http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803280386Article published Mar 28, 2008
Plans include food court, skylights
By Jim Martin
jim.martin@timesnews.comThe neon lights on the ceiling are coming down. Heartland Pets is moving, and the former Millcreek Mall Bazaar will become a lifestyle center featuring a pair of upscale restaurants.
It's all part of a multimillion-dollar plan to breathe new life into the 34-year-old mall.
Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co., which owns the Millcreek Mall, encouraged public officials and a crowd of curious shoppers to take a good look around Thursday.
"A few months from now, this is going to be a very different place," he said before outlining a project that should be completed in November.
Bell said demolition work began earlier this week to transform the mall with a more modern look that will feature skylights, a 350-seat food court and a new, upscale lifestyle center called the Promenade Shops.
The Promenade Shops, which will be on the west side of the mall in an area that had been used for offices, storage areas and restrooms, will feature new street-front shopping, two upscale restaurants and the possibility of sidewalk dining.
And although the mall lost a food outlet when McDonald's moved out recently, Bell said that loss will be more than offset with the addition of the food court, which will feature a Sbarro Italian restaurants and four or five other eateries.
What won't change is the overall footprint of the 1.3 million-square foot structure, which was built in phases beginning in 1974.
Architect Rick Partika, who has been working for about a year on the new design, said changes inside the mall will be dramatic, beginning with the removal of the neon lights suspended from the ceiling of the mall concourse.
Partika acknowledges that he won't miss those lights.
"Less is better," he said.
Restraint was also on Partika's mind when he penciled in the upscale lifestyle center, which could include a Coldwater Creek clothing store, into a relatively compact space.
Partika said he's mindful that a slowing economy has left some upscale malls and shopping centers facing hard times.
Partika, who works full-time for Cafaro, said he's especially enthusiastic about the skylights that will be scattered throughout the mall, as well as the new high-wall windows that will bring indirect light into the food court.
Mall officials said the cost of the face-lift remains uncertain but that renovations at other Cafaro malls have cost $5 million to $10 million.
Millcreek Township resident Rita Weaver, who remembers the mall property in the days that it was farmland, welcomes the change.
"Everything keeps changing," said the 82-year-old woman, who was on hand for the announcement. "They keep the mall pretty nice now, but I'm sure the change will be good."
The Rev. Michael Lokietek, a Westfield, N.Y., resident who sat in on the news conference Thursday with his wife and three young daughters, was equally enthusiastic.
Lokietek said he and his family are regular visitors to the mall, drawn by a large selection and the promise of tax-free shopping.
"It's very advantageous pricewise," he said.
Lokietek expects the investment to pay off.
"We like the idea of the remodeling," he said. "There is an aura about new construction. It attracts new customers."
That's just what they're hoping at Cafaro, the nation's largest privately owned shopping center developer.
Company Vice President Anthony Cafaro Jr. thanked a crowd of local officials, dignitaries and shoppers for their support, and pledged to deliver results.
"It's going to be an outstanding shopping environment and an outstanding dining venue. We hope you all enjoy the many upgrades," Cafaro said. "We believe in this community, we believe in this property, and we want to be here for the next 30-plus years."
JIM MARTIN can be reached at (814) 724-6397, 870-1668 or by e-mail.
