Cafaro subsidiary buys Southern Park Dillard's building as store closes

BOARDMAN

A Cafaro Co. subsidiary has purchased the Dillard’s department store at the Southern Park Mall for $8.92 million. The store has about 180,000 square feet.

The sale to Boardman SC LLC, a Cafaro subsidiary, was finalized Wednesday, according to Mahoning County auditor’s online records. That was the same day that Dillard’s announced it was closing its doors effective no later than May 14.

“We were made aware some time ago that Dillard’s was closing” at the Southern Park Mall, said Joe Bell, a Cafaro Co. spokesman. “We saw this as an opportunity to redevelop that building and revitalize it. It has been in the works for a while. It didn’t happen on the spur of the moment.”

The Cafaro Co. owns more than 50 properties, including the Eastwood Mall in Niles.

Bell said the company is exploring options for what can be done with the location.

“We’ll see what we can do to make that space full and favorable to our business,” he said.

When asked how long it would take to find a tenant for that location, Bell said, “It would be wonderful to have something in there soon. It sometimes takes months or years to develop a space that size.”

Read more about the matter in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.