HERMITAGE — After almost 60 years of business, the Shenango Valley Mall’s doors closed for the last time this week.
A desolate parking lot probably said more than signs posted Friday on doors saying: Mall Closed. Private Property. No trespassing.
When the mall opened in 1968, it was built on what was once farmland owned by George F. McConnell and became a major retail hub for then-Hickory Township and the surrounding area.
The mall is now owned by Butterfli Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Flicore LLC.
As of Friday, all the mall’s stores were empty and the doors were locked
Owners and managers of the last lingering businesses in the Shenango Valley Mall – including King’s Jewelry, Leana’s Books and More and Diann’s Sweets – previously told the Herald they received letters informing them their leases would end on May 31.
Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson said Friday was the date given to the city by Flicore officials as the mall’s last day of business.
A “Farewell to the Mall” event on May 4 encouraged local residents, vendors and business owners to celebrate the mall’s history and the property’s future and have one last look before the mall closed for good.
The Shenango Valley Mall had experienced a decline in tenants and overall business for many years prior to its closing. Issues with a series of property owners led GFM-23, a group of George F. McConnell’s descendants, to take control of the mall in 2019.
Although the group announced its intention to sell the mall property to a developer, those plans were stalled for years as a legal case ensued between GFM-23 and JCPenney over a 1967 agreement that gave the department store chain a say over any development or changes at the mall.
JCPenney officials argued the terms of the agreement were still valid. GFM-23 contested that interpretation due to multiple extensions and agreements that were signed since the original 1967 agreement, some of which the McConnells weren’t a part of.
GFM-23 officials also argued that JCPenney’s demands resulted in failed attempts to sell or develop the mall.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court ruled in favor of GFM-23 in early 2022. The mall property was sold to Butterfli Holdings LLC later that year, with Butterfli continuing the case against JCPenney.
JCPenney officials appealed the court’s decision, but the state Superior Court again ruled against JCPenney in June 2023.
That decision was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which ruled against JCPenney in October 2023, finally bringing the case to an end.
In the meantime, Butterfli had presented JCPenney with a notice to vacate the mall property in March 2023. Butterfli then sued JCPenney for failing to leave.
JCPenney finally closed its store in the Shenango Valley Mall last month after a clearance sale. JCPenney was the mall’s last remaining anchor store, with Macy’s and Sears closing in 2017. Both those department store chains were scaling back their locations nationwide in part because of their own financial problems.
With the mall’s remaining tenants now closed, the building is expected to be demolished later this year to make way for future development on the property.
Hinkson said Flicore officials have not yet submitted an application for a demolition permit to the city.
However, over the past several weeks the city’s staff has had many off-and-on discussions with Flicore officials and their consultants regarding the demolition permit process.
This would involve getting permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the city.
“There’s a considerable amount of preliminary work that goes into demolishing a structure that large,” Hinkson said.
The mall is a single-story building of about a half-million square feet, with only the JCPenney store having a second story. It sits on about 50 acres in the center of Hermitage at the northeast corner of East State Street and North Hermitage Road.
“There’s utilities, asbestos determination, they would need approval from the DEP before the city could issue our permit, so there are multiple things on their checklist.”
Aside from the future development of the mall property itself, city officials are planning to incorporate a mixed-use town center around the property incorporating commercial space, housing and green space.
That town center project was one of the main recommendations of the Hermitage 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which provides a guide for future development in the city.
City officials have secured more than $5.5 million in grant funding for the project.
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