Westland Mall

Westland Mall is an abandoned shopping mall on the western fringes of Columbus, Ohio. One of four directionally-named shopping centers in the region, all but Southland were constructed by Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs.







Table Of Contents

History

In 1962, Lazarus, a Columbus-based department store, became the first tenant of what would later be known as Westland Mall. This was Lazarus’s inaugural suburban location. 3

Between 1967 and 1969, the mall saw significant development under Richard Jacobs of Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs. 3 4 During this period, stores such as Sears, JC Penny, Woolworth, and 40 other storefronts were built around an open-air concourse. Lazarus underwent an expansion, growing to 171,000 square feet and featuring a new pillared portico entrance. 3 The revamped 860,000-square-foot mall was inaugurated at 10 a.m. on February 12, 1969. Prior to the opening ceremony, around 400 city leaders enjoyed breakfast at the Westland Mall’s Harvest House restaurant.

Westland Mall

The updated mall was enhanced with several outdoor sculptures crafted by Cleveland artist Clarence E. Van Duze and weather-responsive fountains. 3

In 1982, Westland Mall was fully enclosed. 3 By the late 1980s, the upper floor of Sears was repurposed, transitioning from a customer space to an office for their in-house credit card, Discover. In 1993, the Lazarus store underwent extensive renovations. Woolworth’s shut its doors in January 1994 amidst a chain restructuring, which led to the closure of its 400 stores nationwide. Subsequently, the space was renovated to house a Staple’s (with no concourse access) and a Footaction USA, which opened towards the mall’s interior.

Decline

When the Mall at Tuttle Crossing opened in 1997, Westland Mall started losing its inline tenants. Jacobs defaulted on loans for Westland in 2001, resulting in Cigna Investments taking ownership. 4 Plaza Properties co-owned some out-parcels, including a Bob Evans restaurant. 5 In 2003, Kashani, a Toledo, Ohio-based shopping mall developer, bought Westland Mall. He aimed to reposition it as a lower-tier shopping center, introducing businesses like used bookstores, arts and crafts dealers, and a karate school. 1

J.C. Penny relocated to Tuttle Crossing from Westland in 2005. Lazarus, originally part of Federated Department Stores, transitioned to Lazarus-Macy’s in 2003 and then simply to Macy’s on March 6, 2005. However, it closed in 2007, leaving Sears as the sole anchor.

Subsequent redevelopment plans for Westland Mall were initiated. A proposed shopping center, with anchors Menards, Sears, and Staples, was unveiled. 5 However after contracting with Cigna and Plaza, Menards postponed its plans in December 2008, citing the economic downturn.

By September 2011, Sears shut off access to the mall’s concourse. In March 2012, there were plans to raze the mall, excluding Sears and Staples, to pave the way for a mixed-use development similar to Easton Town Center. 2 This demolition was projected to cost $3.3 million.

Sears closed its Westland branch in September 2017, rendering the mall tenant-less. 7

Fast forward to April 2019, LGR Weston acquired the former Sears site for $3.15 million. 6 This acquisition allowed LGR and its affiliate, Plaza Properties, to control the entire 88-acre mall area. They proposed demolishing it for a new mixed-use development.

On January 27, 2023, it was announced that the Westland Mall would be demolished as part of the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. 8 The projected cost of the project was estimated at $13 million. The Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation, in association with the Franklin County land bank, applied for funding on behalf of the mall’s owners, Weston Town Center and LGR Weston. 9 According to the terms of the state grant, the mall company is required to cover a quarter of the total demolition costs, which amounts to $9.6 million.

The demolition of Westland Mall commenced in June. 10


Vintage

Vintage images courtesy of the Westland Mall Facebook page.


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Sources

  1. Showalter, Kathy. “New owners poised to revive Westland.” Columbus Business First 3 Mar. 2003: n. pag. Web. 30 Dec. 2014.
  2. Ferenchik, Mark. “Westland owners forsee a mini-Easton.” Columbus Dispatch 10 May 2008: n. pag. Web. 30 Dec. 2014.
  3. Tebben, Gerald. “Columbus Mileposts: Feb. 12, 1969 | Westland Mall’s debut draws crowd.” Columbus Dispatch 12 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Web. 30 Dec. 2014.
  4. McConnell, Kitty. “A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLUMBUS’ SHOPPING CENTERS.” Columbus CEO 2014 Jun: n. pag. Web. 30 Dec. 2014.
  5. Ferenchik, Mark. “Menards is losing interest in Westland.” Columbus Dispatch 25 May 2010: n. pag. Web. 30 Dec. 2014.
  6. Weiker, Jim. “Westland Mall to become Weston mixed-use development under plan.” Columbus Dispatch, 26 Apr. 2019.
  7. Feran, Tim. “Sears to close stores at Eastland, Westland.” Columbus Dispatch, 7 Jun. 2017.
  8. Welker, Jim and Mark Ferenchik. “Ohio to pay to demolish Westland Mall.” Columbus Dispatch, 28 Jan. 2023.
  9. Ferenchik, Mark. “As demolition of Westland Mall reaches halfway point, no plans yet for future of site..” Columbus Dispatch, 30 Sept. 2023.
  10. “Westland Mall owner Alex Ruben shares demolition plans.” Columbus Dispatch, 3 May 2023.

12 Comments

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[…] Westland Mall in Columbus, Ohio was similar. Built upon the promise of open-air shopping in suburbia, the mall boasted three anchors and over 40 stores, from stores that peddled drapes to sewing equipment and eccentric clothing. The mall was one of four directionally-named shopping centers in the metropolitan area built in the same period: Westland, Northland, Eastland, and Southland. Westland was enclosed in the early 1980s. […]

This mall is now 100% closed. The sears that was still operating, is now shuttered and the mall is closed permanently. So ends an era of when big shopping malls like westland, reigned supreme. On a happier note the two malls around the DFW area in Texas; Grapevine Mills and Vista Ridge malls, are doing very well. Grapevine Mills has undergone some renovations and is still highly active. Vista Ridge mall has been renamed Music City mall but is still kinda dead inside. However they too are on the path to revitalization, so we’ll see how that goes.

I hate the West Side…it has a lack of entertainment except the casino…Most of the buildings here look awful…Many homeless people and lack of road pavement and it’s in rwally really bad shap…Columbus has to put here batteries on and do what is needed to bring The West Side together…I hate his place

As every one noes the West Side has been forgotton end we would not be happer if some one would finally remember us and back our Mall and make our City nice again respectfully yours Elizabeth

I would love to see them bring Westland back. With the casino across the street it would make a big difference to the westside

Absolutely love your site and the Westland Mall page. Great collection of vintage pictures of the mall past and present. I will definately link your page on my website. I would love if you could do the same for me.

Hi Jas. Some of those pictures are from my Westland Mall Facebook page. Stop over and check it out.athttps://www.facebook.com/westland.mall.5/?fref=ts

Hi westland mall maintenance we are remodeling this whole mall and getting lots of new everything and because the van smashed into this mall we will definitly have to get a new door and lots of new floors and remodeling Macy’s and penny’s and sears and staples call me at 614 984 9003

Hi corporate people we are demolishing westland mall and building a new one it will be big and nice and shiny we’re going to report that to all construction workers they are going to earn money

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