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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowE-commerce giant Amazon plans to build a massive warehouse outside Cleveland on the site of a closed shopping mall that was once owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group.
Amazon finalized a lease deal Thursday to build an 855,000-square-foot warehouse in North Randall, a village of just over 1,000 people, The Plain Dealer reported.
Amazon will create more than 2,000 full-time jobs at the site. Construction costs are estimated at $177 million.
Randall Park Mall was billed as the world's largest indoor mall when it opened in 1976. The 2.2 million-square-foot mall was built by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp for about $175 million and featured 200 stores, five department stores, 8,000 parking spaces and 5,000 employees.
Simon Property took over the mall in 1996 after the two mall giants merged. Simon gave the mall a $20 million renovation in 1998, but let the lender take over the property in 2002.
Raleigh, North Carolina-based Whichard Realty acquired the mall for $6 million in 2004 and closed it in 2009 after years of decline. The mall was partially demolished in 2014.
The state hasn't announced any financial assistance for the project. An Amazon warehouse in Columbus that employs 4,500 people received job-creation tax credits.
Starting hourly rates at Amazon warehouses have varied from $11.50 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to $13.75 in Seattle.
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