Several years ago, Zachary Sogoloff, Executive Vice President at Goodman Real Estate Services Group LLC, was hired by developer Scott Scheel to begin the redevelopment of the Shoppes at Willoughby Hills. At the time, the property faced significant challenges: the center was anchored by Giant Eagle but was surrounded by a closed Sam’s Club, a vacant movie theater, a shuttered A.J. Wright, a closed OfficeMax, and several other long-term vacancies. The adjacent shopping center Chardon Bishop Plaza, was anchored by a tired Marc’s Discount Grocery + Pharmacy store and a short term liquidation furniture store. Nearby parcels housed a closed Bakers Square, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Friendly’s, and a vacant bank.
Despite these obstacles, Scott’s vision for Willoughby Hills, Ohio - paired with the expertise of the Goodman Real Estate Services Group LLC’s Sogoloff Team (Zack Sogoloff, Seth Marks and Tristan Palmieri) — set the groundwork for a remarkable turnaround. Mr. Sogoloff began implementing redevelopment strategies for the property aimed at attracting major national retailers to the market.
After numerous site plan versions and meetings, the team identified an opportunity to relocate an oversized outdated Burlington store in Euclid, Ohio. The former AJ Wright space quickly emerged as the best viable solution, and with their potential tenancy, Ross expressed interest as well. However, as redevelopment costs escalated, it became clear that reconfiguring the existing center to merge shop space into anchor space to accommodate Ross with Burlington was not financially feasible at the Shoppes of Willoughby Hills.
As the only remaining anchor tenant, Giant Eagle, approached the end of its lease, the landlord went on the offensive, and acquired multiple surrounding properties starting with the former Bakers Square, prime corner property, which was offered to Giant Eagle as a gas station site for their GetGo brand in exchange for a lease term extension. However, just as momentum was building to get retailers to come to Willoughby Hills, Giant Eagle declined the offer and vacated the shopping center.
What at the time appeared to be a decisive end to this property, proved to be a catalyst to the redevelopment. In response, the developer, again went on the offensive and quickly purchased the adjacent Marcs anchored Chardon Bishop Plaza with the goal of relocating Marc’s into the former Giant Eagle space. This move was successfully executed stabilizing the center and bringing a fresh new Marcs Discount Grocery + Pharmacy store to the community. Simultaneously, Goodman landed a ground lease with Sheetz Gas Station to repurpose the Bakers Square corner parcel. These critical moves, bringing fresh retail and a new store to the market, generated renewed interest and activity in the trade area.
With a new anchor at The Shoppes of Willoughby Hills, the team moved their focus to redeveloping the former Marc’s anchored, now vacant Chardon Bishop Plaza. Zack and his team successfully worked to land new deals with an AutoZone Hub Store, Burlington, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Five Below, and Chipotle. Although Ross initially committed to the project and received committee approval, they later withdrew, and Grocery Outlet stepped in to fill the space.
The redevelopment of the Chardon Bishop Plaza is now nearly complete, with only one 3,000‑square‑foot space and one outparcel remaining. The success of this project has carried over into The Shoppes of Willoughby Hills, where Goodman is now working on a gym expansion, and an entertainment use for the former movie theater.
Through persistence, creativity, and strategic execution, Goodman Real Estate Services Group and The Sogoloff Team have played a central role in transforming Willoughby Hills into a restored, high traffic retail destination.