MANSFIELD — The former West Park Shopping Center will finally come tumbling down this fall, capping an effort that began five years ago.
A crane armed with a wrecking ball is expected to roll into the parking lot by mid-October, if all goes according to plan, Richland County Land Bank officials said Wednesday.
The Richland County Land Bank will post bid specifications for interested contractors in the next week or so, according to Executive Director Amy Hamrick. She expects the land bank board to open bids and select a contractor on Sept. 15.
“We are asking that (the contractor) start the demolition within 30 days of signing the contract,” Hamrick said.
Ohio Edison will start removing power lines and electric poles from the property within the next two weeks.
The land bank voted Wednesday to approve paying Ohio Edison up to $18,000 for the work, which has to be done before building demolition can begin.
Hamrick said she did not know when Ohio Edison will start, but company officials hope to have most of the work done by Aug. 31.
“There’s a lot of work Ohio Edison has to do. There’s transformers and pools right behind the building,” she said.
(Below are photos taken Wednesday of the former West Park Shopping Center.)
The land bank applied for and was awarded $1 million from Ohio Department of Development to tear down the crumbling strip mall after the property was purchased by local residents Dan and Brenda Niss earlier this year.
The Nisses purchased the property at 1157 Park Ave. West from Namdar Realty Group. The out-of-state company allowed the space to deteriorate during its decade of ownership.
The L-shaped building that makes up the majority of the shopping center has been under city demolition orders since 2022. Namdar and its legal team battled those orders for nearly four years before finally agreeing to allow the site to be sold into local control.
Hamrick said she plans to require the land bank’s contractor to complete the demolition by May 31, but most of the work will likely be done sooner.
“I don’t think the demolition will take that long, but you can’t really (lay) seed and straw with snow on the ground,” Hamrick said.
Dan Niss told Richland Source earlier this year that he and his wife didn’t have concrete plans for the former “Miracle Mile” site.
“It’s been such an eyesore these past few years,” said Niss, a local business owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist. “We felt like we should do something with it and help clean up that area.”
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry has expressed interest in turning part of the property into a public pool or aquatic center. Mansfield has had no public swimming pool since the Liberty Park facility closed permanently in August 2021 due to major maintenance issues.
The city released a public pool feasibility study in April, asking residents to weigh in on a potential project.
“I had talked with the Nisses about using part of it for a pool/park area,” Perry said Wednesday. “I think they would like to develop some of the remaining land, but we haven’t really talked about any specifics yet.”
“It’s a good spot because it’s on the bike trail, it’s on the bus route. There’s a lot of houses within walking distance to it, so I think it really can help the Miracle Mile come back to life as well as more of an entertainment destination, instead of only retail,” Perry said.
Land bank to pursue additional demolition funds for downtown Main Street property
The land bank board also voted to apply for three more brownfield grants from the Ohio Department of Development.
The first application will seek funds to demolish and remediate a three story building at 290 N. Main St..
Volunteers of America donated the property to the land bank earlier this year. The property has sat vacant for about 13 years.
Perry said the building would require a lot of work to restore and she sees the demolition as a “beautification opportunity” for the city.
The second brownfield application will be on behalf of the Milliron Foundation for a senior and veteran housing project on Lexington Avenue.
Those funds would not be used for demolition — just the remediation of asbestos and possible chemical fire suppression materials onsite.
The office complex, located at 665 Lexington Ave., has housed entities like United Telephone CenturyLink, Sprint and Brightspeed over the years.
The Milliron Foundation purchased the property last year.
The third application will be for 182 W. Sixth St. on behalf of RGS Real Estate.
Hamrick said RGS is in contract to buy the property from its current owners.
“It’s been basically almost a junkyard for as long as I can remember. So we know that there’s probably oil, gasoline that’s leaked from vehicles and things like that that will need to be remediated,” Hamrick said.
