Cafaro Company

Last updated

Cafaro Company
Company type Private
Industry Retail
Founded1949;76 years ago (1949)
Founders
Headquarters
Area served
United States
Services Property management
Real estate development
Website cafarocompany.com

The Cafaro Company is an American property management and real estate development company that owns several retail shopping centers throughout the United States. Based in Niles, Ohio, it is the largest privately owned shopping center development and management company in the U.S., managing more than 30,000,000 square feet (2,800,000 m2) of commercial real estate throughout the country. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Brothers William M. Cafaro and John A. Cafaro began developing grocery stores for Kroger in 1942. [3] In 1949, they formed William M. Cafaro & Associates and expanded into shopping center development, beginning with a grocery plaza in Sharon, Pennsylvania. [4] The brothers managed the non-grocery tenants in the centers they developed.

In 1965, Cafaro opened its first regional shopping mall, American Mall in Lima, Ohio. [1] During the 1970s and 1980s, the company's regional mall projects were concentrated primarily in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In 1970, Cafaro opened Iowa's first enclosed mall, Kennedy Mall. [4] In 1988, Target Corporation asked the company to develop centers for the retailer in the Pacific Northwest, expanding the company portfolio to Washington and Oregon and resulting in the establishment of an office in Puyallup, Washington. [1] William M. Cafaro died in April 1998. [3]

In the 2000s, the Cafaro Company diversified into sports and mixed-use development, including Eastwood Field baseball park and redevelopments of properties such as Millcreek Mall and Spotsylvania Towne Centre. [3] Anthony Cafaro Sr., son of founder William M. Cafaro, retired as president of the company in December 2009 and was succeeded by his sons, Anthony Cafaro Jr. and William A. Cafaro. [5]

Enclosed mall properties

Property NameLocation
Eastwood Mall Niles, Ohio
Governor's Square Mall Clarksville, Tennessee
Grand Central Mall Vienna, West Virginia
Huntington Mall Barboursville, West Virginia
Kennedy Mall Dubuque, Iowa
Kentucky Oaks Mall Paducah, Kentucky
The Mall of Monroe Monroe, Michigan
Meadowbrook Mall Bridgeport, West Virginia
Millcreek Mall Erie, Pennsylvania
Ohio Valley Mall St. Clairsville, Ohio
Sandusky Mall Sandusky, Ohio
South Hill Mall Puyallup, Washington
Spotsylvania Towne Centre Fredericksburg, Virginia

Former properties

Property NameLocation
American Mall Lima, Ohio
Ashtabula Towne Square Ashtabula, Ohio
Beaver Valley Mall Monaca, Pennsylvania
Charleston Town Center Charleston, West Virginia
Eastgate Plaza (formerly Eastgate Mall) Wichita, Kansas
Five Points Mall (formerly North Park Mall) Marion, Indiana
Fort Saginaw Mall Saginaw, Michigan
Marion Centre (formerly Southland Mall) Marion, Ohio
McGuffey Mall Youngstown, Ohio
Southern Park Mall (co-developer) Boardman, Ohio
Tallahassee Mall Tallahassee, Florida

Canceled

References

  1. 1 2 3 Shearin, Randall (May 2006). "Cafaro's Next Generation". Shopping Center Business. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  2. "Cafaro". Archived from the original on March 7, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "About Cafaro". cafarocompany.com. Cafaro Company. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Cafaro Co. at 75: A Vision Realized". Business Journal Daily. June 18, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  5. "Cafaro Co. announces senior retirements". Chain Store Age. Retrieved December 29, 2020.