KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/FOR THE EXPRESS The eastern side entrance of the Lycoming Mall is pictured a week ago.

Senior care. Restaurants. Grocery stores. Office space. A “mixed-use work/play/live site.”

While Jon M. Jahanshahi of FamVest Partners LLC cautions that plans are still fluid and it’s too early for anything to be set in stone, an application to a state redevelopment program offers glimpses into the potential future for the Lycoming Mall.

“At this time, FamVest is focused on the purchase of the parcel and then the initial site work. We continue to work with local stakeholders to maximize this public/private partnership and are committed to an outcome that will be both beneficial to the local community and serve as an economic driver for the entire county,” Jahanshahi, President of FAMVEST Partners and also Executive VP of Acquisition for HFL Corp.

“Our goal is to provide an environment that is attractive to potential tenants; however, the mix of potential tenants remains fluid. That said, we are continuing discussions with potential commercial and hospitality prospects, and the plans for residential housing and recreational space are being developed,” he added.

Closing on the mall property is expected in early spring.

“As you are aware, it will be a multi-phase project creating a new, mixed-use development on the property. The initial phases will include changes to the existing infrastructure by adding new transportation assets; demolishing and refurbishing existing buildings; adding new utility assets; and constructing new buildings,” Jahanshahi stated recently echoing the words of his associate, Ara Kervandjian, who is listed as the manager, vice president and secretary of the company, when he spoke at the Lycoming County Commissioners’ meeting last month.

The mall is composed of the main structure, which houses retail spaces, and certain auxiliary retail sites along the road circling the mall.

In terms of the demolition of portions of the main mall structure, approximately 300,000 square feet of the mall building is slated to be demolished, according to an application to the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, for which the Sun-Gazette filed a right-to-know request with the Open Records Office for the state’s Office of the Budget.

The application said “based on the planning level project cost opinion, the overall building demolition project cost could be $3,323,000.”

Demolition of part of the mall would create an approximately 6.8-acre parcel where the developers are considering developing a mixed-use retail/restaurant/office space during a later phase in the project, according to the application.

Following the demolition, the main mall building will be approximately 550,000 square feet.

The redevelopment plan calls for that portion of the building to be transformed into a “mixed-use work/live/play site.”

“A portion of this redevelopment in a future phase is contemplated to also include senior care and medical facilities sorely needed in the area,” the developers stated in their plan.

Part of the plan addresses the deteriorating pavement on the parking lot and surrounding roadway.

Work on the parking lot, including milling, grading, repaving and applying striping, is estimated to cost $5.2 million.

The road which circles around the mall property also could be repaved.

Phase I of the project could include development of three peripheral areas or outparcels for commercial use. Potential uses would include full-service and quick-service restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores or other retail uses.

“We anticipate the preparation of each site and construction of a white-box building to cost approximately $2 million per site,” the developers’ plan stated.

“These outparcels will serve as the catalyst for future tenants and the greater redevelopment plan,” according to the plan.

Three of the proposed outparcels include a restaurant and retail pads west of Ollie’s and a hotel on a vacant lot near the former Best Buy.

The report from R. K. Webster LLC, civil engineering consultants, included in the application estimates the cost for site work and construction would be $2 million for each parcel for a total of $6 million for all three.

The overall roof replacement improvement project would add another $3.3 million to the rehabilitation of the mall. Some of the mall store roofs date back to as early as 1996, which was the last time the Sears store roof was replaced.

The total anticipated purchase price for the Lycoming Mall is $15.5 million including closing costs, according to the application. Of that, the Lycoming County has pledged a loan of $5 million, another $5 million comes from a bank loan and the remainder would be an investment from the developers.

Jason Fink, president and CEO of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, which has been working with the developers, shares the excitement for the revitalization of the Lycoming Mall property.

It’s a sizable property that was a focal point for decades and has been a commerce center for years, but acknowledged “the mall has been struggling to survive,” said Fink.

“I am anxious to see what they are able to do,” Fink added.

The potential for needed new housing put together with a new commercial and retail sector could create what Fink called, “a little village,” on the property, adding “it is actually a very interesting project.”

Without the investment of the developers, the mall, which is mostly vacant, would likely risk facing the same “blighted and abandoned fate,” as other malls across the country, according to FamVest. Instead, with this plan the mall could bring much needed housing, upwards of 500 jobs and retail and local tax revenue, to a once-bustling property.

“The comprehensive costs will be significant, but the economic impact will be greater,” FamVest said in its application.