Southern Park Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Boardman, Ohio, United States, serving the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. It was developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation in 1970, and is owned and operated by Kohan Retail Investment Group . The mall, which is the largest enclosed shopping destination in Mahoning County, has approximately , with space for about 108stores. Its anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's, with junior anchors H&M, Shoe Dept. Encore, and Planet Fitness.
History 1967–1978: Development and opening "Park South Mall" and "Boardman Mall" concepts Starting in 1963, Cafaro had planned to construct a partially enclosed, mall and shopping plaza on a plot of land directly across from Boardman High School. The then called, "Park South Mall" hit a roadblock after some of its top officials were charged with misdemeanors after violating a construction order in 1964. Originally planned as a development solely by William M. Cafaro, the mall was first imagined to be much different than what actually it came to be. It was announced by Cafaro in January 1967that the development would be called the "Boardman Mall," and consist of a two-level "T" structure spanning over . Anchors would've included Montgomery Ward, Sears, and Strouss. This "Boardman Mall" concept never came to be however, as later in 1968, DeBartolo came onto the project, and the placement for the center was moved to the intersection of Route 7, and Route 224.
Heritage The Southern Park Mall was named after the Southern Park Race Track; a historic horse racing facility that was about miles south of the mall's present position. The horse track was bounded by Washington Boulevard, Southern Boulevard, and McClurg Road. One of the only remaining structures, the Southern Park Stable, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on July 10, 1986.
Southern Park Mall
Southern Park Mall, which opened in between 1969and 1970, was developed as a joint venture between William M. Cafaro and fellow Youngstown-based developer, Edward J. DeBartolo. The DeBartolo Corporation bought out the Cafaro Company's 35% interest in the project by 1971, leaving them to own and manage the property. The mall originally had three anchor stores, totaled , and cost about $15 million. Sears was the first to open, opening on October 1, 1969. F. W. Woolworth was the next to open on February 12, 1970. JCPenney opened to customers on April 2, 1970. Youngstown-based Strouss' opened on April 17, 1970, being the "luxury" focal point of the mall with a grand marble entrance, and a modern, brightly lit interior. Both JCPenney and Strouss relocated from DeBartolo's nearby Greater Boardman Plaza. The plaza is located approximately one mile west of Southern Park Mall, with the new JCPenney being the Youngstown area's first full-line location. Other junior anchors and initial stores included Gray Drugs, Kroger, Livingston's, and the Southern Park Theater. By late May, and early June, the vast majority of inline tenants were open, with Livingston's opening on May 4, 1970 and Richman Brothers opening May 21, 1970, and Gray's on June 3, 1970. On July 1, 1972, Kroger closed its supermarket at the mall. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Joseph Horne Company began construction on a fourth anchor unit in July 1972, and opened the following year. In May 1978, the DeBartolo Corporation announced a new York Steakhouse eatery would replace a portion of the former Kroger. The restaurant opened by the end of 1978.
1980–1999: Early years and Simon Property Group acquisition In April 1980, Marshall Field's purchased Union Co., the parent company of Livingston's. Following the acquisition, it was announced that the two remaining Livingston's locations would shutter by May of that year. In the fall of 1980, the DeBartolo Corp. kicked off a $2million refurbishing, and renovation project throughout the mall, in light of its tenth "birthday". This included new burgundy carpeting, and lighting throughout the concourses, and refreshed outdoor landscaping. In addition to the tenant roster five new stores opened. Three of which notably took up the former Livingston's Showroom located in the JCPenney concourse. The renovation was completed by October 20, 1980.
In 1983, JCPenney received an extensive renovation. The store was one of 450across the United States to be reconstructed, re-carpeted, and re-fixtured. The location closed following the holiday season of 1982, and reopened June 1, 1983. On September 18of that year, Joseph Horne Company held a "grand unveiling" of their newly renovated multi-million dollar store. Followed by the opening of Burger King, and multiple other new stores in November of 1983.
The Strouss store was changed into Kaufmann's in 1986when the May Department Stores Company merged its divisions. In July 1989, the newly rebranded Kaufmann's began on a $1.2million dollar renovation and expansion of the store. This included an expansion of the first floor, and new ready-to-wear departments for designer brands like Gucci, and Fendi. In April of 1989, Southern Park Theater closed permanently. It was announced by Ruby Tuesday that they would be opening in a portion of the former Southern Park Theater in May 1989. By October of the same year, Ruby Tuesday had opened. On December 19, 1990, the York Steak House reopened under the Ponderosa name. In October of 1990, Ann Taylor announced the date of their grand opening into the Youngstown market; the store opened on November 15, 1990. Ann Taylor's opening signified Boardman bridging the gap between Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania shopping. Ponderosa closed sometime in 1994; soon filled by Buffalo Wild Wings in 1996.
Higbee's acquired Joseph Horne Company in collaboration the DeBartolo Corporation in June 1992. Horne's closed on July 12, 1992, with plans to rebrand the location along with three other Horne's stores to Dillard's. Dillard's officially opened a month later on August 12, 1992. Starting in 1994, the Dillard's began renovation, and expansion. The estimated total cost of the addition was $3million, and brought the store to about . At the same time, the interior received a brand new Bath & Body Works, as well as a relocated Victoria's Secret.
In 1996, the Software Etc. location inside the mall was listed in SEC filings as a store to keep open. In 1997, the mall went under an extensive renovation, shortly after the DeBartolo Realty Corp. merged with Simon Property Group. Simon spent $19.3million making improvements to the interiors, adding a food court and a Cinemark Tinseltown USA 7 movie theater at the southeastern edge of the mall's property. It opened in 1997 and has 7 screens. Throughout the 1997renovation, 13new skylights were implemented in the concourses to allow the light to stream in onto shoppers. Sears also received a multi-million dollar rennovation. In the same year, Woolworth closed. Jillian's, along with Lady Footlocker, Kids Footlocker, Men's Footlocker, and The Afterthoughts replaced Woolworth by 1999. Among the amenities guests could find inside of Jillian's, were bowling, video arcade, billiard lounge, and business conference room. Jillian's officially opened June 12, 1999.
2000–2019: Simon and WPG era In April 2000, a revolutionary concept opened called "The Saturn Store" opened in the eastern Buffalo Wild Wings concourse. The store was operated by the General Motors owned Saturn Corporation, and had three of their different sedans packed into one inline space. However, the concept was short-lived. In December of 2000, Simon announced that they would be renovating the vacant Burger King space in the Sears concourse into a Simon Youth Center; a foundation designed as an alternative approach of education, and operated by the Simon Youth Foundation. On June 25, 2002, Ruby Tuesday permanently shuttered its eatery. The chain cited poor performance for reason of closure. The space was quickly filled by Niles, Ohio based Salvatore's soon following. In February 2005, it was announced that Cachè would be opening in center court. In 2006, Kaufmann's was re-branded to Macy's following the latter's acquisition. On February 1, 2009, Coach officially opened in center court. This addition to Southern Park's tenant lineup signaled a notable change toward higher-end offerings.
Without warning in 2011, Jillian's Entertainment Complex shuttered. In April 2014, Simon Property Group announced the sale of Southern Park Mall to its Columbus, Ohio-based spin-off, Washington Prime Group (WPG). On April 30, 2015, H&M opened an 18,000 square foot store in the Sears concourse. In April 2018, Sears announced that they would be closing their location at the mall in July. In February 2019, Dillard's announced that they would also be closing in May of that year, leaving JCPenney and Macy's as the only remaining anchors. That same week, the Dillard's building was sold to a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, Boardman SC LLC. Since the acquisition, Cafaro has not announced any redevelopment plans for that site. 2019–present: Redevelopment and Kohan era In redevelopment efforts, Washington Prime Group tore down the Sears building in late 2019and replaced it with DeBartolo Commons, which added some smaller exterior storefronts whilst decreasing the overall square footage of the mall. DeBartolo Commons opened in 2021, adding recreational spaces and restaurants to the complex. Earlier that year, Planet Fitness relocated to the mall, combining former tenant locations and creating a new junior anchor space on the mall's east side. In September 2022, Macy's implemented a Toys "R" Us department on the upper level, in part with Macy's national roll-out of the lease department.
In October 2024, it was announced that Kohan Retail Investment Group was in talks with Washington Prime Group to purchase Southern Park. The transaction was completed on December 23, 2024, for $24.1million.
Since the purchase of the mall by Mike Kohan, local officials have heard very little from Kohan and property tax payments were delinquent for the mall. , approximately $520,000in back taxes were owed, as well as nearly $50,000in penalties. On December 22, 2025, Kohan paid the balance of just over $1million in back taxes and penalties, days after Boardman Township trustees asked the Ohio Attorney General to investigate the Kohan Group for alleged fraudulent activity. On August 11, 2026, Buffalo Wild Wings announced that they would be leaving the Southern Park Mall, in favor of a free-standing space located at the nearby Shops at Boardman Park.
Peripheral properties
In 1994, Chili's announced they would be building a new location outside of the mall on the northwestern portion of the property. The restaurant opened in early 1995. In 2008, following the recession, PNC Financial purchased National City Bank, therefore re-branding the branch outside Southern Park Mall, to PNC. On April 12, 2012, Cheddar's Casual Cafe announced it would be opening a location directly next to Chili's on the northwestern edge of the property. On November 16, 2015, Cheddar's closed permanently. On July 16, 2016 BJ's Restaurant & Brew House announced they would be opening a new location in Boardman, by demolishing the former Cheddar's. BJ's opened on April 24, 2017, on the pad of the former Cheddar's. In March of 2021, PNC Bank announced they would be renovating their branch on the south-western portion of the parking lot. On May 14, 2025, Burke Decor Outlet located in the C-Square, outside of the mall, abruptly closed. On January 23, 2026, Kohan Retail Investment sold a parcel of land on the south-western part of the property to a local group, Cocca Development for $350,000.
Gallery
See also List of shopping malls in the United States
References
External links