Update:

Westland Mall would be demolished and replaced by a mix of uses in a development called Weston under a new plan by its owners.

LGR Weston of Columbus last week bought the Sears portion of the mall, clearing a major hurdle to developing the long-dormant West Side property.

The $3.15 million purchase gives LGR and its sister company, Plaza Properties, control of the entire 88-acre mall site, allowing plans to move forward. As a former mall anchor, Sears had exercised veto power over any redevelopment plan.

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A Columbus real estate firm has bought the Sears store at Westland Mall, suggesting that the long-dormant shopping center may finally be ready for a second act.

LGR Weston, affiliated with Plaza Properties of Columbus, which owns the rest of the mall property, paid $3.15 million on April 18 for three parcels along the west side of the mall, including the former Sears department store and auto shop and hundreds of parking spaces. The property totals about 22 acres.

The purchase puts the entire 90-acre property on W. Broad Street in the hands of Plaza. Officials with the company did not return calls, but Chris Haydocy, a champion of the West Side whose car and RV dealerships are near the mall, said: "This is the best news I’ve heard in decades."

Haydocy said Plaza needed to secure the entire mall for the site to attract redevelopment.

"They’ve been working diligently to buy Sears for years and years," Haydocy said. "The fact that they bought it now is great; it’s a huge piece of the puzzle."

Haydocy suggested that a clear redevelopment plan was in place, but referred questions about details to Plaza.

"There’s no way Plaza would have purchased it if they didn’t have a master plan," he said. "This step is a necessary step."

Franklin County Economic Development Director James Schimmer also said he could not speak about any specifics, but expressed hope that the property would see some attention.

"We've had very positive conversations with the developer over the last two months and I'm more optimistic than I've been in a long time," he said.

Westland opened in 1969 as an open air mall and was enclosed in 1982. For years, it thrived as a West Side anchor, but struggled after the Mall at Tuttle Crossing opened in 1997.

In 2007, the Westland Macy's closed, starting a trickle of closings that ended in all of the mall closing in 2012 except for the Sears store, which remained open until September 2017.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker