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Randall Park Mall Demolition Clears Way for New Investment
In 1976, the newly built Randall Park Mall was bustling and busy, teeming with shoppers. The new mall featured 200 retail shops and at that time, was the country’s largest mall, known for its high-end stores. 
Today shopping in the Village of North Randall is a distant memory. The once glamorous mall is being demolished to make way for a new industrial park which will house manufacturing and potentially a distribution center.
“The Village of North Randall, Mayor David Smith, saw this as a challenge to re-energize the community. For several years, he doggedly met with development officials, County Development offices and staff at the Cuyahoga Land Bank in order to assemble the site and now Mayor Smith has finally succeeded," said Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel, Cuyahoga Land Bank. "We must be about turning these situations into opportunities. This will now become the venue for jobs and renewed retail activity in our Village. Redeveloping the land will help North Randall meet a growing demand for industrial space, while benefiting the community both aesthetically and economically,† said Mayor Smith.
The Industrial Realty Group (IRG) is taking on the new development. With the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s help, IRG acquired the former Dillard’s department store land parcel while IRG acquired the remaining mall parcels.
On December 29, 2014, IRG crews began demolishing the abandoned Dillard’s department store and its attached buildings. The demolition provided an instant face-lift to the area. According to reports, the full development site could involve more than seven hundred thousand square feet of construction and the approximate addition of one thousand new jobs.
“The redevelopment of this land is a new beginning for the Village of North Randall,†said Charles Horvath, Building Commissioner for the Village. “I am looking forward to the area’s transformation into a vibrant area of growth.†Demolition of the site will take several weeks.
Watch video footage of the demo on YouTube.
Check out our Facebook page for more photos.
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Helping Keep School Kids Safe
Every once in a while, the Cuyahoga Land Bank gets to partner in a project that not only enhances a neighborhood, but keeps its residents safe as well.
Joseph Giuliano had just started his job as program manager with Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) when a particularly troublesome property
 landed on his desk. The property was an abandoned home on West 69 th Street, owned by an absentee landlord. Such cases are routine for the Cuyahoga Land Bank, but another factor complicated this project. The property sat across the street from a neighborhood elementary school.
It was a tempting, dangerous space for school kids to explore. The vacant property was attractive to draw drug dealers and other criminal activity, besides being a safety and health hazard for the community.
“We felt an urgency to move forward,†Giuliano says. The owner was willing to donate his property so that it could be demolished—but first, multiple outstanding liens had to be removed for clean title."
"Red tape stalled the project for three years and built up the accumulating of delinquent taxes,†he explained. But finally, all of the liens were released and the Cuyahoga Land Bank was able to accept the property and create clean and marketable title for the property.
It didn’t take long for DSCDO to find an owner-occupant to buy the property. “The buyer had a background in home construction,†Giuliano says. The property will put the buyer's skills to work considering the large renovation specification list that he has to tackle to bring the property back to code.
But the project has a happy ending. The new owner is working with DSCDO to ensure his restoration is done correctly. His sister already has purchased the house next door, and he’s looking to invest and rehabilitate more homes in the neighborhood.
“We were fortunate to find this buyer,†Giuliano says. “And it feels real good to wrap this project up, knowing the property is now in good hands!â€
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