MANSFIELD — The decaying structure once known as the West Park Shopping Center has been sold to a local owner.
Mayor Jodie Perry made the announcement late Friday afternoon.
“I am pleased to announce that a deal has been reached for a local buyer to purchase the property known as the West Park Shopping Center,” Perry said.
“In accordance with the actions taken by the Mansfield City Council, and the Richland County Land Bank earlier this week, this property has also been submitted to the current round of the Brownfield Remediation Grant Fund through the Ohio Department of Development,” the mayor said.
Perry said she would work with the owners, 6 West Third Ltd., to share information about the future of the property “in the weeks ahead.”
6 West Third Ltd. is a Mansfield corporation created in 1997, formed by Bill Heichel. A sales price has not yet been disclosed.
“They have purchased this to assist the city in moving forward with much-needed revitalization along the famed ‘Miracle Mile,'” Perry said.
The mayor said she was grateful for the new owners’ willingness to support the community.
“The terms of the deal are not being disclosed at this point, but the property is expected to transfer by the end of the year,” Perry said.
“I am excited by the revitalization possibilities that local ownership provides. I also appreciate Dan Dilmanian, COO of Namdar Realty Group, for working with me over many months to get the property under local control,” she said.
“This shopping center was once the heart of retail activity in our region, and our residents have long been calling for improvement.
“While the future will look different from the past, I have every belief that the next chapter of West Park will be just as important to Mansfield and our entire community,” Perry said.
The sale comes after Mansfield City Council and the Richland County Land Bank took action this week aimed at clearing 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.
The deadline to apply for the next round of state brownfield funds was Friday — hence, the need for urgency and quick action by local lawmakers and the Land Bank, which will apply for the brownfield funds.
The Richland County Land Bank board Monday to apply for a $1 million state brownfield remediation grant to demolish the decaying strip mall — contingent on Mansfield City Council approving necessary funding and a new owner purchasing the property.
City Council on Tuesday evening unanimously approved the same proposal, agreeing the city would fund the project itself through PRIDE demolition funds if the grant is not received.
The sale 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 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 ODD’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/”
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.
The mayor said she believes it’s the best way forward for the troubled site rather than face potentially years of more legal battles with Namdar.
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 PRIDE tax funds as needed to “perfect the eligibility of the (brownfield) application.”
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.
Citing numerous zoning and safety violations, the city initially ordered the demolition of the 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.
