ShoppingTown Mall site plans presented

TOWN OF DEWITT – Conceptual plans for the redevelopment of the ShoppingTown Mall site were revealed Monday during a public informational hearing in front of the DeWitt Town Board.
Andy Breuer, the president of Hueber-Breuer Construction, gave a “truncated” presentation of the overall vision for the future project, which he hopes to be a “centralized heart within the community” known as District East.
Alongside Redev CNY and Dalpos Architects, Breuer’s company is a component of local joint-venture firm OHB Redev, the organization Onondaga County selected last year to buy the 63-acre mall property.
The proposed development would contain a mixed-use residential area stretching from the TGI Friday’s space to the former JCPenney department store and its adjacent parking garage, Breuer said.
As designed at this point, District East would also incorporate medical services and other offices over 170,000 square feet, a 120,000-square-foot space reserved for use by a higher education institution, a dine-in cinema, retail along Erie Boulevard, and a “national, high-quality” grocer.
With plans for 500 residences across its grid-like layout, the development would be accommodating housing at and below market rate, Breuer said. These residences would fall under such classifications as townhouses and garden-style apartments, he said, and some would be contained within four-story structures with retail on the ground level.
Breuer said the project would further ensure “ample green space” proximal to the Empire State Trail along with connecting walking paths and splash pads.
He said the “phase zero” stage would be a $40 million to $50 million endeavor entailing demolition, the refitting of certain existing buildings and the start of evolution for the overall property. The entire building process would take five to 10 years according to the developers.
To help with the “heavy lift,” as Breuer called it, the OHB Redev team is appealing for the Town to apply on their behalf for a Restore New York Communities grant. The state funding program is meant to assist with the revitalization of blighted commercial and residential properties.
Any matching funds would come from either OHB Redev or the Onondaga County Office of Economic Development, said DeWitt Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko. In the meantime, Michalenko said several other public informational hearings about the District East project will be held by the Town’s different boards.
“ShoppingTown’s gone through a traumatic decline, but it’s bottomed out and the goal here today is to work with these developers to make sure that it rebounds,” Michalenko said.
A recording of the Oct. 3 meeting can be found on the Town of DeWitt Facebook page. Public input on the presented redevelopment plans and the Restore New York grant will temporarily remain open.