MANSFIELD — Dan Niss said he doesn’t have concrete plans for the former West Park Shopping Center.
He and his wife, Brenda, simply saw a need to help the community they love — even if it means adding more to their already robust plate.
That’s why they agreed to purchase the property from Namdar Realty Group, an out-of-state company that has allowed the space to deteriorate during the past decade of ownership.
“It’s been such an eyesore these past few years,” the local business owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist told Richland Source.
“We felt like we should do something with it and help clean up that area.
“We have a few ideas for the site. Maybe a little water park like they have in Ontario … create some nice green space. I hate to commit to anything at this point, but we have some ideas,” Niss said.
“We want to get this demolition done first. When that is done, we can start working on the project,” he said.
A wrecking ball is the next step for West Park
The next step for the decaying former strip mall at 1157 Park Ave. West along the “Miracle Mall” is a wrecking ball — perhaps as soon as this spring.
It’s the first move toward reviving in some way the once-bustling retail site that was a significant part of the “Miracle Mile” between Trimble and Home Roads.
That long-awaited demo work will hopefully be funded by a $1 million state brownfield grant sought by the Richland County Land Bank from the Ohio Department of Development. Word on that grant application is expected in February.
The plan is for the 17-acre site, including the massive parking lot, to be demolished and returned to “green space” before any development begins.
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry began talking to Niss last fall about the potential purchase of the property, which had slowly disintegrated in the last decade under the ownership of the New Jersey-based Namdar Realty Group.
“I needed someone local to get hands on it so that we could really guide it to the future. Dan and Brenda were willing to do that to help the city and I appreciate that,” Perry said Tuesday.
“They really did it to help the community,” said the mayor, who inherited the problem property when she took office in January 2024.
It’s a site the city has sought to have demolished since 2022, sparking a potential legal battle with Namdar. That fight was avoided when the company agreed to sell it to Niss for $1 million, half of what the out-of-state company asked when it listed the property with a local realtor in 2025.
Niss credited Perry and the Richland County Land Bank in helping make the deal possible.
“Jodie has just been fantastic,” he said. “Amy (Hamrick) from the Land Bank has been great to work with. I hear it from my folks that these local officials have been great to work with.”
Lots of irons in the fire
It’s not as if the 55-year-old Niss needed another project, even for a man who grew up with a strong work background.
His father Jerry, worked in a machine shop, while his mother, Judy, worked in a department store. They both grew up on farms and instilled an appreciation for a farmer’s work ethic in Dan and his siblings.
Dan and Brenda’s recent investments in community-focused projects have been wide and extensive.
— They are nearing completion on a multi-million dollar renovation of the Westbrook Country Club, which the couple purchased in 2020.
— Also nearing completion is the Country Club Estates, near Westbrook. They purchased the former Lumbermens Insurance Building and are turning it into condominiums.
— They are within days of closing the purchase of the former Hamilton Park in Mansfield and plan to build a nine-hole golf course there with a “state-of-the-art” teaching and practice facility. It will be a par-3 style course, designed by golf architect Tyler Rae with distances ranging from 94 to 201 yards.
— Construction on a new restaurant/bar at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport will begin soon. The upgraded facility will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner at the site Niss Aviation serves as the fixed-based operator.
— The couple is working on plans for a possible athletic center at the site of an unfinished 43,000-square-foot church on Park Avenue West in Ontario. They bought it in 2023 after it had been on the market for nearly 15 years.
Niss has also donated funding to Ashland University for the Niss Athletic Center that opened in 2021 and to Ontario High School for improvements to the Niss Stadium football complex.
Charter Next Generation employs more than 1,000 owners
All of those projects are on top of his day job: serving as president of Charter Next Generation, one of the biggest plastic film manufacturers in North America.
It operates 18 production plants with more than 150 lines in Ohio, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Massachusetts, a company formed when Charter NEX merged with Next Generation Films in 2020.
The company, which employs more than 1,000 Richland County residents in Lexington and Ontario, transitioned in 2021 to an all-employee ownership program.
That means every employee has a financial stake in the business and benefits from its success, which could result in “multi-millions” for employees if the company is sold.
“That could be a game changer for a lot of people,” Niss said.
In a new book, “The Spirit of a Team” by former Ashland University football coach Lee Owens and Richland Source Managing Editor Larry Phillips, Niss talked about that transition.
“We knew after COVID, after people spent a year at home and were getting free money that they were going to be a precious commodity. So, how do we motivate them? How do we get them back? We had to think a little bit outside the box.
“The ownership program was one of the decisions we made. That’s what differentiates us from other manufacturing companies. Giving (the employees) ownership, we did it because they are our most valuable asset. If we’re going to grow, we can’t do it without people. That program was a difference-maker,” Niss said.
By the way, CNG is nearing completion of a 125,000-square foot addition to its manufacturing site in Lexington and is about to start on a 450,000-square foot distribution center at its Ontario location at the former GM plant site.
According to Jobs Ohio, the Lexington expansion on its own amounts to a $106.3 million investment.
Suffice to say the Minnesota native and former college football player cares deeply about his adopted home in north central Ohio.
“I wouldn’t have what I have without Mansfield and Richland County,” Niss said. “We have so many great employees.
“I want this community to be something special, and to be known.”
