Excavators chomp away at old Carnation City Mall in Alliance
ALLIANCE – Resembling long-necked metal dinosaurs, excavators chomped on the former Carnation City Mall on Thursday.
They battered walls, rooftops and steel beams. They scooped up the debris and dumped it into piles away from the demolition site.
The old mall — opened in 1983 — closed in August after the sale of the property from D&L Ferguson LLC to Fairmount Properties was finalized. The new owners are redeveloping the mall site at 2500 W. State St. with the city's blessing into a new 300,000-square-foot retail plaza.
Learn more about the project:Alliance welcomes 'gemstone' of future economic growth
The yet, unnamed plaza will be anchored by a Meijer superstore, which developers have said could be open by mid-2024. Dunham's Sports is the only other confirmed tenant in the plaza. There will be space for other retailers.
Meanwhile, after a ceremonial removal of the old Elder-Beerman sign in early December, demolition crews started knocking down the exterior of the mall in earnest this week.
Demolition is a mixture of sadness and excitement
A steady stream of cars and trucks, driving by slowly, watched the work. Others stopped and took pictures.
"Memories" are what brought friends Becky Davison, 68, and Kim Donohue, 49, both of Alliance, to the property Thursday.
"We're holding back the tears," Davison said.
Both women remembered when the mall opened, and how it was, "a big deal for a small town," Donohue said.
She added: "Everyone would hang out here."
Davison worked in several stores at the mall. Donohue said her niece got her first job working for the arcade.
"I miss Christmas time there. It was so nice," Davison said.
But she is excited for the new plaza, especially the Meijer store.
"We're excited to get our own," she said.
Majority of the old mall will be for Meijer store
About 65% of the old mall is being torn down for the Meijer superstore, developers said during a groundbreaking ceremony in December. Dunham's is moving into the former JCPenney building, which will not be demolished.
At the ceremony, project manager Chris Koepf said people would visibly see demolition work over a multi-week stretch, then quiet, while crews prepared the site for Meijer to come in and start to build its store.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com.
Follow on Twitter @bduerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former Carnation City Mall in Alliance being demolished for new plaza
