Officials react to news IRG will buy distressed Midway Mall in Elyria for $15.8 million

Lorain County and Elyria city officials said Thursday they were excited to learn that a national development company has plans to buy the distressed Midway Mall in Elyria. The Lorain County Port Authority Board of Directors voted Wednesday to sell the mall to developer Industrial Realty Group, or IRG, for $15.8 million. The mall is on Elyria's north side, off Lorain Boulevard/state Route 57 just south of Interstate 90 and north of the Ohio Turnpike exit. The $15.8 million sale includes the main parcel of the mall and the former Sears Automotive property, Port Authority Director Jim Miller said. He said he expects to close on the sale within 180 days, which is a "due diligence" period. Due diligence is the time period in a real estate deal between when an offer is accepted and when the deal is closed. It allows a buyer time to examine the purchase, figure out risks or changes to a purchase agreement and more. Miller said it could take 180 days for IRG to secure all the necessary financing, and that the Port Authority could help with that. "Obviously we'd be willing to work with them," he said. Miller said he wasn't privy to IRG's specific plans, but that the developer intends to redevelop the 58-acre property into a mixed-use residential and commercial development. It wasn't immediately known Thursday if IRG plans to demolish the existing mall property, rehabilitate it, how much money it plans to invest nor how many jobs redevelopment is expected to create. Messages seeking comment on the sale and future plans were left for an IRG representative. Who is IRG? Based in California, IRG is a nationwide real estate and development firm. It has more than $1 billion of value spread across 150 projects in more than 30 states, according to its website. Its president, founder and chairman of the board is Stuart Lichter. Locally, IRG owns portions of the old Ford Lorain Assembly Plant on Baumhart Road, and is landlord to several industrial tenants there. It has attempted to develop high-end housing around former Lorain County sandstone quarries. Regionally, it successfully consolidated and redeveloped Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company headquarters in Akron. It is developing the Hall of Fame Village in Canton, while also looking to redevelop the former Jo-Ann Fabrics headquarters in Hudson, north of Akron. Midway Mall, which had been failing for years before the Port Authority bought it in 2023, has few commercial tenants left. Shoppers left first for big box stores in the suburbs, then later in favor of online retail. It moved through a series of owners and legal battles before being targeted for redevelopment. An April 2025 agreement to sell the mall to developer Industrial Commercial Properties, or ICP, came to an abrupt end. That $17 million deal fell through when ICP backed out in late November, eight months and two extensions into its due diligence period. Official reactions Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker, who said he has worked closely with county officials on redevelopment, said he was confident the sale would go through and encouraged by the news that IRG is the potential buyer. "I know that residents will say, 'Well, we've heard this story before,' but I am extremely confident that with IRG involved, this deal is going to go through," Brubaker, who has been in office since 2024, said Thursday. "It is a much shorter due diligence time frame this time, and I think both the Port Authority and IRG want this deal done, and it will get done." Brubaker said that he was glad to see IRG as the sales partner because the company has a track record of successful large redevelopment projects in Northeast Ohio. "IRG has a history of working on their projects and completing their projects, not just sitting on them. So I am thrilled about that," he said. "Obviously with what they are looking to do with commercial, retail and potentially some residential, it is going to boost that area up and hopefully regenerate interest in the vacant restaurants and storefronts there. Where people are at, that is where businesses are going to come. We aren't going to go from zero to 10 overnight, but I believe in IRG and that they are going to move as quickly as they can to get up and running." County Commissioner Marty Gallagher, a real estate developer and former member of the Port Authority Board of Directors, also said he was excited by the prospect of the sale. Even with news of the proposed sale, he said it could take "a few years" for IRG to break ground on redevelopment. There could still be zoning, planning, City Council approvals and other administrative matters to take care of, Gallagher said. A one-year timeline to start "would be really aggressive," he said. "The devil's in the details," Gallagher said. "I love the idea of mixed-use. Hopefully they'll get it done sooner than later." He said IRG is a reputable developer with the money to do the project right. "Moving forward it's a great opportunity for the city of Elyria and the county (and) for the region," Gallagher said. He said he believed his board would be willing to help IRG get grants to facilitate development. "Hopefully it will go through smooth. Hopefully the public will understand it's not going to happen tomorrow," Gallagher said. "I just want to see someone in there and get it done." Commissioner David Moore was more subdued Thursday when asked for his reaction to the news. "I will have quotes when the check clears," he told a reporter in a text message. What the mall cost Lorain County commissioners loaned the Port Authority $13.9 million to buy the mall in 2023. The Port Authority agreed to pay 3.84 percent annual interest on the loan. That's approximately $533,760 per year, totaling approximately $1.6 million over the past three years with that number still rising. That amounts to $15.5 million the Port Authority owes county commissioners. The Port Authority also spent $2.5 million in upkeep from 2023 to 2026, with that number continuing to rise. That totals $18 million in purchase, interest and upkeep over three years, plus more accrued interest and upkeep costs over the past five months. Miller and Gallagher on Thursday said the costs will end up worth it once the property is developed. "The Port Authority was charged with trying to rehabilitate this project. We do our projects to help the community. I don't look at it that we're losing money, I look at it that we're going to get this area rehabilitated," Miller said. He said the money will come back in the form of new development, and in the value of redeveloping the depressed area around the mall. Gallagher said he believes the sale will spur economic development. "I'd like to make a little bit more on the project," but "it's still a good deal" he said. Reporter Owen MacMillan contributed to this story. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.