The Berkshire Mall will remain open over the weekend after Wyomissing Borough granted the owners of the property extra time to complete repairs to the mall’s HVAC and sprinkler systems.
Borough officials responded to the mall on Monday and Tuesday to investigate reports that pipes in the water and sprinkler systems had burst due to extreme cold weather.
While addressing those issues, inspections were done by the borough’s building and fire code official and code enforcement officer. Those inspections found additional safety concerns, including inadequate heat in some areas of the mall, non-functional HVAC units and a non-operational mall-wide fire suppression system.
The borough on Wednesday issued an order to vacate the property within 48 hours. The owners of the mall, Namdar Realty Group, were given until noon Friday to make the needed repairs.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, the borough said the mall’s owners have been working to address the problems in the HVAC and sprinkler system since that order was issued.
Inspections performed Friday afternoon confirmed that substantial improvements have been made. That news led the borough to grant Namdar Realty Group, which has owned the mall since 2020, an extension to complete the remaining work.
The extension will allow the mall to remain open over the weekend as work continues. Borough officials said the situation will be closely monitored and that immediate action will be taken if conditions warrant.
Namdar Realty Group is set to sell the mall 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.