Amazon is building a fulfillment center on the site of America’s most infamous abandoned mall

Seph Lawless

• Amazon is opening a fulfillment center on the site of the shuttered Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio.
• The fulfillment center is one of two 700,000-square-foot facilities Amazon is opening in Ohio. 
• The Rolling Acres Mall became a symbol of the retail apocalypse, as retailers abandoned the site and it fell into decay when shoppers stopped showing up.
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Amazon is bringing jobs back to the site of one of America’s most infamous dead malls. 

On Monday, the e-commerce giant announced plans to open two fulfillment centers in Ohio. Each fulfillment center — one in Akron, one in Rossford — will cover more than 700,000 square feet, creating more than 2,500 total jobs in the area. 

The Akron fulfillment center will sit on the site of the shuttered Rolling Acres Mall. 

YouTube / Dan Bell

The Rolling Acres Mall became a symbol of the retail apocalypse as retailers abandoned the site due to declining traffic. The building became a target for criminal activity, and the body of an apparent murder victim was found behind the mall in 2011. 

Read more: Inside the infamous Rolling Acres Mall

The mall was finally shut down in 2013, after years of decline. The city of Akron destroyed the mall in 2016. 

"We are excited to have Amazon build on to its already strong business relationship with Ohio by selecting the City of Akron for its new facility,"  Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in a statement. "Once completed, this fulfillment center will provide even more opportunities for good jobs to people seeking employment in and around Akron."

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Source: Business Insider – ktaylor@businessinsider.com (Kate Taylor)