Boardman trustees approve measure to aid Southern Park Mall upgrades

BOARDMAN

Southern Park Mall now can move forward with plans to invest in nearly $4 million worth of upgrades.

Township trustees approved a resolution Monday that sets up an energy-improvement district, which will allow the mall to take advantage of the federal Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program.

“We have to form a special improvement district,” township Administrator Jason Loree explained. “What that allows the mall to do is get a low-interest loan for energy-efficiency upgrades from the [Western Reserve] Port Authority.”

The township’s role in the district is to act as a tax collector. The port authority loans the money to Southern Park Mall LLC, and the township collects funds from the mall. The dollars are paid back through assessments on property taxes.

The township will neither gain nor spend any money on the project; it simply acts as an intermediary between the lender and the mall.

Although the township does not directly benefit from the project, township officials say it’s a positive for the community.

“I think we’ve all been holding our breath, because it [the mall] was getting a bit aged,” Trustee Tom Costello said. “This is a good thing.”

“It shows that they’re here for a long-term commitment,” Loree said of WP Glimcher, the Columbus-based company that recently took over ownership of Southern Park Mall.