Current Use and Future Plans
The former JCPenney store at Westland is now used for community events hosted by the mall, including a gun show.
Although the Sears store was constructed as a two-story building, only the main floor is currently utilized as retail space; the upper level was closed off to customers at some point during the 1980s. At one point the upper level was used as office space for Discover when it was still under Sears ownership.
In 2008, home-improvement retailer Menards made plans to expand into the Columbus market, with a store proposed for Westland Mall (which would have been constructed as part of a planned redevelopment of the mall property and several surrounding sites as an open-air "lifestyle center"). However, in December of that year, Menards announced they were putting its expansion plans on hold due to the general economic downturn at that time.
In 2012, a new Hollywood Casino was constructed and opened near the site of Westland Mall, spurring new growth in the surrounding area, which had become severely economically depressed. The current owner of Westland Mall suggested that he was working with county officials on possible redevelopment options for the property, but indicated that whatever is decided, it likely "won't be a mall any longer." An announcement about the future of the site is expected to come in 2013.
As of September 2011, Sears had closed its entrance to the mall. Plans were announced in March 2012 to begin demolishing the mall, except for Sears and Staples, in favor of new development.
Read more about this topic: Westland Mall (Columbus)
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