After eight frustrating years, the city of Akron finally owns the vacant Rolling Acres Mall, a shattered eyesore that is now an opportunity. Control of the mall and surrounding 54 acres gives the city a rare chance to offer developers a large parcel with close freeway access, all within the boundaries of Akron. The city must work deliberately to make the most of its acquisition, a redeveloped Rolling Acres affecting a neighborhood that also has suffered from decline.
What happened at Rolling Acres is not an isolated story. Across the country, changing demographics and shopping habits have seen malls close at a faster rate than they are being built. Some have been turned to other purposes, among them, apartments and mixed uses. Part of the Galleria at Erieview in downtown Cleveland is now a greenhouse. In Mountain View, Calif., the Mayfield Mall is home to Google offices, and in Antioch, Tenn., part of the Hickory Hollow Mall is a practice rink for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League.
Such adaptive reuse appears to be a long shot for Rolling Acres. The mall is more severely damaged. In addition, it lies at the edge of the city and lacks the vibrant surroundings needed to support such creative reuses. During a recent tour, Mayor Dan Horrigan saw the results of years of vandalism and neglect, concluding that “there’s obviously no rehab opportunities.” That leaves demolition as the leading option.
Still to be resolved is the fate of the five former department stores that are attached to the mall. The are privately owned, and four have been converted to other uses. The city must work closely with the owners, or even move to acquire the five stores as part of gaining control of the entire site.
The positives for Rolling Acres, such as its size and easy freeway access, should be given time to attract the right offer. Already, the city is expecting a representative from a group of Chinese investors to tour Rolling Acres in August, with the possibility of establishing a hub for light manufacturing.
Such a use would play well to another strength of the Rolling Acres site: It is part of a manufacturing region that includes Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh.
Although housing has been discussed as a possibility by city planners, the greater need is for residential development closer to the city’s core. Given the long decay of Rolling Acres as a retail mall, re-establishing any retail there seems an even longer shot. Mayor Horrigan rightly wants to bring more focus to revitalizing neighborhood business districts.
The story of Rolling Acres as a retail center came to a close in 2008. It took another eight years for the city to gain ownership, and that still does not include the buildings that once housed anchor stores. The city has taken a steady, step-by-step approach so far. That is how it must continue to proceed in seeking to turn around Rolling Acres, the opportunity now fully in its hands.