Woodland Mall is open. It is also abandoned by every department store that ever anchored it, and full of tenants nobody plans for when they design a mall. All three things are true.
It was built in 1987 for a city of 27,000, with Bowling Green State University nearby and a highway running through. Standard formula for a standard mall.
What took the place of the lost retail space was not a trendy concept store or a pop-up brand. It was a free food pantry for veterans, a daytime program for adults with developmental disabilities, and a community theater…