Alliance welcomes 'gemstone' of future economic growth
ALLIANCE ‑ Bringing a Meijer store into the city has been in the works for nearly seven years, Mayor Alan Andreani said.
"The culmination of a lot of hard work," as Andreani put it, started to emerge Monday as demolition work at the former Carnation City Mall began.
A group of dignitaries, including the mayor, watched two large excavators tear down parts of the mall after a short presentation. It was not your typical groundbreaking ceremony with shovels or oversized scissors and ribbons.
The old Elder-Beerman store sign and a chunk of the storefront were torn down ceremoniously. More demolition work will be done over the next several weeks at 2500 W. State St., project manager Chris Koepf said.
Developer:Meijer, other stores to open by Fall 2024 in Alliance
About 65% of the old mall will be torn down for the Meijer superstore that will anchor a new retail plaza on the former mall property. The only other confirmed retailer is Dunham's Sports.
Dunham's, a mall tenant, will move into the former JCPenney building which will not be demolished. It will be remodeled. It could reopen by spring, project officials said.
Fairmount Properties says Meijer could be open by mid-2024
The developer, Fairmount Properties, which owns the mall property, hosted the groundbreaking ceremony. Rebecca Molyneux, the firm's vice president and general counsel, said Meijer could be ready by mid-2024.
Adam Fishman, a principal at Fairmount Properties, described Monday's event as a "milestone" that started three years ago for them when they first joined city officials' efforts to land Meijer.
Fishman said the Meijer plaza ― which does not have a name yet ― will turn a property (the mall) that Andreani called, "ebbing from our community," into a positive economic engine.
According to a press release Fairmount Properties provided at the ceremony, the 160,000-square-foot Meijer store will be similar in size and scope to the one in Jackson Township.
The entire plaza will be more than 300,000 square feet.
'I spent a lot of money at the arcade and the movie theater.'
Fairmount Properties estimated Meijer and the other retailers will create between 250 and 270 full-time equivalent jobs with an annual payroll of $12 million and $250,000 in annual income tax revenue.
Andreani said the plaza will be "a gemstone" in the city's economic development efforts and a bright spot in the community.
"There's no turning back," Safety-Service Director Mike Dreger said.
Rick Baxter, president of Alliance Area Development, said he had fond childhood memories of the mall.
"I grew up here," he said. "I spent a lot of money at the arcade and the movie theater. I have a lot of good memories. (But) we're very, very excited for Fairmount Properties to come in here and see what you have planned for the city."
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com
Follow on Twitter @bduerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance breaks ground for new Meijer and plaza at former mall
