Cleveland Heights issued an RFP with an eye toward halting the long, slow decline of Severance Town Center. The complex, opened in 1963 as the state’s first indoor mall, was shuffled and reformed in the 1990s into what it looks like today, which is a few main tenants and a lot of vacancy.
When Walmart departed six years ago for a spot literally down the road, it created a 120,000 square foot chasm that trigged foreclosure and other problems, financial and otherwise.
“A mall like Severance has a choice when found at a competitive disadvantage — either it’s got to grow and stay with the same basic format, or it has to morph, change into a different format, or it’s going to die,” Roby Simons, a professor at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, told Scene four years ago. “Unless you replace Walmart with a tenant of the same stature — and there’s a short list there — odds are it’s not going to remain the same format.”
That’s exactly what Cleveland Heights, which doesn’t own the land, is hoping to create in working with the owners.
“It’s time to really think about returning vibrancy to Severance,” City Manager Tanisha Briley told Cleveland 19. “Marshalls, Daves, Home Depot, Office Max they are very strong tenants and they add a lot for our community and I know our residents and our surrounding communities rely on those stores but that’s not all Severance can be. We need to look at a mix of uses. We think there’s an opportunity for Severance to be an economic engine for our community as well as provide some new housing options, recreational activities. This is our largest business site in the city.”
Which sounds a lot like what everyone’s been saying for years, and which Cleveland Heights sees in its neighbor with the Van Aken district.
Again, from Scene’s feature in 2015:
Colette Gibbons, court-appointed receiver of Severance and an attorney with the law firm Ice Miller LLC, says that a new vision for the shopping center is needed before desirable tenants will venture in. “High-end tenants and nicer restaurants are not going to make a move unless there’s an overall plan for the center,” she says.Here’s to hoping they finally figure it out.“I think it has to be re-envisioned,” she continues. “It’s too big right now, and it’s not updated the way a lot of the lifestyle shopping centers are. It doesn’t have the amenities, like coffee shops, restaurants, green space and areas for kids to play. The people of Cleveland Heights would like a facility like this where they could head over on a Sunday and hang out for a couple of hours. They would like a nice development in the center part of their city.”
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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2019.
I’m not going to hold my breath! I’ve contacted the leasing agent for two separate vacant spaces in Severance with the goal of investing in moving a business into each. I called regarding the movie theater 4 separate times and the only communication I got back was them telling me I would regret moving into that space and that it’s not worth the investment (It’s so preposterous I couldn’t make this up). I also tried to get a look inside the old Borders because an organization of which I’m on the board was interested in possibly investing in the space…but again, nothing but their leasing/managing people trying to dissuade me.
I heard a rumor once that it is in the lease of the other tenants in that plaza that should Walmart ever leave, their rents would be cut in half. This was because Walmart was the biggest draw of traffic to that plaza. I heard another rumor once that Because of the information I stated in the 1st rumor other tenants in the plaza send money to the management company and/or leasing company to Ward off people intrested in the big anchor spaces such as Walmart in the movie theater so that they can continue to enjoy the benefits of half rent. It’s my understanding that the additional money they have to pay to bribe is still cheaper than their full rent. Again, this is all just rumors that I’ve heard, however I have tried 6 different times to get into 2 of these spaces in Severance over the past 4 years And have been shot down and every attempt to make an investment in that plaza. So excuse me but I think I will just wait for them to completely go bankrupt and watch as Amazon takes it over like they do so many other Box stores.
That movie theater has been occupied by a group since April 2019, showcase live performances.