$1 million state grant may fuel long-awaited demolition of West Park Shopping Center

MANSFIELD — Could there finally be a solution in the offing for the decaying albatross known as the West Park Shopping Center?

Mansfield City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on a bill that could help clear the way for the strip-mall property at 1157 Park Ave. West to be demolished. It would use $1 million in state brownfield funds after being sold to an unspecified “qualified purchaser.”

Such a move could lead to the redevelopment of the 17-acre site along the “Miracle Mile” that has plagued the city for years, slowly disintegrating in the last decade under the ownership of the New Jersey-based Namdar Realty Group.

The deadline to apply for the next round of state brownfield funds is Dec. 5 — hence, the need for urgency and quick action by local lawmakers and the Richland County Land Bank, which would apply for the brownfield funds.

If City Council approves the proposal Tuesday, a special meeting of the Land Bank board could be set in order to approve the application.

“My focus has been to get (West Park) into local hands or the hands of someone who will work with us on it,” Mayor Jodie Perry said Friday morning.

She declined to identify the prospective buyer until the sales agreement is signed, but said it’s an entity she trusts.

“I have been talking with the with current owner and prospective owners about what we can do to help get the site back to (being) a benefit to the community,” the mayor said.

“As of today, there is currently not a deal in place. But because of the deadline (from the state), we wanted to move forward in hopes a deal can be put in place in the next week.

“It would be great. It’s something the community has been asking for and wanting for a very long time,” she said. “To be able to say we’re working towards a solution and with some identified funding streams, that would be huge.”

(Below is legislation about the West Park Shopping Center planned for Mansfield City Council on Tuesday evening.)

State budget allocates funds for brownfield projects

The Ohio Department of Development’s Brownfield Remediation Program “provides grants for the cleanup of brownfield sites, to assist in the remediation of hazardous substances or petroleum at an industrial, commercial, or institutional property,” according to the program’s website.

“Remediation includes acquisition of a brownfield, demolition performed at a brownfield, and the installation or upgrade of the minimum amount of infrastructure necessary to make a brownfield site operational for economic development activity,” according to the website.

For fiscal year 2026 of the state’s budget, $88 million is available, with $1 million reserved for applicants in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. Perry, a member of the Land Bank board, said she believes this would be the $1 million guaranteed for Richland County.

She said she believes it’s the best way forward for the troubled site rather than face potentially years of more legal battles with Namdar.

“In my opinion, I think that we legally could just force the demolition and assess that onto their property taxes. However, that would be secondary to any liens that they have on the property’s mortgages, and I know there are some existing,” Perry said.

“What I don’t want to do is spend public tax dollars and then the current owner (Namdar) receives the benefit of the greenfield property. We want to help someone who is coming in — who didn’t put in deplorable condition — and help them demo it,” she said.

The demo project, while on a much larger scale, would be similar to what the Land Bank has done in recent years in Shelby at Broadway and Main streets and the Denver Roof property on Park Avenue East in Mansfield.

Under the legislation, the city could use funds from the PRIDE tax as needed to “perfect the eligibility of the (brownfield) application.”

“This current round of brownfield (applications) doesn’t require a (local funding) match,” Perry said. “Under the legislation, we could use up to $1 million (from PRIDE) if we don’t get the grant.

“(But) I am hopeful for the deal,” she said.

Namdar Realty Group bought West Park in 2015

Namdar, through its West Mansfield Realty LLC, purchased the property in March 2015 for $1.6 million, according to the Richland County Auditor’s website. The company has invested little money in the facility and one tenant after another fled the site, leaving it largely lifeless at this point.

Citing numerous zoning and safety violations that remained unfixed, the city initially ordered the demolition of the 1157 Park Ave. West structure in 2022 during the administration of former Mayor Tim Theaker and former Law Director John Spon.

However, the deteriorating eyesore — and its out-of-state ownership group — outlasted both Theaker and Spon, and has continued to vex Perry and current Law Director Rollie Harper.

Namdar, which has battled the city over ordered demolition, put the property up for sale and earlier this year put that effort in the hands of Sluss Realty, with a listing price of $2 million.

Perry had previously said she believes the key to resolving the problem property is getting it into the hands of a local owner.

“I have not been shy about my desire to see it come back into locally-owned hands so that we can get it back to where it needs to go,” said Perry, who took office in January 2024 after a decade of leading the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.

“The best-case scenario is we can get it to someone who’s going to invest in it and we can look at potentially state grants to help get things taken care of,” Perry said in April.

But it’s also apparent the company has not invested to keep the existing buildings from continuing to decline.

“They’ve made it clear they want to divest the property, which again, I think it is probably best,” the mayor said in April.

“But you know, it can’t sit there forever. You’re not seeing things happen on site, but it’s not because there’s not a lot of people talking about it and trying to figure out how can we do it in a way that is in the best interest of the community,” she said then.

Site could help ‘revitalize the heart of the Miracle Mile’

According to the Sluss website in April, the property is a “colossal opportunity to revitalize the heart of Mansfield’s Miracle Mile,” including “an expansive strip mall encompassing over 179,000 square feet and spanning over 17 acres with high visibility, offering 1,127 (feet) of frontage and currently 1,256 parking spaces.”

“Surrounded by both new and established businesses, and anchored by Little Caesar’s and Safelite, this property is on a direct route linking Mansfield and Ontario, making it a prosperous location for a vast variety of new or expanding business ventures,” according to the listing.

Why would seeing it sold to a local owner be better for the city and local taxpayers than just tearing down the buildings?

Company attorneys have made it clear legal challenges to demolition efforts may be mounted, a process Harper has said could take years to resolve.

If the city follows through and demolishes the property on its own, without a local owner, there is no guarantee it could recoup the costs of the work — and Namdar would still own the property.

Namdar destruction across the country

Over the last few years, local officials have said Namdar is tough to pin down.

It has a portfolio of nearly 400 properties in 37 states, many of which have been the focus of similar battles with local officials, especially related to zoning code violations.

Earlier this month, according to the Uniontown (Pa.) Herald-Standard, South Union Township sued Uniontown Mall owners over alleged safety violations and “dangerous and unlawful” conditions.

The complaint filed against Namdar Realty Group and Uniontown Mall Realty describes a number of hazards in and around the mall.

According to the story, township supervisor Robert Schiffbauer said issues began popping up soon after Namdar purchased the mall in 2015 and are “getting worse and worse.”

Outside, the suit alleged, the driveways and parking areas are deteriorating, and multiple potholes are creating the risk of more extensive damage to infrastructure.

In July, the community of Citrus Heights, Fla., filed a lawsuit seeking over $500,000 in accrued fines and immediate abatement of nuisance violations has been filed against Sunrise Mall majority owner Namdar Realty Group.

In an interview with the Citrus Heights Sentinel, Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney said the lawsuit against Namdar Realty is in relation to the over half-million dollars in accrued fines levied against the company for extensive code violations.

According to a story April 3 on WTAE in Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County district attorney filed a criminal public nuisance charge against Namdar and its Pitts Galleria Realty LLC over the Pittsburgh Mills property it owns.

“The deteriorating roads surrounding Pittsburgh Mills have not only become a haven for countless potholes, but now pose a serious safety hazard for emergency responders, drivers and pedestrians, according to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala,” the story said.

“The Mills collects a lot of money to maintain that property. I want to know where the money’s at,” Zappala said.

The criminal complaint alleges that Namdar Realty Group has collected payments from surrounding businesses to maintain the roads, but it remains unclear how those funds have been allocated.

In August, Pennsylvania state Sen. Judy Schwank sent a formal letter to the owner of the Berkshire Mall requesting an update on the condition of the property and their long-term plans for the site in Wyomissing, Pa.

Since Namdar Realty Group purchased the mall in 2020, the condition of the mall building and surrounding property have steadily declined. Signs of neglect are visible on the interior and exterior of the building, and sinkholes have caused large portions of the parking lot to be fenced off for months, according to Schwank.

“The Berkshire Mall has been a fixture in our community for decades, and its continued deterioration is troubling,” Schwank said. “The current state of the property raises real questions about public safety and the owner’s willingness to invest in needed upkeep.”

In the letter, Schwank asked Namdar to clarify the structural integrity of the building and provide transparency about their vision for the future of the mall.

“The people of Berks County deserve answers,” Schwank said. “This is not just an issue Wyomissing Borough should be left to deal with on their own.

“The condition of the Berkshire Mall impacts surrounding communities, and we all want to see it once again become a hub of activity,” she said. “The further it falls into disrepair, the more difficult and costly the task of breathing new life into the property becomes for future developers.”