WEST TOLEDO -- Businesses in west Toledo are anxiously awaiting new development in the old NorthTowne Mall. Monday the shopping center on Alexis Road closed down after 24 years. Some residents are sad to see it go.
Teenager Deven Phillips said, "This is a good place for me to hang out with my friends and it keeps me out of trouble." Devin and his friends used to hang out at the old NorthTowne Mall--so did his dad, Jeson Phillips. "When I was young you walked in that place and it was wall to wall people-packed. Now it's just like a ghost town," said Jeson.
But Chris Lawrence, the owner of Dyme Authentic Urban Wear, is hoping to bank on the mall's bust. Last year he opened his clothing store right next to the mall--so far, so good. Lawrence said, "I figured this would be a good location for the Monroe people and us in Lucas County."
A few doors up, Greg Pesina at Miss Cue Billiards & Darts has cut back hours and staff, as the mall struggled. He hopes the developer takes aim at creating an industrial facility on the mall site. "It would absolutely help us. Actually, bring us more day business and bring us more nightttime business as well," said Pesina.
Many of his customers already work for automotive companies. "We're up here every Monday around 6:30. We're usually done around 8:30. It's more like a drinking league that anything else," said patron Chris Conner.
And drinking means dollars--something Pesina wishes the city of Toledo would invest in economic development for the area. "They're doing things in Maumee, they're doing things in Perrysburg. They need to concentrate on the city here," said Pesina.
Sources say the mall may be turned into some sort of light industrial facility, possibly a tool and die shop. For now, DaimlerChrysler is renting the parking lot to store hundreds of Jeeps.
One of the last remaining businesses is a gym located in the old Montgomery Ward building. For now, that's still open for business.
