Devland Holdings LLC, a real estate company with roots in South Africa, plans to buy and redevelop Randall Park Mall. The developer has entered a contract to buy the empty mall, the vacant Dillard's store, a closed movie theater and parking.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio -- A real estate company with roots in South Africa could turn Randall Park Mall into a mixed-use project that might include light manufacturing and work force training.
Devland Holdings LLC has signed a contract to buy the empty mall, the vacant Dillard's store, a closed movie theater and parking from owners in North Carolina. The deal, to close in December, does not include the shuttered Sears or Macy's stores, the Burlington Coat Factory or the PowerSport Institute, a school in the former JCPenney space.
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Devland is based in New York, but company principals Neill Bernstein and Terry Brenner originally hail from South Africa. Brenner, an attorney, has been in the United States for several years. Bernstein has more than two decades of development experience in South Africa, Europe and the United States. According to South African newspaper reports, Bernstein's projects include hotels, offices and a joint venture to develop South African residential and leisure projects with Donald Trump.
So far, Devland is moving methodically in North Randall. Brenner and Bernstein have a vision for the sprawling property, but they still need to conduct a planning study and start talks with potential tenants.
"We're not guys in suits who are throwing money at the project," Brenner said Friday. "The idea is to do something that will really lift the fabric of the surrounding area by adopting a broader planning perspective on the whole center."
Devland does not see a retail-centric future for the mall, which in its heyday housed 200-plus stores in more than 1.5 million square feet. The developer hopes to reopen the movie theater. But the inside of the mall would become a mixed-use project, with an initial focus on light-industrial manufacturing, research and development. The building could house everything from worker training to a service and administrative center to help businesses grow.
North Randall Mayor David Smith has asked Cuyahoga County for a $25,000 planning grant to help with Devland's redevelopment study. County Development Director Paul Oyaski said North Randall has been asking for county assistance with the property for several years, but the village did not have a solid buyer for the mall before now.
"We've probably dealt with 15 or 18 mall developers who all came to us with nice ideas and said 'We're buying the mall, and we're doing this.' And then we never heard from them again," said Chuck Horvath, the village's building commissioner. "This is really the only legitimate developer that has come to us with follow-up, with a plan."
Brenner would not say how much Devland will spend to buy and refashion the mall. Economic development sources said the purchase price is between $2.5 million and $5 million, the redevelopment could cost $60 million and the project eventually could yield 1,000 jobs for the financially strapped village.
Brenner declined to comment on the number of potential jobs.
During the past two years, Devland has considered several other dead malls, including Rolling Acres in Akron. The developer chose Randall Park because of its proximity to Interstates 480 and 271, the village's enthusiasm and the other potential development within a few miles of the mall, which sits at Miles and Northfield roads.
North Randall suffers from an abundance of empty stores. But the PowerSport Institute, a branch campus of Ohio Technical College, is flourishing. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is considering whether to establish a rapid-transit bus line from Shaker Heights to North Randall, along Northfield Road. And casino owner Harrah's has an option to buy Thistledown racetrack from Magna Entertainment Corp. That option expires this month.