At 45, Eastwood Mall complex now more than 180 acres

SEE ALSO: Anti-bullying events planned at Eastwood Mall

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

NILES

Eastwood Mall 45th anniversary

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Forty-five years ago, Frank Allegretto and Guy Catauro decided to open a barber shop in the Eastwood Mall.

“It was new, and we had the chance to get in so we took it,” Allegretto said.

The now Roffler Family Hair Center in the mall, formerly known as the Eastwood Mall Styling Salon, and Sears Department Store are the two original occupants in the mall.

Both have been there since 1969 ­— the year the Youngtown-based Cafaro Co. opened the shopping center. On Sept. 17, the complex celebrated its 45th anniversary of the grand opening. When development started at Eastwood, Cafaro owned about 120 acres, which has since expanded to more than 180 acres.

“My father was a visionary, but even he could not have envisioned the magnitude by which Eastwood has grown,” said Anthony Cafaro Sr., the retired president and current consultant for the company. “We’re constantly changing to stay current with the needs of our customers. Change is the name of the game.”

Before construction of the mall, the majority of land it occupies was Eastwood Golf Course. William Cafaro saw the area, at the time in Howland Township, as a prime location since it was along U.S. Route 422, the only highway from Niles to Youngstown.

In the 1960s suburban shopping malls were a new thought.

“This place was underserved,” said Joe Bell, director of corporate communications for Cafaro.

The property was annexed from Howland to Niles so that utilities could be extended, and site work began in 1967.

Sears was on the site for the grand opening. Montgomery Ward, another anchor department store, opened that day but closed in 1984.

By the late 1970s, a JC Penney store and a new wing were added. Through the years, other stores joined the mall and its outside parcels as more property was added to the complex.

Today, more than 200 merchants do business in the complex. They include department stores, in-line stores, restaurants, movie theaters, professional offices and an aquarium.

“Ultimately, this has been the spot where people come to shop,” Bell said.

Those people come from across the Mahoning Valley and Pennsylvania. The company estimates thousands of people come through the complex daily. A study done by the Ohio Department of Transportation showed the average daily traffic at Route 422 and state Route 46 going from 27,510 vehicles in 1971 to 48,200 in 2011.

A recently opened Residence Inn will not be the newest addition to the complex for long. A structure is under construction about which Cafaro said it is on the verge of releasing details.

Cafaro is ranked the 12th largest mall developer and the largest privately-held mall developer with 12 enclosed shopping malls and 40 other open air retail centers in 11 states. Eastwood was the third shopping mall opened by Cafaro.

“William Cafaro had only dreamed he would have a million square foot [facility] and now we have 3 million square feet of area,” Bell said.