Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Part 1 - Ohio Lifestyle Center Series: The Shops At Fallen Timbers

























We will start this series of Ohio Lifestyle Center posts with The Shops at Fallen Timbers in the Toledo suburb of Maumee. It is the newest of the Ohio Lifestyle Centers (that I am aware of), opening in October of 2007 and the last Ohio LC to open before the recession. The Shops at Fallen Timbers has 640,000 square feet of leasable retail space in an open air, “Main Street” format and includes anchor tenants of Dillard’s, JC Penney, Barnes & Noble, and a 14 screen Rave Motion Pictures theater. For a list of all current stores – see the Directory

General Growth Properties developed and owns the mall and ka architecture of Cleveland designed the center that sits on a 450 acre mixed-use commercial and residential development. Long term – the site is planned to include an expanded office park and single family residential properties.

This center was a great addition to the Toledo area that has not seen the same retail growth of other Ohio cities. Levis Commons, another open air center opened in 2004 is just 6 miles east of The Shops at Fallen Timbers in neighboring Perrysburg. Both of these modern outdoor centers replaced the aging and traditional Southwyck Mall that was opened in 1972 and demolished in 2009 in Southeast Toledo. For those familiar with Southwyck (I shopped there in the 70’s and 80’s) – you may remember a portion of the mall that was called Old Town. Old Town was an indoor replica of a nostalgic American town with turn of the century storefronts, cobbled “streets” and narrow walkways that showcased unique and unusual shops. Old Town did not last very long and it is a bit ironic to think that the hottest shopping center format in the two neighboring cities of Maumee and Perrysburg (and in the nation) have adopted the “Main Street” theme in their newest developments (albeit a much better adaptation of Main Street).

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