Instead, I’m happy to report, the mall is about to experience a new life.
Call it Towne Mall II, and unlike most Hollywood versions, we can hope this sequel is better than the first, or at least what the original became.
If you’re new to town, let me back up a second. The Towne Mall and its 465,451-square-foot shopping space once was a crown jewel in the city. It’s where people shopped, before they drove to the Dayton Mall, or more recently, the Cincinnati Outlet Mall in Monroe.
Hundreds of local children sat on Santa’s lap at the mall.
It was the place to shop, the place to eat, the place to be seen.
But after years of neglect it became the world’s largest walking ring for seniors.
Of the 52 available retail spaces in the mall, only 18 were occupied last week, and with only a few major stores and no food court to attract customers, the mall was a ghost town.
After walking around Towne Mall on Thursday, I knocked on the office door. It was locked. Then Trisha Hale, officer manager of the mall, recognized me and opened the door. She told me it was “a big day.” She was smiling. I thought she was talking about Game 5 of the National League playoffs between the Reds and Giants.
This was bigger than that.
She said Towne Mall, once dubbed “a dead mall,” was expected to be sold Friday to a group of California investors who plan to make major renovations and bring in new tenants. While the contract hadn’t been signed, Hale, who shopped at the mall as a child with her aunt, guaranteed me it was “a done deal.”
A group of investors formed a corporation, SA Mary Ohio, LLC, and neither Hale nor the investors released the sale price.
But what they said was more important. They are planning to upgrade the mall and recruit businesses. Maybe bring in a food court. Fill a few potholes. Update the sign.
Try to be a viable business.
One of the investors, Dr. George Bishay, said the group saw “very strong potential” in the mall, and he said the “best group” of potential tenants will be selected.
Hale expects the group to “spend lots of money” making major renovations to the mall. The investment group has met with engineers to discuss possible improvements.
Middletown Economic Development Director Denise Hamet said after the renovations are made the mall is “going to look sharp.”
The funeral will have to wait.
It’s time to celebrate a birth.
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