{"id":216667,"date":"2026-06-11T18:17:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T18:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/216667\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T18:17:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T18:17:27","slug":"berkshire-mall-sale-closing-postponed-until-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/216667\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkshire Mall sale closing postponed until September"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Berkshire Mall\u2019s sale to a developer with plans to largely demolish and reconfigure the site has been pushed back, according to Wyomissing borough officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not seen anything in writing, but I was verbally told (the new closing date is in) September,\u201d said Mayor Fred Levering.<\/p>\n

The sale of the 910,000-square-foot mall to Abrams Realty Group, was initially slated to close May 15 but has been repeatedly postponed.<\/p>\n

Abrams\u2019 plan would see the mall demolished, except for Boscov\u2019s, and replaced with an open-air retail and mixed-use space that aims to attract national chain retailers.<\/p>\n

Levering said it wasn\u2019t unusual for closing dates to drift.<\/p>\n

\"AA developer plans to demolish the Berkshire Mall, except for Boscov\u2019s, and replace it with an open-air retail and mixed-use space that aims to attract national chain retailers. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the developer to be able to go to closing, he\u2019s got to have his financing,\u201d Levering said. \u201cAnd he can\u2019t get his financing until he\u2019s got, pretty much, a roster of who the tenants will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developer Peter Abrams is still in the process of securing commitments from tenants, Levering said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a layout in mind that he\u2019s drawn up,\u201d Levering says. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a moving puzzle until you get everything sorted out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abrams previously gave a possible clientele list that included the likes of Trader Joe\u2019s and a larger Walmart, as well as restaurants like Shake Shack and Chick-Fil-A, but officials have repeatedly cautioned that negotiations are ongoing and tenants remain unconfirmed.<\/p>\n

He said he thinks the process will be sorted out but noted that it\u2019s been a relatively short time since January, when Abrams placed a $1 million deposit<\/a> on the mall property.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can look over at (the Broadcast District project) in Spring Township and say, \u2018Look how fast it\u2019s going, they\u2019re moving dirt and pouring concrete,\u2019 but it\u2019s been years that they\u2019ve been at it now,\u201d Levering said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s only been a few months.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mall was purchased in 2020 by Namdar Realty Group. Since then, portions of the property have fallen into disrepair. Issues have included a dilapidated exterior and large sinkholes in the parking lot.<\/p>\n

Borough officials took corrective legal action against the mall in 2025.<\/p>\n

In February, officials threatened to close the mall<\/a>, except for Boscov\u2019s, amid problems with the property\u2019s heating and ventilation units and sprinkler system.<\/p>\n

Those issues, and others, including the parking lot, have since been addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the current owners recognize that they\u2019ve got a good one in Abrams,\u201d Levering said. \u201cTherefore, extending it (the closing) a little bit is not a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abrams has yet to formally submit plans for the mall to the borough.<\/p>\n

\"WyomissingWyomissing Borough Council has appointed Sam Wiser of Salzmann Hughes, Chambersburg, Franklin County, to represent the borough in Berkshire Mall redevelopment negotiations. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

There have been informal discussions, officials said, and Abrams has acknowledged they would likely be seeking zoning relief for the site but haven\u2019t submitted any official requests.<\/p>\n

Council hires lawyer for mall negotiations<\/p>\n

At a meeting June 9, borough council appointed Sam Wiser of Salzmann Hughes, Chambersburg, Franklin County, to represent the borough in Berkshire Mall redevelopment negotiations.<\/p>\n

Interim borough manager Eden Ratliff suggested hiring Wiser to help the borough navigate the conversation between borough officials looking to represent community interests and developers seeking plan approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure we set this up in a way that gives council the ultimate authority to make the determination as to what\u2019s in the best interest of the community,\u201d said Jeffrey Stonehill, partner at Stonehill Ratliff LLC.<\/p>\n

Stonehill Ratliff, Chambersburg, Franklin County, was hired in May as interim borough manager.<\/p>\n

Stonehill said council asked the firm to recommend counsel to help with the property and chose Wiser for his experience dealing with large developments like warehouses and shopping centers.<\/p>\n

He noted that Stonehill Ratliff has no business relationship with Salzmann Hughes.<\/p>\n

Council voted 5-1 to hire Wiser at a rate of $350 per hour.<\/p>\n

Council member Stephen Brunner voted no. Christopher Valente was absent.<\/p>\n

Brunner said it\u2019s just a significant cost difference between using the borough\u2019s current solicitor and using Wiser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Berkshire Mall\u2019s sale to a developer with plans to largely demolish and reconfigure the site has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706,133],"class_list":["post-216667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg","tag-wyomissing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}