site, even if alternative nearby parking is obtained.
“That’s a really good question. I don’t think anybody had ever imagined this (western) part of the parking lot being available. So it’s maybe a little bit unfair for us to jump on the very first thing when maybe we should go for a request for proposals or something and see if anybody else has a grand idea,” Falquette said.
“At the same time, I’m really concerned the message we will send not only to Park National Bank, but any investor that’s looking (for space) that we don’t even know who they are.
“(They may look at) Mansfield and say, ‘Boy, those people are hard to deal with. I can go to ABC town and they’re much more business friendly.’ I don’t want to lose that unknown person, either,” he said.
