It looks like it might be curtains for a Berks County mall.
According to WFMZ, Abrams Realty Group of Montgomery County is looking to purchase the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, demolish it and redevelop the space.
“Everybody knows that the Berkshire Mall is ripe for redevelopment,” Peter Abrams of Abrams Realty said to WFMZ. “Everybody’s been waiting to see what would happen and to see what might emerge.”
The company proposes to demolish the 910,000-square-foot mall, except for the Boscov’s store, and build an open-air retail space in its place.
“The economic benefit of this project is going to be astronomical versus what the economics benefits are that are coming out of it today,” Abrams said to the news outlet. “The increase in the tax revenues is going to be massive to the school district and to the township and to the county.”
Abrams said that he hopes to bring some big-name retail tenants to the new space but did not to provide any details.
Wyomissing borough manager Michele Bare told the Reading Eagle that initial sketch plans for the redeveloped area allow for two to four big-box retailers with six smaller pad sites along the property.
Abrams told WFMZ he plans for the company to close on the property by March 2026, with construction starting around early 2027.
The mall is currently open and houses a number of tenants. Abrams said he plans to incorporate any tenants with long-term leases into the project.
The news is leaving many of the mall’s current store owners are concerned about their future.
“There’s over 60 businesses in the mall, and they’re thriving,” Javon Phillips, co-owner of Lounge Around Games Co., said to WFMZ. “People are working in there, and it’s going to affect a lot of people if it’s demolished.”
“Anybody that’s saying that the mall is dead, come here on a Saturday evening, and it is packed,” he said. “Sometimes we are packed to capacity.”
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