TOLEDO -- Fallen Timbers is open, and it's a stream of shoppers heading over to the new complex. Over at southwyck it's more like a trickle.
For a longtime resident of the Ragan Woods neighborhood near the struggling mall, he's seen the good and the bad. Ron Gilliland said, "Down the strip of Reynolds road, you could see stores falling by the wayside which I think probably would not have happened if Southwyck would have stayed productive."
He's frustrated, not knowing if the declining business climate can be repaired. Gilliland adds, "It's a shame, it's a blight on our community here. It causes our property value to go down."
The Fallen Timbers opening is giving Toledo's mayor hope the Southwyck ownership group will soon accept Larry Dillon's offer to sell, so the mall area can be redeveloped. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said, "That practical realism is setting in and Larry has put a very good deal on the table for them, and sooner rather than later it would be to their advantage to take that deal and run with it."
Other Ragan Woods neighbors are also hopeful Southwyck will bounce back to ignite increased commercial activity along Reynolds Road. Donna Poenicke said, "I think in time, if they don't do something in the area and develop Southwyck in some way, it will have a bearing on the community."
