AKRON, Ohio — As more and more people turn to online shopping, large shopping centers and malls, just like Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, have had to shut their doors.
Although the formerly bustling mall has been closed, the building has stuck around, and will continue to exist with different occupants.
Industrial Commercial Properties (ICP) acquired the property along Brittain Rd. last year and has since begun renovations.
"With the downturn of indoor malls, these large footprint assets present a lot of great amenities for an industrial redevelopment project," says ICP Chief Operating Officer Chris Salata.
The property will have a lot of the same features that the Chapel Hill Mall had, but the inside will be completely different. Salata told 3News that ICP renovated the outside of the building with new paint, landscaping, and will provide a new parking lot.
The Chapel Hill property is the fifth mall to be renovated by ICP.
"Our motto is activity breeds activity, and when you're able to bring a bring a neglected or a belated property back to life and your able to bring daytime population and jobs and economic development to the site, all that does is strengthen the ancillary properties and adjacent properties," says Salata.
Salata says the property will be used for light industrial use, but it won't impact the community in a negative way. An example Salata mentioned was a light assembly packaging company.
"When I say light industrial, I'm talking about a company, a manufacturing company that may have a light assembly process that they undertake in their headquarters," he added.
While the inside of the old Chapel Hill Mall will look completely different, the outside will provide those who recreated at the property a chance to look back at the memories.
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