How long might the Mayfield Heights Walmart sit vacant after closing in May?
MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — It won’t be long until the Walmart on Mayfield Road becomes a large, vacant building in a prominent shopping district. But every empty big-box store begs the same question. How long until the old store becomes something new?
Even in the best circumstances it takes a considerable amount of time to fill large spaces with a new business or businesses. And in the worst cases, like some former Kmarts regionally or the former Walmart in Cleveland Heights, it can take years.
So what could happen in Mayfield Heights? Signs point to a shorter vacancy than long one, but nothing is certain.
Walmart said the store will close May 20 because it was underperforming financially, without offering more specifics.
“We consider a number of factors, including current and projected financial performance, location, population and the proximity of other nearby stores when making these difficult decisions,” spokesperson Felicia McCranie said in an email.
Two Walmarts, one in South Euclid and another in Eastlake, are about a 20-minute drive away.
She said Walmart’s lease on the building expires in October. The 178 employees will be offered jobs at other stores, the company said.
It’s the second Ohio location to close this year, following a Walmart store in Forest Park near Cincinnati that closed for similar reasons. McCranie would not say if any other Ohio stores would close, saying she “can’t speculate on any future decisions of the company.
The future in Mayfield Heights
There are reasons to believe the Mayfield Heights property won’t sit vacant for long. It’s part of a busy retail area next to a highway interchange – at Interstate 271 and Mayfield Road – and near the Eastgate Shopping Center.
“It’s a phenomenal location that’s for sure,” Mayfield Heights Mayor Anthony DiCicco said. “It’s a pretty prominent spot in our city too.”
USA Management & Development, a Willoughby-based firm that owns the building, has already listed the building for lease on real estate platforms and on the company’s website, usamgt.com. According to the firm, 42,000 vehicles pass by the store each day.
The 137,000-square-foot building, built in 2004 when Walmart first open, sits on 10 acres. The building owner is marketing the site as divisible, meaning more than one business may end up occupying the space.
The Mayfield Heights Walmart is closing May 20Google Maps
A cleveland.com reporter reached out to USA Management & Development for comment over several days.
When Toys R’ Us left the Eastgate Shopping Center nearby, the space quickly found a suitor.
Toys R’ Us closed in June 2018, and by October 2018 DiCicco announced that Aldi signed a lease for the building. It took about a year for Aldi to convert the space and it opened August 2019.
There are currently three vacant spots in the plaza. One next to the CVS, which is becoming a Juicy Seafood, and two next to the Aldi, where a Bed Bath & Beyond used to be.
The Walmart is Mayfield Heights near Mayfield and SOM Center Roads in closing on May 20.Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
What other Walmarts, similar stores, became after closing
Many big-box stores have found new life. Others have had years of waiting.
The Walmart at Severance Town Center in Cleveland Heights closed in 2013 when the company built a new supercenter in South Euclid, and remains vacant.
Walmart’s lease in that location ran until 2019, and the company used it as storage space, even though it appeared to do it under the radar. In 2017 the Cleveland Heights Board of Control denied an after-the-fact request from the company to use the building as warehousing.
Severance Town Center doesn’t appear to be listing the Walmart space as available for rent. A cleveland.com reporter reached out to Cleveland Heights’ mayor for comment.
Read more: What happened to all the Kmart stores in Greater Cleveland after they closed?
In some cases, like in Medina and Middleburg Heights, Kmart stores left big empty spaces that have yet to been filled. In others, the store was divided up into different uses.
At the site of a former Kmart in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, Burlington, Ross Dress for Less and Big Lots will fill the former Kmart building. A Starbucks and ALDI will move into new buildings on the site. Retailers aim to open in late 2022. That Kmart closed in 2017.
Meanwhile, Industrial Commercial Properties has been turning Chapel Hill Mall into a business park and will be used for light industrial uses.
Other times new retailers knock down the existing building and start fresh. Meijer did so on Broadview Road in Seven Hills and so did the Menards in Brooklyn on Brookpark Road.
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