MANSFIELD — The sale of the deteriorating eyesore once known as the West Park Shopping Center is one step closer to the finish line.
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry announced on Dec. 5 that a deal had been reached for a local buyer to purchase the 17-acre site along the “Miracle Mile.”
Purchased in 2015 by Namdar Realty Group — through its West Mansfield Realty LLC — for $1.6 million, the city ordered the demolition of the structure in 2022 after citing numerous zoning and safety violations.
Due to the structure being under demolition orders from the Planning Commission, the commission needed to approve the sale in order for it to proceed. The commission approved the sale unanimously during its meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Perry told commission members a purchase agreement is in place and set to close before the end of the year.
The property has been submitted to the current round of the Brownfield Remediation Grant Fund through the Ohio Department of Development, the mayor said.
“The county has a $1 million set-aside in this current round of funding, so we’re pretty confident that it will receive that. I don’t believe anything else went in against that,” Perry said.
Mansfield City Council earlier in December unanimously approved up to $1 million, agreeing the city would fund the project itself through PRIDE demolition funds if the grant is not received.
A step in the right direction
Perry presented letters to the Planning Commission from both Namdar and Bill Heichel, who is representing the purchaser, requesting the commission’s formal approval of the sale.
The purchaser and sales price will be disclosed when the sale closes, the mayor said.
“A lot more needs to be discussed between the city, as well as the new purchaser, but I can tell you our goal is to get the site demoed and cleaned up in 2026,” Perry said. “The city has been talking with the potential new owner about a potential public use of part of the site.”
Other potential development of the 17-acre-site may include some smaller retail and dining options, she said. Another possibility is some additional city parkland.
“How the property would be split and looked at, all of that needs to be determined. But I can tell you this is a local person that really is doing it because we asked them to help us get this property under local control and move it ahead,” the mayor said.
Jotika Shetty, executive director of the Richland County Regional Planning Commission, was a city Planning Commission member when the original demolition order was issued.
The opportunity to bring life back into the area Shetty described now as an “eyesore” is a step in the right direction, she said.
