Rolling Acres, Akron, Ohio
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Rolling Acres is a shopping district in Akron, Ohio. Planning for the area began in 1960s with Forest City Enterprises, a Cleveland real estate company and the powerful Buchholzer family, whose previous endeavors involved financing much of the Chapel Hill Mall area. Despite warnings by civic leaders and former Mayor Edward O. Erickson that the addition of a third mall in the Akron area would harm downtown department stores, the Rolling Acres area was born with Rolling Acres Mall serving as its anchor. Pulling from a diverse population of blue collar workers in Barberton, Ohio and Kenmore, and inner-city neighborhoods such as West Akron and Lane-Wooster, The Rolling Acres shopping district blossomed. At its peak it was the most visited mall in Northeast Ohio. Today, Rolling Acres stands as a skeleton of what it once was, mirroring many other parts of the Midwest that have suffered from stagnant economic conditions, saturated markets, and unprofitable foot traffic.
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[edit] The District
The shopping district is located in the City of Akron proper, and encompasses most of the area. It had a number of large big box retailers including:
- Handy Andy Home Improvement Center (formerly Forest City) – closed 1996
- Ames (formerly Hills & Gold Circle) - defunct
- Pet Supplies Plus – site closed
- Fretter – defunct 1996
- Toys "R" Us – closed 2006
- Kids "R" Us – site closed
- Officemax – closed 2003
- Coconuts Music & Moves – site closed
- Marc's – Closed 2004
Several of the buildings have been condemned, while other are taking transient uses such as fronts for flea markets, and mattress liquidators. The Target closed in February, with a new store being opened in the western suburb of Wadsworth, Ohio. Toys R’ Us is closing as part of a larger consolidation plan by its new owners. The city of Akron no longer views the area as viable for retail. As Rolling Acres got smaller, the nearby Montrose area got larger, and now has many of its former anchors.
[edit] Rolling Acres Mall
| Rolling Acres Mall | |
 Façade of former Kaufmanns (now Macy's) at Rolling Acres Mall |
|
| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Akron, Ohio, USA |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Opening date | August 6, 1975 |
| Developer | Forest City Enterprises and R.B. Buchholzer |
| Management | Invest Commercial LLC |
| Owner | Invest Commercial LLC |
| No. of stores and services | 140 +/- (at maximum capacity);[1] 14 (current)[2] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 (operating); 5 (at maximum capacity) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,300,000 ft² (approx.) |
| Parking | 7,500[3] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | http://www.rollingacresmall.net |
Rolling Acres Mall enjoyed massive success in the 80s, when other malls in the region were underdeveloped. However, in the early nineties the area struggled with violence. In a cost cutting measure, Rolling Acres stopped using off duty police officers and instead relied on cheaper security guards.[4] Around 2 months later after that move, there were reports in the Akron Beacon Journal that rowdy teens were spitting on people’s food, urinating on merchandise and insulting patrons. The mall was unsuccessful in dispelling these rumors, with serious long-term repercussions.
On December 28th, 2007 Macy's announced that they would close their location at Rolling Acres Mall this spring[5]. Adding Dillard's, and Target (which closed in 2006), only major anchors left will be JCPenny Outlet & Sears.
At its height, the mall held 140 stores. Currently, less than 20 are housed in the mall.[6]
[edit] Ownership
After being sold by its developer, Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland, Rolling Acres Mall has since changed hands several times. It was in the hands of the Whichard family, known for buying malls and then flipping them for a profit. However, even Whichard had problems attracting major players. Invest Commercial LLC, a real estate developer from California bought the facility in July 2006.[7] A number of employees were immediately fired. The future of the site remains unknown. Although Invest Commercial now owns the enclosed mall, concourses, and the Dillards facility, they do not own the other four anchors' buildings. This could become a problem in regards to the redevelopment of the site.
[edit] Anchor stores
The mall has five anchor stores. Through most of its existence, there were four, with the Target anchor built in 1995.
- Target – (part of new expansion to bring business, closed February 2006)
- Sears (151,718 sq ft.)
- J.C. Penney (179,223 sq ft.)
- Dillards [8] (formerly Montgomery Ward, closed April 1986 & leased to Higbee's which became Dillard's in 1992, closed Aug 2006)[9]
- Macy's - 89,590 sq ft (8,323 m²).(opened 1978 as O'Neil's, became May Company Ohio 1989, Kaufmann's 1993, Macy's 2006; closed February 2008)
[edit] References
- ^ http://rollingacres.org/page.php?3 Rolling Acres Mall Store Count Graph 1975-2004 Retrieved November 12, 2006.
- ^ http://www.rollingacresmall.net/stores.htm Rolling Acres Mall - Store Directory Retrieved November 12, 2006.
- ^ Byard, Katie. "Enjoy your mall while you shop 'til you drop." Akron Beacon Journal. 27 August 1987: E7.
- ^ Hoiles, Robert. "Mall Balks at Pay Hike." Akron Beacon Journal. 1 February, 1991: B1.
- ^ Macy's closing nine stores - Business First of Louisville:
- ^ hhttp://rollingacresmall.net/stores.htm
- ^ http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/14990476.htm Rolling Acres Mall sold for $1.7 million
- ^ http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/business/14976271.htm Rolling Acres to lose Dillard's
- ^ Proctor, Glenn. "Wards' Store Closing at Akron Mall; Higbee's to Occupy Rolling Acres Site." Akron Beacon Journal. 11 February 1986: A1.
