Salem Mall

It was located at the intersection of Shiloh Springs Road and Salem Avenue, in the northwest Dayton suburb of Trotwood, Ohio. The mall was built on the site of the former Roscoe Filburn farm; Filburn was a party in the famous Wickard v. Filburn case dealing with the growing of wheat and its effect on interstate commerce. The Rouse Company opened the mall in October 1966.^[1] In its early stages it had 60 retailers; the original mall was anchored by Rike's and Sears department stores. There was also a Liberal supermarket, a smaller department store called The Metropolitan, and a multi-screen cinema.

A large-scale renovation was completed in 1981 with the construction of a two-story concourse ending in a JCPenney anchor store (relocated from the nearby Forest Park Plaza). The supermarket, which was closed by 1979, had its space subdivided into inline stores. While the expansion included a food court, it was pretty much an afterthought and had limited seating. So when The Metropolitan closed in the mid-1980s, its space was extensively reworked to form a much larger food court adjacent to the center court. The mall, which by that time featured over 110 retailers, was prosperous throughout the remainder of the 1980s.

By the mid-1980s poor mall management affected the mall's ability to attract new tenants, renew existing leases, and most importantly, attract serious shoppers. By the mid- to late-1990s, the mall was well on its way to becoming a so-called "dead mall". In spring 1998, Rouse sold its interest in the mall to its financial partner, Cigna. Cigna in turn hired General Growth Properties (GGP) to manage the mall.^[2] In the same year, anchor store Lazarus (formerly Rike's) left the mall, and later that year JCPenney also closed. The Loews Cinema and many of the mall's restaurants also went out of business, leaving Sears and a newly built Home Depot (in a separate building) as the only anchors. The mall closed permanently in early 2005.

Demolition of the mall began on May 15, 2006, but the Sears building was retained, with Sears becoming a freestanding store. The city of Trotwood purchased the mall site, with the exception of Sears and Home Depot, in 2004, and began working with GGP to redevelop the area as the Landmark Town Center, an upscale, open-air, "lifestyle" complex, intended to resemble the Easton Town Center in Columbus.^[3] The new center suffered delays, with GGP leaving the project in 2007,^[4] and its completion date was repeatedly extended. By 2010/2011, Trotwood had reenvisioned the mall site as the TechConnection Business Park, a mixed-use technology campus.^[5][6] As of October 2013, no physical progress had been made on the business park. After an October 2013 announcement, Sears closed in January 2014, with no word on the fate of its former building.^[7][8]

In June 2018, Trotwood received a $200,0000 federal grant, which together with $200.000 of the city's own funds, will be used to demolish the Sears building and clean up the former mall site for future expected mixed-use development. The cleanup is expected to take at least a year.^[9] In 2019, the city became involved in a bidding war for the old Sears building, which was placed up for auction by a bankruptcy court. Having made an initial offer of $70,000, they were outbid by an investor, but ultimately purchased the property for $225,000 in the second round of bidding.^[10] In December 2021, it was reported that a group called the Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation was seeking public input on how to redesign the site, in conjunction with the University of Dayton. Plans include a community kitchen and market as well as a business hub.^[11]

In 2022, it was announced that an agreement had been reached with the city of Trotwood for 20,000 square feet of the Sears Center within the Salem Mall into the new home of the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center, nearly four years after the Funk Music Hall of Fame had closed its previous location. Neighboring Dayton is known as the home of many famous funk artists, including The Ohio Players and Shirley Murdock. Plans for the new Hall of Fame include an educational center, though the date of opening was yet to be determined at the time of announcement.^[12]

In November 2024, it was reported that Trotwood was seeking ideas from local entrepreneurs regarding uses for old Salem Mall space, including the site of the Sears Department store, with the goal of "transforming it into a one-stop shop for residents to explore local businesses" and "actively looking for businesses in the food and retail industries to become tenants, as well as businesses that provide after-school entertainment and education geared towards children." No mention was made at the time of the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center.^[13]

 

Former Sears department store, 2014

• Trotwood's proposal for Salem Town Center^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Deadmalls.com write up on the mall
• Mall Hall Of Fame article with physical layout drawing and "Salem Mall-1970 Musings"/ October 2006 Archive
• Story of Roscoe Filburn and brief mention about Salem Mall
• Salem Mall page on The Rouse Company website at the Wayback Machine (archived January 17, 1998)
• Trotwood CIC - Former Salem Mall & Sears Redevelopment
• The Funk Music Hall of Fame

39°49′15″N 84°16′44″W / 39.82096°N 84.27883°W / 39.82096; -84.27883