WYOMISSING, Pa. – Jonathan Mashburn and Javon Phillips were trying to focus on customers Thursday night, but in the back of their minds, they had one question: Will they even be open Friday?
“The communication came from Kraft (Municipal Group), the code enforcement of Wyomissing,” said Jonathan Mashburn, co-owner of Lounge Around Games. “So we had no prior knowledge until Kraft came in 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon with the notices.”
Mashburn and Phillips run Lounge Around Games inside the Berkshire Mall. They say this is just the latest problem in months of uncertainty surrounding the mall’s future.
This time, it’s heat. The borough issued a notice ordering repairs to broken HVAC systems and damage caused by frozen pipes. Officials say without proper heat, the sprinkler system becomes a safety concern.
“They have a deadline of tomorrow, Friday, to make those repairs, or the mall will be what’s called placarded because it’s not heated properly and the sprinkler system isn’t working,” said Wyomissing Mayor Fred Levering.
If that happens, the borough could move forward with legal action, potentially leading to a shutdown.
Namdar, the mall’s owner, told 69 News most of the pipe breaks have been isolated or repaired, and they are currently obtaining quotes for the HVAC system to avoid a shutdown.
But tenants say the hardest part isn’t just the repairs — it’s the uncertainty.
“We’re just stuck in purgatory. We’re just stuck in the middle,” Phillips said. “We don’t know exactly what’s going on. We’re asking the community to probably come out more and kind of demand answers, like what exactly is going on.”
Mayor Levering says Boscov’s is not affected because it maintains its own HVAC system.