News – Harrisburg Mall

September 3, 2013

What a Difference a Year Makes: 1 Million s/f Harrisburg Mall is Definitely ‘New & Improved’

HARRISBURG, PA — The one-million-s/f regional Harrisburg Mall has undergone signifi cant improvements in just over a year since it was acquired by a partnership of MD based firms St. John Properties and Petrie Ross Ventures. Located on a 61-acre parcel on Paxton St. off Exit 45 of I-83 in Harrisburg, and anchored by Macy’s, Bass Pro Shops, and Regal Cinema’s Great Escape Harrisburg Mall Stadium 14, Harrisburg Mall had received a $60 million exterior and interior renovation under its previous owner, but then had been largely neglected as it was held in bank receivership. A vacant, never-completed shell building that was intended to be Sega Sports Restaurant stood for six years as a front-and-centereyesore.

Within weeks after the June 2012 acquisition, St. John Properties, one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most successful privately held commercial real estate developers, and its Partner Petrie Ross demolished the Sega building and began an aggressive improvement campaign. Combined with a fresh focus on leasing, these efforts have had swift results:

• A major redesign of the mall’s Main Entrance 2 included decorative paver sidewalks, benches, lights fi xtures, and landscaping.
• Leased prime space in the front of the mall which had been vacant for six years to 2nd & Charles.
• Added Taco Bell as a tenant and gave the Food Court new signage, skylights and roof.
• The mall’s highly visible, 150-ft. high pylon sign was revamped and upgraded with a $750,000 state-of-the-art LED electric messaging system.
• Interior improvements include improved lighting, new store blade signs and stainless steel handrails with major improvements to come.
• Parking lot improvements include upgraded lighting, restriping, realigned traffi c drive aisles, and painting underside of parking deck.
• A modernized and expanded security monitoring/customer service area includes a substation for the Swatara Twp. Police Department.

The mall has approximately 70 tenants, which in addition to the anchors include Aeropostale, Bath and Body Works, 2nd & Charles, Champs Sports, Claire’s, Express, Foot Locker, Kay Jewelers, New York and Co., Radio Shack, Victoria’s Secret and others. Free-standing Toys “R” Us and Applebee’s are also part of the tenant mix.

An announcement is expected soon on the lease of an additional 8,000 s/f space in front of the mall. One anchor store—previously occupied by Boscov’s until its corporate bankruptcy in 2008 remains available for lease.

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