PERHAPS THE most tangible indication of Ashtabula County's economy is retail landscape. Gone are boutiques and department stores that focused on variety and quality. The landscape is occupied by retailers that have "dollar," "cheap," "save" or "cash" in their names. This plaza, on Ashtabula's west side, was once anchored by a large supermarket. CARL E. FEATHER
CONNEAUT’S PLAZA speaks volumes about the local economy. The anchor retailer has gone out of business, leaving a payday loan shop, a Family Dollar store, Curves and discount tobacco and grocery stores to meet the basic needs of residents. Conneaut, like many other Ashtabula County communities, once had stores that sold higher-end merchandise and specialty shops that provided a livelihood for local business owners. Those have virtually disappeared, thanks to competition from chain retailers and a loss of good-paying jobs that once gave residents the discretionary income necessary to spend on “extras.” CARL E. FEATHER
Our lost retail dollars
By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon
“He said, ‘You know you are in trouble as a city when you have three stores with the word “dollar” in them,’” says Cantagallo.
Ashtabula County has suffered the recent departure of several major retailers, including Dillard’s at the Ashtabula Mall, Rex appliances and the Tops grocery store. Ironically, but perhaps indicative of the economy, the Dollar Tree store now anchors what was once the Tops plaza, and Aaron’s, a rent-to-own business, has taken up space in the former Rex building. Downtown Ashtabula buildings that once housed a department store and specialty shops have in our new economic paradigm, been transformed into a thrift shop, a rent-to-own store, a Head Start complex and a church.
Cantagallo counted 48 vacant commercial/ retail buildings along Main Avenue, from West 58th Street to the viaduct, two years ago. He says six have been filled since then, and he can’t take credit for the vision and fortitude of those who set up shop along the strip.
“We as a city didn’t do a whole hell of a lot,” he admits. “The landlords who had buildings closed for a decade were ecstatic.”
Things aren’t much better in Saybrook Township, where Blockbuster Video is shuttering its store, joining Legends Pizza and the Great Wall Chinese restaurant as former businesses.
On the east side of the river, the burst of retail development that came following construction of the Ashtabula Mall in the 1990s has flattened, with empty mall storefronts and the huge former DIY building sitting vacant. If lines of traffic and cars in parking lots are any indicators, Wal-Mart owns the Ashtabula Township retail market.
Meghann Gault, Ashtabula Mall senior marketing director, says the mall’s occupancy rate is 80 percent, which is the same as the national average, according to a trade group. Gault says the recent departure of Dillard’s was a loss, but it also opens the opportunity to bring in a new tenant to that high-profile space. Gault says the mall’s new owner and management company are working to attract national, regional and specialty retailers. She says one of the advantages the Ashtabula location has is its strong tourism draw.
Jerome Brockway, a Growth Partnership trustee and superintendent of the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School, says Dillard’s was never a good fit for Ashtabula County and was in the mall only as a concession to its former owner. Once Cabot purchased the mall, Dillard’s was free to exit and concentrate on other markets more suitable to the high-end retailer.
The mall’s new owner, which took over in August 2007, is working on a redevelopment plan for the property. Gault says shoppers can provide input as to what shops they’d like to see at the mall by visiting the Web site (ashtabulamall.com) and sending comments via e-mail.
Opportunity for laborer to perform unskilled tasks re...>MORE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Eastern Ohio P-16 Partnership The P-16 Partnership, a new program to foster postsecondary success and career readin...>MORE
Part time Medical Equipment Delivery/Service Technician nician Cleveland to Erie area. Customer service skills required, clean driving record a must. Send resume to PO Box...>MORE
Print this story
Post to del.icio.us
