Old Chapel Hill Mall reimagined: OnQ Inc. breaths new life into Akron landmark

Old Chapel Hill Mall reimagined: OnQ Inc. breaths new life into Akron landmark

Nearly three years after being closed, the doors of an abandoned mall in Akron have reopened. A retail design production company, OnQ Inc., headquartered in California, has found a new purpose for the old Chapel Hill Mall.

“We brought life back into this mall,” said Paul Chapuis, Founder and CEO of OnQ Inc.

The company held its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

“This cutout is where the main drag of the mall was, coming from the food court,” said Lara Bartow, Quality Control Manager at OnQ Inc.

Bartow, who is from Ravenna and was once a shopper at Chapel Hill Mall, has fond memories of the shopping center.

“It smelled like a fountain, it smelled very clean. It was clean, sparkling, and the reflections on that mural made it look like it was moving,” said Bartow.

Now, Bartow walks down memory lane at Chapel Hill Mall, not as a shopper but as a Quality Control Manager for OnQ, a new retail design space she once found unimaginable.

“Now that we’re here, walking through, I just could not imagine anything else until now,” said Bartow.

Chapel Hill Mall was once a hotspot for some of the world’s largest retailers, like Hot Topic and Claire’s, but like many other shopping centers across the nation, the mall faced financial hardship and the threat of online shopping, eventually closing its doors in the spring of 2021.

Now, the space is being revitalized with the opening of OnQ Solutions, a retail design agency responsible for creating displays seen in stores like Target and Walmart.

Bryant McCray reports. --

At 3News, we’re not here to tell you the news, we’re here to share the stories that you say matter most to you. Share your ideas, thoughts, concerns and engage in conversations about the communities in which we all call home.

Follow 3News on Social:

Facebook:   /     
Twitter:   / wkyc    
Instagram:   /     

Visit our site: https://www.wkyc.com/
And be sure to download our app here: https://wkyc.com/app