Richmond Town Square isn't there anymore. Well, the physical shell of the mall at the corner of Richmond and Wilson Mills Roads in Richmond Heights, Ohio, has mostly met the wrecking ball, but the story of its collapse is basically a textbook on how American retail shifted from community hubs to digital ghosts. If you grew up in the Cleveland suburbs in the 80s or 90s, you remember it as the place to be. It wasn't just a mall; it was the heartbeat of the East Side.
It’s dead.
The story is a lot more complicated than just "Amazon killed it." While e-commerce played a role, Richmond Town Square—originally known as Richmond Mall—suffered from a specific cocktail of demographic shifts, questionable management by several REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), and the hyper-competitive landscape of Northeast Ohio shopping centers. Honestly, it’s a miracle it lasted as long as it did into the 2020s.
The Glory Days of Richmond Town Square
When the mall opened in 1966, it was a marvel. Developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, it was one of the first major enclosed shopping centers in the region. Sears was the titan here. For decades, that Sears anchor was the gravity that held the whole ecosystem together. You had JCPenney on the other side. Later, the mall expanded, adding a massive Kaufmann’s (which eventually became Macy’s).
Think about the scale. We’re talking nearly a million square feet of retail space. In the 90s, the "Magic Johnson" era of the mall brought a luxury cinema that was supposed to save the property. It worked, for a while. The Regal Cinemas Richmond Town Square Stadium 20 was a massive draw. People drove from all over Euclid, South Euclid, and Cleveland Heights just for the movies.
But retail is fickle.
The problem with Richmond Town Square was that it was sandwiched between two other giants: Beachwood Place and Great Lakes Mall. Beachwood went high-end, courting Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Great Lakes stayed the course as the reliable Lake County staple. Richmond got stuck in the middle. It lost its identity. It became "the other mall."
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Why the Anchor Tenants Left
You can’t talk about Richmond Town Square without talking about the "Anchor Domino Effect." In retail, when one big store leaves, the smaller "inline" stores—the pretzel shops, the jewelers, the shoe stores—lose their foot traffic. Their leases usually have "co-tenancy" clauses. This means if a major anchor leaves, the smaller guys can pay less rent or break their lease entirely.
Sears was the first major blow. As Sears Holdings spiraled nationally, the Richmond Heights location was chopped. Then came Macy’s in 2015. When Macy’s shuttered that location, it wasn't just a loss of a store; it was the loss of a whole demographic of shoppers who came for high-end cosmetics and clothing.
Washington Prime Group, which owned the mall for a significant stretch toward the end, struggled to find a new purpose for the empty boxes. They tried. They really did. They brought in non-traditional tenants. There was a period where the mall felt more like a community center than a shopping destination. You had dance studios, local boutiques, and even some office space. But 20,000 square feet of local art doesn't pay the taxes on a million-square-foot mega-structure.
The Deal with DealPoint Merrill
By 2018, the mall was a "dead mall" in every sense of the word. Urban explorers were filming the empty corridors for YouTube. The lighting was dim. The fountain was dry. In 2021, the mall finally closed its doors to the public for good.
Enter DealPoint Merrill.
The Los Angeles-based developer bought the site with a vision that looked nothing like a 1960s shopping mall. The plan, which has seen various iterations and delays, is called "Belle Oaks." It’s a "mixed-use" development. In the world of urban planning, that’s code for: "We're putting apartments where the JCPenney used to be."
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The demolition began in earnest in 2022 and 2023. Watching the Sears building come down was a gut punch for locals. It represented the finality of an era. The new vision includes:
- Luxury apartments (hundreds of them).
- A smaller, curated selection of retail and dining.
- Green space and walkable paths.
- A potential hotel or medical office space.
The goal is to turn a "parking lot desert" into a neighborhood. It makes sense. Richmond Heights needs a tax base, and a rotting mall provides zero revenue. But for the people who spent their Saturdays at the KB Toys or getting a slice at Sbarro, the transition is bittersweet.
The Cultural Impact of the Richmond Heights Retail Scene
There is a specific nostalgia for Richmond Town Square that hits differently than other Cleveland malls. It was a diverse space. In its later years, it became a hub for Black-owned businesses and local entrepreneurs who couldn't afford the exorbitant rents at Beachwood Place.
However, the mall also faced significant perception issues. Local news often focused on security incidents, which created a narrative that the mall was "unsafe." Whether that was statistically true compared to other high-traffic areas is debatable, but in retail, perception is reality. Shoppers started heading further east or south.
The mall’s decline also mirrors the struggle of Richmond Heights itself. As a "first-ring" suburb, the city had to fight to keep its middle-class base as newer developments popped up in places like Solon or Avon. The mall was the city's largest asset. When it failed, it felt like the city was losing its anchor too.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Demise
A lot of folks think the mall failed because the neighborhood changed. That's a lazy take. The truth is more boring: it was a victim of corporate debt. Companies like Washington Prime Group were carrying massive amounts of debt and couldn't reinvest in the property. When a roof needs five million dollars in repairs and your anchor tenant just walked out, you don't fix the roof. You let the building die.
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Also, the sheer number of malls in Northeast Ohio was unsustainable. At one point, you could drive 15 minutes in any direction and hit a different mall. Randall Park Mall (once the largest in the world) died first. Then Euclid Square Mall. Then Richmond. It was a natural culling of the herd.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights for the Community
If you are a resident of Richmond Heights or a nearby suburb like Willoughby Hills, the "death" of Richmond Town Square is actually an opportunity, though it doesn't always feel like it when you're looking at a construction fence.
1. Track the Belle Oaks Development
Stay involved with the Richmond Heights City Council meetings. The transition from a commercial zone to a residential/mixed-use zone changes everything from traffic patterns to school district enrollment. Don't just wait for the apartments to go up; look at the zoning maps to see where the new "public" spaces will be.
2. Support the "Displaced" Local Businesses
Many of the small shops that were in the mall relocated to storefronts on Wilson Mills or down into Euclid. If you liked that specific tailor or that local clothing brand, go find them. They no longer have the "built-in" traffic of a mall corridor and rely entirely on direct-to-consumer loyalty.
3. Rethink Suburban Space
The Richmond Town Square site is a massive 70-plus acre plot. As the demolition finishes and construction ramps up, keep an eye on how the "walkability" factor is implemented. If you're a real estate investor, the areas immediately surrounding the old mall site are likely to see a bump in value as the "blight" of a dead mall is replaced by new construction.
4. Documentation and History
If you have old photos or memories, consider sharing them with the Cleveland Memory Project or local historical societies. We often forget that these malls were the "town squares" of the 20th century. Once the physical structure is gone, the social history goes with it.
The era of the giant, enclosed suburban mall in Northeast Ohio is mostly over, save for a few outliers. Richmond Town Square served its purpose for 50 years. Now, the land has to do something else. It’s not a tragedy; it’s just the way cities breathe.