Local Mall To Close

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio -- The mayor in the Cleveland suburb of North Randall says a local mall once touted as the world's largest will be closing in three weeks.

Mayor David Smith said owners of the 32-year-old Randall Park Mall have given its few remaining tenants until June 12 to go out of business themselves or relocate to empty storefronts nearby.

Smith calls the mall's demise "an opportunity waiting to happen."

He said different investors have expressed interest in either redeveloping the buildings or tearing them down and putting up an industrial park.

When it opened southeast of Cleveland in 1976, Randall Park had more than 200 stores. Now, it's mostly empty; major department stores. Dillard's, Macy's and J.C. Penney have all left, and only Sears remains.