LYNDHURST, Ohio (WJW) — When it opened in October 2003, Legacy Village was the first lifestyle center of its kind in Northeast Ohio. Over the last two decades, Legacy Village has weathered all kinds of changes and turmoil in the economy and the retail business.

The popular shopping, dining and entertainment complex in Lyndhurst is now for sale.

The owner of Legacy Village, First Interstate Properties Ltd., says the decision to sell the development came after one of its original partners in the project, National Real Estate Advisors, which runs the pension fund for electrical workers, decided to ask for its share of the return on its long-term investment.

First Interstate Properties Founder and Executive Chairman Mitchell Schneider told Fox 8, “They’ve been looking at some of their older properties where they might harvest some capital that’s been invested for a long time and re-deploy it into some of the newer things that are currently underway. So that’s been their wish, they’ve been a fantastic partner.”

The mayor of Lyndhurst says he is already taking calls from residents, who are concerned about the future of Legacy Village. But Mayor Patrick Ward maintains the sale of the complex is not necessarily bad news.

“It’s just, I think, ‘dipping a toe in the water,’ seeing what the value really is and perhaps finding a buyer. Perhaps that buyer will have a larger presence in that sandbox, the lifestyle center sandbox, so it could be a good thing. It could be a good thing for the ownership, it could be a good thing for the property, it could be a good thing for the community,” he said.

The mayor says it’s unclear how the potential sale of Legacy Village will impact the proposed next phase of development at Legacy, which was scheduled to be the construction of 400 units of luxury housing.

A commercial real estate firm, CBRE, is seeking a buyer for Legacy Village and the online listing includes renderings of the proposed new phases of development.

An asking price for the complex has not been publicly revealed.

“Legacy Village is a solid real estate asset that has long legs in front of it, and one of our objectives is to ensure that the buyer is the right kind of a steward for the asset, to ensure that it continues to thrive into the future,” Schneider said.

According to the online listing, Legacy Village attracts 4.5 million visitors each year.