Cuyahoga Falls takes over ownership of old plaza Ohio.com POSTED: 07:28 p.m. EDT, Aug 29, 2008

Cuyahoga Falls is a landlord now that it officially owns the ailing State Road Shopping Center.

That is, until the center is demolished — most likely in the first quarter of next year.

The city closed on its purchase of the plaza at State Road and Portage Trail today, having agreed to buy it this year from State Road Associates for $10.2 million.

City officials are now seeking proposals for redeveloping the 26-acre parcel into a mix of retail, office and residential uses.

Yes, they're demolishing without knowing how much builders will want to redevelop there. They're even kickin out The Goodwill:

Goodwill Industries hopes to keep its store in the plaza open until the end of the year, said Beth Galambos, marketing and public relations manager.

''We're planning to stay as long as we can and we are doing our best to look for a new location,'' she said. ''We're hoping to stay in the Cuyahoga Falls community because it's been a very successful store for us.''