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Wal-Mart's decision to close its Garfield Heights store two weeks ago silenced 147,000 square feet of retail space at City View Center, but there's plenty of noise behind the scenes about the big retailer's move, the validity of the reasons for it, and whether the store could return to the big shopping center.
Dale Markowitz, an attorney for developer John McGill, McGill Property Group and Garfield Land Development LLC, which he said together own about one-third of the City View property, remains unconvinced that Wal-Mart is gone for good.
"Wal-Mart has not terminated the lease," said Mr. Markowitz, who works at Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan in Chardon. "They're assessing the issues, but they have indicated that if their concerns are met, they're willing to reopen the store. We believe that we'll be able to meet those concerns and that they'll reopen the store."
Citing a report by an independent contractor it hired to evaluate the City View site, Wal-Mart announced the closure Sept. 15. It declared at that time that methane gas levels, structural shifts and foundation, electrical and sewage problems created what Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Stewart called a "volatile mix of potential safety hazards."
City View's methane-related troubles are well-documented and arise from construction of the 740,000-square-foot shopping center on a former landfill. But whether its problems are as severe as Wal-Mart portrays is open to question.
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency director Chris Korleski said in a strongly worded Sept. 3 letter to City View owners that he would consider shutting down the shopping center if the owners lapsed in their methane monitoring and mitigation. However, agency spokesman Mike Settles insisted in an interview last...