Mall demolition will move forward, owners say

The plan to demolish a portion of the Mall at Fairfield Commons to pave the way for four to five potential restaurant locations will move ahead despite this weeks announcement that the malls parent company is being sold, a spokeswoman for Columbus-based Glimcher Realty Trust said this morning.

Glimcher officials announced in July that the portion of the mall recently vacated by Elder-Beerman when the department store consolidated two stores into one in the mall would be torn down to pave the way for restaurants or other entertainment concepts. Mall officials say there already has been considerable interest in the spaces.

But they also said demolition will likely begin late this year or early next year precisely the time frame when Glimcher officials will be finalizing the sale of their real estate trust to a similar firm, Washington Prime Group. That stock-and-cash deal, announced Tuesday, is expected to close in the first half of 2015, subject to the approval of Glimcher shareholders, Washington Prime Group officials said this week.

Glimcher had been shopping both its Fairfield Commons mall and the Dayton Mall to potential buyers prior to the buyout/merger announcement, but those two malls are no longer being marketed for sale, Glimcher spokeswoman Karen Bailey told the Dayton Daily News. The decision to move ahead with demolition plans at the Beavercreek mall represents further evidence that its business as usual at the regions two Glimcher-owned malls.

We do not anticipate any disruption to normal operations during the buyout-merger process, Bailey said.

The company will retain its Columbus headquarters and will be known as WP Glimcher. Michael Glimcher, current CEO of Glimcher, will be CEO of the new company. He will serve as vice-chairman of its nine-member board of directors, while Mark Ordan, CEO of Washington Prime Group, will serve as executive chairman.

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Mall demolition will move forward, owners say