Developer terminates deal to purchase Midway Mall (UPDATED)

After eight months and two extensions, Industrial Commercial Properties LLC has terminated its agreement to purchase Elyria's Midway Mall from the Lorain County Port Authority. The Port Authority announced on Tuesday that ICP, a Cleveland development company, had decided to call off an agreement signed in April to purchase the dilapidated, mostly closed mall for $17 million. "Is it frustrating? Yes, I am not going to say it's not," Jim Miller, executive director of the Lorain County Port Authority, told The Chronicle on Tuesday. "But in the end, our goal still remains the same; to get a developer in there who will make this property a truly wonderful asset for Lorain County." The company extended its due diligence period twice — for 90 days in July and then another 60 days in April — before ultimately deciding that it was not satisfied with the results of its due diligence, Miller said. These extensions and the ultimate termination of the project were both allowed under the purchase agreement. The second and final deadline was Dec. 1, and ICP informed the Port Authority in a letter received on Nov. 26 that it would be terminating the deal. A request seeking comment was left with ICP on Tuesday evening. ICP was one of two finalists that presented proposals for the future of the 865,000-square-foot mall in early 2024, and the Port Authority Board of Directors ultimately selected ICP's plan to invest $25 million into turning the mostly empty mall into a business park with retail, commercial and light industrial uses. Miller said that while ICP was doing its due diligence, several other groups had approached the Port Authority with plans and proposals to develop the mall themselves, but the organization did not engage them in discussions while it was still under agreement with ICP. Now, Miller said, the port authority would meet with these other groups to hear their plans and ultimately select another company to purchase and redevelop the mall. "We have had a lot of interest, and I think in the end it is just about finding the right developer who can redevelop this property for the city of Elyria, but also for the entire county," Miller said. "That is what we have been committed to since the beginning, and we are still working hard … I think it's a great location. And we have had several, even some national companies, that have contacted us. So, I mean, I feel very positive about it." The Port Authority originally purchased the 58-acre mall property in 2023 with a $13.5 million loan from the Lorain County commissioners. For years, Elyria residents and officials have been eager to see any kind of improvement to Midway Mall, which once stood as a major draw and economic engine for the city and the county before losing almost all of its stores as malls across America began to fail. Mayor Kevin Brubaker said that he was disappointed the ICP proposal would not move forward, but like Miller he was hopeful that it would open the way for another — hopefully faster moving — project. "I am disappointed that it didn't work out, but I trust the Port Authority that they are going to do right by the county and the city," Brubaker said. "I look forward to the next steps of bringing somebody in who is going to bring economic development to the city of Elyria." Miller said that none of the new groups asking about the property submitted proposals when the Port Authority first sought them in 2023. Because the authority had not entertained these discussions during the contract period, Miller said he could not speak to specifics of the plans, but he believed all of them to be similar business park-style redevelopments. "I want to see redevelopment of the mall area, and my number one priority in that is good paying jobs," Brubaker said. "Is that in light manufacturing? Is that in logistics? Could it be back into the retail world? Absolutely, I just want to see good paying jobs and something that the city of Elyria can be proud of." Miller said that the process of finding a new buyer for the mall would begin immediately, and the board of directors would discuss proposals during a closed executive session at its next meeting on Dec. 11. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.