Toledo’s Southwyck Mall reopened to the general public on Monday, despite the fact that city inspectors said they still found large pockets of asbestos in the mall’s anchor store, which once housed a Montgomery Ward department store.

Over the weekend, crews were hired to clean up potentially toxic asbestos and mold, notes a story aired on My Fox Toledo. However, asbestos remained when the mall reopened and the city has determined that if the problem is too big to handle, the mall will probably shut down for good. Currently, only a few vendors remain at the once crowded mall, which is slated for a potential development project known as The Village at Southwyck.

“If the store remains open, the question of safety for the shoppers remains,” the story noted. “The mayor says if the potential safety problem in the former Montgomery Ward store can be fixed, the actual mall area will need to make some changes by June 2” if it is to remain open.

The mold and asbestos was found on May 2 after inspectors received a complaint from a concerned citizen. Many individuals use the mall as a place to walk on a daily basis or when the weather outside is inclement. Officials feared that maintenance persons walking through the old Montgomery Ward store were tracking asbestos dust into the public areas.

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