FINDLAY, Ohio — The popularity of online shopping has led to some big changes for local malls.
Last year, the New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased the Findlay Village Mall for $4 million.
After a few businesses have moved in and out, the owners are now ready to implement their overall plan to redevelop the property.
"Mall business models are changing significantly," Director of Findlay-Hancock Economic Development Tim Mayle said.
This week, the Findlay City Planning Commission approved Kohan's request to break up the 42-acre property into five separate commercial lots, allowing new development to move into what is currently wasted, unused parking lot space.
"What you saw this week was the first step in taking the traditional thousands of parking spots surrounded in asphalt, is to create different entities to hopefully build on the out lots and redevelop," Mayle said.
Now, the former Stock and Field store, the Best Buy building and a few outlet areas are now able to be marketed individually as separate development projects.
But, don't worry mall regulars: the fifth and largest lot, the 29 acres of the Findlay Mall itself, will remain.
"This is the best opportunity for us to tee up to developers to say, here is a more manageable eight-acre piece that we can work on," Mayle said.
It's still too early to say what developments will be going into these five lots on the mall property, but Mayle said that the Kohan Retail Investment Group is keeping its options wide open, even possibly transitioning some of the commercial space into residential.
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