OPPORTUNITY

In 1976, Randall Park Mall was the largest mall in the world with 200 retailers and some 8,000 parking spaces. Over time, declining sales and failed management efforts to revive the site resulted in anchor tenants vacating. This sealed the site’s future and eliminated a major source of employment and tax revenue for the area. The mall closed in 2009. By 2014, other developers had tried and failed to successfully create a new plan for the property.

OUTCOME

IRG purchased much of the mall in 2014, including 7 adjoining parcels over time, which were previously home to anchors such as Dillard’s, Magic Johnson Theater, Macy’s, JCPenney, Burlington, Power Sports and Sears. Once IRG developed a full plan for industrial use on the property, demolition began. This removed much of the former tenant space which was unusable and made room for industrial build-to-suit and speculative buildings to entice future tenants. The former Sears building became a successful, multi-tenanted, industrial building. A 305,000 square-foot speculative building has been completed with interest from multiple tenants. In 2017, Amazon announced the company would purchase more than 60 acres of the site, creating 2,000 jobs with a $77 million payroll. The announcement was widely covered by major news outlets across the country.