Lima Mall rises on Elida Road with Sears first
Lima Mall opened on November 18, 1965, with 13 of its 32 planned stores already operating, marking the start of a new retail address on Elida Road with a Sears anchor built that fall.
Sears had begun business on September 30, 1965, serving as the first anchor. Within a year, JCPenney joined the lineup, moving out of its longtime downtown Lima location and into the new enclosed mall.
The mall was developed by Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr., and introduced climate-controlled corridors and a central fountain. Early tenants brought apparel, shoes, and housewares into the enclosed setting.
The enclosed design contrasted with the open air downtown streets where JCPenney and other stores had operated.
Lima Mall consolidated national and regional merchants under one roof, providing parking fields tied to the building.
The concourse was lined with uniform indoor lighting, and a wide central court was built with open space reserved for displays and seasonal setups.
The interior fountain created a gathering point in the earliest years of the property.
Sears and JCPenney opened as the property's twin anchors, positioned to draw visitors the full length of the concourse.
They were accompanied by the single-level (65,000 square feet) Lima-based The Leader.
Set on 2400 Elida Road, the property ties directly into the area traffic flows.
Roads were designed to manage peak-hour demand, while parking lots wrapped around anchor entrances for convenience.
Lima Mall finished its first year established as a regional draw. Anchors and numerous tenants filled the building, and the next chapter awaited with Lazarus joining in 1971.
New wings and a department store debut, 1971-1972
In August 1971, a Lazarus department store opened at Lima Mall, giving the property a new anchor alongside Sears and JCPenney.
The addition expanded the mall's role beyond a two-anchor layout, bringing in a Columbus-based chain that had been building stores across Ohio.
For local shoppers, the opening introduced a new department store brand and extended the variety of goods offered inside the enclosed center.
February 1972 marked the dedication of a new west corridor. Eighteen inline stores opened there, and the design gave Lazarus an interior connection to the rest of the property.
As 1972 closed, Lima Mall stood larger and more varied in its offerings, confirming its role as the dominant retail hub for Allen County and nearby communities.
Rebrand on the sales floor, 1974-1978
In February 1974, Elder-Beerman acquired The Leader, a regional chain that had operated a department store within Lima Mall.
The transaction set the stage for a rebranding inside the property.
Construction work over the next year expanded the footprint of the existing store. By September 1975, it returned to business as Elder-Beerman, now operating as a full-line anchor.
With Sears, JCPenney, Lazarus, and Elder-Beerman in place, the anchor lineup was complete.
Each pulled customers from its side of the building, ensuring the smaller tenants between them stayed visible.
Stability defined this stage of the mall's life. By 1978, the mall was due for a tune-up, and it got one.
Interiors were redone with new finishes, storefronts were refreshed, and the overall look was adjusted to fit the retail playbook of the time.
Elder-Beerman settling into the Leader spot reflected the rising dominance of large-format department stores.
As the 1970s closed, Lima Mall stood with all anchors secured and a fresh identity.
A fountain era fades and a chain exits, 1990s
The 1990s brought visible changes inside Lima Mall as national chains adjusted their operations.
In mid-1997, F. W. Woolworth closed its Lima Mall store as part of the company's full exit from the United States.
The closure left a gap in the mall's tenant mix, as Woolworth had operated as a longtime general merchandise presence in many regional centers.
That same year, a distinctive feature of the mall's early years also disappeared.
In September 1997, the central fountain in the mall's court was removed during a round of interior renovations.
The fountain had been part of the original 1965 design and served as a recognizable element in the main gathering space.
Its removal opened up more floor space for events and pedestrian movement.
The late 1990s renovations included cosmetic updates across flooring, lighting, and signage, ensuring the interior remained current as newer shopping centers competed for regional traffic.
These changes focused on modernizing the atmosphere, even as the anchor lineup of Sears, JCPenney, Lazarus, and Elder-Beerman stayed consistent.
By the end of the decade, the mall had transitioned away from some of its earliest design features while retaining its established anchors.
New century updates and anchor losses, 2011-2021
Lima Mall entered the new century with further updates to its facilities. The Lazarus store was rebranded as Lazarus-Macy's in 2003 and adopted the Macy's name alone in 2005.
In 2011 and again in 2013, the property underwent renovations that refreshed both the interior and exterior.
These changes included cosmetic improvements designed to sustain the mall's draw in a competitive retail landscape.
Ownership also shifted. In 2014, Washington Prime Group assumed control of the property following a spin-off from Simon.
The change brought new management strategies but did not stop the gradual loss of anchor tenants.
In January 2016, Elder-Beerman closed its store at the mall, ending a four-decade presence.
Sears, which had opened in 1965 as the mall's first anchor, announced its closure in May 2018.
The Lima store ended operations by early September of that year. Three years later, in 2021, Macy's closed in the former Lazarus space.
The closure removed an anchor that had been part of the property since 1971, leaving JCPenney as the last full-line department store in operation.
The decade closed with fewer anchors and a reliance on inline tenants to maintain activity inside the mall.
A sale price and a reset, 2023
On April 13, 2023, Lima Mall was purchased by Kohan Retail Investment Group for $12 million.
The sale transferred ownership from Washington Prime Group and marked another chapter in the property's history.
With the change, the mall joined a portfolio of regional centers acquired by Kohan, a company known for repositioning aging retail properties.
At the time of the sale, the former Macy's building remained vacant, a reminder of anchor closures that had reshaped the property over the previous decade.
JCPenney continued to operate as the only traditional department store left in the mall, while other tenants represented a mix of national and local names.
Public-facing directories highlighted the remaining retail and dining spaces, while news coverage noted the potential for reusing large empty parcels.
By late 2023, the mall awaited the next steps in redevelopment, with focus centered on how to address the vacant anchor spaces and aging sections of the site.
Grants, a deed, and demolition, 2024-2025
In November 2024, Allen County was awarded a little over $1.3 million from Ohio's brownfield program to demolish the vacant Macy's building at Lima Mall.
The funding was directly tied to removing the long-empty anchor, which had closed in 2021.
A few months later, on January 31, 2025, a deed was filed showing Target Corporation purchased roughly nine acres at the mall, including the former Macy's parcel, for $4.5 million.
The purchase confirmed Target as the next major anchor planned for the site.
Demolition began on March 31, 2025, with crews dismantling the former Macy's building. Progress continued quickly, and by June 4, 2025, demolition was nearing completion.
On June 5, 2025, the tower that had marked the former Lazarus and Macy's location came down. The removal of the tower ended the presence of one of the mall's most visible features.
With the site cleared, preparations advanced for the construction of a new Target, marking the next chapter in the mall's long retail history.
In 2025, Lima Mall sits in an uneasy middle ground between what it was and what it hopes to be.
Storefronts sit empty in long runs, and Macy's absence leaves the west side hollow. Instead of the noise and movement its size suggests, the atmosphere is muted.
JCPenney and several smaller shops keep some flow of customers alive, but the wider impression is of an aging center, its future hanging on Target's expected arrival in Summer 2026.