The Berkshire Mall is under threat of closure due to failures in its heating, ventilation and sprinkler system, according to Wyomissing borough officials.
An investigation by codes enforcement officials found some of the mall’s heating and ventilation units were malfunctioning, Mayor Fred Levering said.
“The mall has multiple HVAC units,” Levering said. “A couple of them weren’t operating. As a result, there wasn’t enough heat in those areas and there was a freeze-up.”
The codes investigation took place within the last few days, Levering said.
He noted that Boscov’s has a separate HVAC system that the retailer maintains itself, and it remains operational.
“There is no threat of closing Boscov’s,” Levering said. “The rest of the mall has been deemed by our code enforcement people to be an unsafe condition, with the sprinklers not working, and it’s kind of chilly in there.”
He said the mall’s owners, Namdar Realty Group, have until Friday to repair the HVAC system or the mall will be “placarded.”
“We’ll put up notices to tell the public it’s unsafe, and the tenants and workers and stuff, so they know what they’re dealing with,” Levering said.
If the work remains unfinished, Levering said the borough would be forced to request an injunction in Berks County Court.
“If the judge agrees that it is a public hazard, the mall would be shut down,” Levering said.
If the borough seeks an injunction, it would not be the first time municipal officials were forced to take Namdar to court over issues with the property.
Wyomissing previously took legal action to force a fix of sinkholes in the parking lot and other issues with the site.
Large portions of the property had fallen into disrepair since Namdar took ownership in 2020.
Namdar told the borough that repairs were underway as of Thursday afternoon.
“Hopefully the repairs will be made and it never gets to (the point of having to close the mall),” Levering said.
For now, the mall stays open.
“We feel very badly for the tenants that are there,” Levering said. “The last thing we want to do is make it more difficult for them. But it becomes a matter of public safety. If there were a fire and the system doesn’t work, you can imagine the problems.”
Levering said the mall remains under an agreement of sale to Abrams Realty Group, with closure of the sale estimated in mid-May.
Their plan is to demolish the mall, except for Boscov’s, and build a new commercial center with a variety of retail and mixed-use developments.
“I’m very excited about the future,” Levering said. “It looks very promising. In the meantime, we’re very concerned about the (mall’s) current status.”