New development at former mall site

New development is coming to site of the former North Towne Square Mall site in North Toledo, according to documents from the city’s planning department.

The new building will be developed at 0 New Towne Dr., next to the facility currently occupied by auto manufacturer Mobis North America, according to site plans.

The proposed development is for a 407,984-square-foot industrial building on lots 2 and 3 of New Towne Square. Although the lot has space for two buildings, the applicant is proposing one single “cross-dock industrial building due to market dynamics and interest.”

Brett Sroka, the development manager with NorthPoint Development, is the applicant listed on the documents submitted to the Toledo Plan Commission. NP-OV Toledo Trade Center LLC is listed as the site’s owner, and Kansas City-based Sitepoint is listed as the engineer.

“There are site plans into the plan commission that will be reviewed for a new building to be completed and finish off this industrial park,” Brandon Sehlhorst, the city’s chief of growth, said Thursday.

Mr. Sehlhorst declined to say who will occupy the building as the tenant.

“Hopefully, more exciting news to come on that,” he said.

Mr. Sehlhorst used the location as an example of a “shovel-ready site” to attract developers. The city, in conjunction with the Toledo Community Improvement Corporation, is aiming to create more shovel ready sites through a dedicated funding source.

Formerly the North Towne Square Mall, the new complex is called the Toledo Trade Center.

The North Towne Square Mall opened in 1981 but was torn down in 2013. NorthPoint Development held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site in 2022, vowing to breathe new life into the site as a distribution and manufacturing hub.

Because of the size of the proposed building, a major site plan review and approved final plat are required. It will go before the Toledo City Plan Commission on Wednesday.