Fairview Park Mayor Eileen Patton, Rocky River Mayor Pam Bobst and WDOK’s Terry Moir at Westgate shopping center Saturday. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

New Westgate exceeds leaders’ expectations
By Kevin Kelley
Fairview Park
Published Nov. 5, 2008

With the opening of Books-A-Million, the final anchor store of the new Westgate, the shopping center’s owners and individual stores celebrated the redevelopment Saturday with a day of savings and special events.

The redevelopment, which began with the demolition of a moribund indoor mall in 2006, has been an unqualified success, said Jim Eppele, vice president for real estate development with The Richard W. Jacobs Group, co-owners of the property.

“It exceeded our expectations in the way it turned out,” Eppele told West Life. “We couldn’t be an happier.”

Eppele, who joined Jacobs in 1999, said the company had been looking at ways to revitalize Westgate Mall since the day he started there.

Renovation projects were contingent on the plans of Dillard’s department store, Eppele said. Once Dillard’s announced it was closing its Westgate location, the opportunity to recreate Westgate emerged, he said.

Eppele said Jacobs always planned to keep the property a retail center.

“We thought there was a lot of potential to better serve the community with better retailers, better restaurants,” he said.

Eppele said he’s happy with the variety of shops that have opened at Westgate.

About 90 percent of the center has been leased, he said.

The redeveloped Westgate today compared to an artist’s rendition of the planned redevelopment when details were first announced in May 2005 (inset).

Eppele noted that the surrounding area boasts an unusually high level of population density — 100,000 people live within a three-mile radius of Westgate.

“It’s so convenient for so many people,” he said.

Susan Godorov, a vice president at Centro Properties Group, a partner with Jacobs in Westgate, said the center should continue to do well even during an economic downturn. Stores such as Target and Marshall’s are value driven, she said, and will draw customers regardless of the economic climate.

“This will continue to be a strong center,” Godorov told West Life.

Eppele said he has not heard any complaints about the layout of the traffic lanes within the center.

“I think the traffic flow was very well thought out,” he said. Because it’s a new center, the layout will take some getting used to, he added.

Unlike a typical strip shopping center, one can’t stand in one spot at Westgate and see every store at once, Eppele said. This, he believes, adds to the center’s sense of community.

“It feels more intimate because of the way the buildings are arranged,” he said.

Most of Westgate lies within Fairview Park, except for Lowe’s, which is in Rocky River. Mayors of both communities took part in Saturday’s “Celebrate Westgate” ceremony.

Rocky River Mayor Pam Bobst said the Westgate stores that have already opened have been great community partners and been generous with her city’s civic organizations.

In addition, the redevelopment of Westgate served as a catalyst for additional commercial development along Center Ridge Road.

“We see wonderful things happening all along the Center Ridge corridor,” Bobst said.

Bobst told West Life that she did not agree with her predecessor, Bill Knoble, who had opposed a redevelopment of Westgate and expressed a wish that the mall be kept open.

“That wasn’t going to happen,” Bobst said of the wish to preserve the mall.

Although most of the center is located in Fairview Park, Bobst said Westgate is important to residents of her city.

“Our residents shop here,” she told West Life. “They want the convenience.”

In an interview with West Life, Fairview Park Mayor Eileen Patton said she is very pleased with how Westgate turned out.

“The design of it is beautiful,” Patton said, adding that she likes the variety and price range of the center’s stores.

“You can go from getting your eyes fixed to buying baby clothes there,” she said of the centers’ 40 stores.

During Saturday’s ceremony, Patton said personnel from the Jacobs Group, especially Eppele, were great to work with.

“The decisions and actions of everyone involved in this project were guided by our goals to preserve our heritage of Westgate Mall,” Patton said. “That was very important to us. But then we also wanted to present a sense of pride for the future generations. And I think with everyone involved in this, we certainly have accomplished it.”

Jim Kennedy, economic development director for Fairview Park, told West Life that the redeveloped center exceeded the city’s expectations.

“I think it’s a great facility and a great destination point from a retail standpoint,” Kennedy said. “I think the food places are doing particularly well.”

City officials appreciate the investment in excess of $32 million that the Jacobs Group made in Westgate, Kennedy said.

In its dealing with the Jacobs Group, Kennedy said the city tried to minimize the amount of bureaucratic red tape involved in the project.

“As an inner ring suburb, you have to be that way if you want to compete,” Kennedy said.

The Joe Muggs coffee shop located inside Books-A-Million. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Westgate’s newest store, Books-A-Million, opened on Oct. 23. General Manager Carla Reardon, who comes from the chain’s Toledo store, said the staff’s level of customer service helps to set it apart from other megabookstore chains.

“Our No. 1 focus is our customers,” Reardon said.

Books-A-Million, which includes a coffee bar, also offers WiFi Internet access for $3 per day. Members of the chain’s discount card program, which costs $20 annually, get free WiFI access as well as a 10 percent discount on all sales.

Other store managers report business has been good at Westgate.

Tony Tristano, manager at Five Guys Burgers, told West Life that the location has met owners’ expectations.

He believes the majority of recent customers came specifically to eat at Five Guys.

“Our growth will come from people who are out shopping — more ‘walk-ins,’” Tristano said.

Carol Schario of Rocky River and Stephanie Morley of Cleveland taste some Pinot Noir, a red wine from Germany, during a wine tasting at Westgate's WineStyles Saturday. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

Business at WineStyles, which opened in April, has been pretty good, reported franchise owner Ellen Z. Todia.

“It’s picking up as more and more stores (at Westgate) are opening,” she said.

WineStyles sells wines from all over the world. Most  bottles sell for under $25.

“They’re organized by taste so it takes the mystery out of buying a bottle of wine,” she said.

Todia, a Rocky River resident, who went into the wine business in part because WineStyles was listed by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top 10 franchises, reported that Westgate was “very competitive in lease negotiations.”

“It seemed like the best location,” Todia said.

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