County Port Authority lost $750,000 in 2025, even more on Midway Mall (UPDATED)

This story has been updated to reflect more accurate financial numbers related to both the port authority and costs associated with Midway Mall. ELYRIA — After revenue, expenses, rent on properties it owns and incidental costs were tallied, the Lorain County Port Authority lost $748,000 in 2025, Director Jim Miller told its board of directors on Wednesday. It spent between $850,000 and $875,000 in upkeep costs and expenses on Midway Mall, the mostly-empty former shopping destination on Elyria's north side, in 2025. The port authority doesn't currently have any offers on the table for the mall, Miller said. A purchase agreement fell apart in November. The port authority had $565,617 in expenses related to the mall and paid $396,388 in property taxe, while collecting rent from the remaining tenants. After expenses were calculated, it earned only $1,878 in rent from mall tenants, according to board documents. Port authority property normally is exempt from property taxes, but it pays them on the mall because the property is leased to for-profit entities. The port authority pays a management company $8,500 per month plus incidental fees to manage the mall property including housekeeping, repairs and security services, the board learned. The port authority bought the mall and surrounding property, totaling 58 acres, in 2023 with a $13.9 million loan from the Lorain County Board of Commissioners. Industrial Commercial Properties, or ICP, signed an agreement in April 2025 to buy the mall for $17 million but backed out in November after requesting several time extensions while doing its due diligence, allowed under the initial agreement. The port authority board selected ICP's proposal for the future of the 865,000-square-foot mall in early 2024. Several groups approached the port authority with proposals to develop the mall while the Port Authority and ICP were still working out the terms of their agreement. Miller said in December that the port authority would meet with them. Miller said he hopes to encourage national property brokers to bid on marketing the mall property. It's up to the port authority board to decide the mall's fate, he said, while predicting the mall would be sold this year. "We've had talks but no offers yet," Miller said.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.