Ashtabula Towne Square facts for kids
| Location | Ashtabula, Ohio, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°52′55″N 80°45′22″W / 41.882015°N 80.756142°W |
| Address | 3315 N. Ridge East, Unit #700 |
| Opening date | 1992 |
| Developer | Cafaro Company |
| Owner | Ashtabula Mall Realty Holding LLC (Kohan Retail Investment Group) |
| No. of stores and services | 25 (space for 70) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 8 (All 8 vacant as of 2021) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,074,470 square feet (99,822 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Ashtabula Towne Square is a large indoor shopping mall in Ashtabula, Ohio, United States. It used to be called Ashtabula Mall. The mall has room for 70 stores, a food court, and a movie theater with six screens.
A shopping mall often has very big stores called "anchor stores." These are usually large department stores or supermarkets. Ashtabula Towne Square does not have any open anchor stores right now. In the past, it had big stores like Sears, Steve & Barry's, Super Kmart, JcPenney, and two Dillard's locations. The mall is very big, covering about 1,074,470 square feet.
Contents
History of the Mall
Opening in 1992
Ashtabula Towne Square first opened its doors in 1992. Back then, it was known as Ashtabula Mall. When it first opened, it had several big main stores. These included Dillard's, JCPenney, Super Kmart, Phar-Mor, Carlisle's, and Sears.
The Kmart and Phar-Mor stores were special. They were built as "prototype" stores. This means they were test versions of new store designs. The Phar-Mor store was also the 300th store opened by that company. While Sears and Phar-Mor opened in August 1992, the rest of the mall opened later that fall.
Changes in the 1990s and 2000s
Carlisle's, one of the original main stores, closed in 1994. After it closed, that space became a Dillard's Home Store. This store sold items for the home.
Phar-Mor closed its doors in the mid-to-late 1990s. In 2005, a store called Steve & Barry's took its place. Dillard's also made some changes. The Dillard's Home Store closed so the company could focus on fashion clothes. But then, the main Dillard's store also closed in 2007. One of the old Dillard's spots is now an entertainment zone. Family Toy Warehouse also closed in 2002 because the company had financial problems.
New Name and More Closures
In 2008, a company called Cabot Investment Properties bought the mall. They changed its name to Ashtabula Towne Square. After this, many more stores started to close. These included popular places like Old Navy, Spencer's Gifts, Claire's, and Wendy's.
Some of these empty spots found new uses. For example, the old Yum Yum Tree is now a sport card place. The former Old Navy became a curiosity shoppe. The old Wendy's restaurant is now a place called Grind towne.
Other stores that closed around this time were Ruby Tuesday in 2008 and Steve & Barry's in October 2008. More stores like Finish Line, Inc., King's Jewelers, and Zales closed in 2009. Waldenbooks, a bookstore, closed in early 2010. In 2011, the mall faced financial trouble and was taken over by lenders.
Recent Years
Sears, another original main store, closed in 2012. That space is now used by University hospitals. Kmart closed in 2016. This left JCPenney and Dunham's Sports as the last big main stores still open.
In February 2020, a new company bought the mall. Ashtabula Mall Realty Holding LLC, which is part of Kohan Retail Investment Group, bought it for $10.2 million.
On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would close its store in the mall by October 2020. This was part of a plan to close many JCPenney stores across the country. After JCPenney closed, Dunham's Sports became the only remaining anchor store in the mall.
