Main entrance as it appeared in September 2007 |
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| Location | Irondequoit, New York |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1990 |
| Developer | Wilmorite Properties |
| Management | Scott R. Congel |
| Owner | Bersin Properties LLC |
| No. of stores and services | 2 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 900,000 square feet (84,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | http://www.medleycentre.com/ |
Medley Centre (with a forthcoming name change to "LakeRidge Centre") is a mostly vacant shopping mall in Irondequoit, New York near Rochester. The mall opened in 1990 as Irondequoit Mall, but early success gave way to dwindling patronage in the face of competition. Developer Adam Bersin of Bersin Properties LLC attempted to resurrect the mall with its new name, but his efforts also failed. The mall then was sold to SRC Development Corp, an offshoot of The Pyramid Companies, which intends to renovate and expand the mall into a mixed-use facility, with residences, a hotel, and a movie theater in addition to retail space. On November 16, 2009, a forthcoming name change was announced, replacing "Medley" with "LakeRidge".[1] With all stores now closed except for anchor stores Macy's and Sears, the mall is effectively dead, awaiting the start of redevelopment.
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In 1990, Wilmorite Properties. opened the Irondequoit Mall, a two floor shopping mall with three anchors: Sears, JC Penney, and Kaufmann's. In 1993, McCurdy's was added, which later became Bon-Ton. The mall did very well at first, with a variety of smaller, specialty stores unavailable elsewhere in the area. It started to decline in 1995, when 2 malls nearby, Greece Towne Mall and Long Ridge Mall, joined to become The Mall at Greece Ridge, and another area mall, Eastview Mall, expanded.
In 2003, JC Penney closed, and approximately 80 percent of the mall's non-anchor retail space was vacant. In 2005, Wilmorite sold the mall to Bersin Properties LLC, headed by Adam Bersin, and the name of the mall changed to Medley Centre. Also in 2005, the mall got a new anchor, Steve & Barry's. In 2006 the mall got 2 new anchors: Macy's (replaced Kaufmanns), and Target (in an exterior location). New stores started to open in the mall, and an indoor playground for children served as a drawing card. This brief success, though, was short-lived.
It was announced on April 10, 2007 that Scott R. Congel, a former principal with The Pyramid Companies of Syracuse and current owner of SRC Development Corp., would purchase Bersin Properties LLC as a subsidiary for an undisclosed sum. Adam Bersin remained temporarily to manage the property. Bersin has since ceased association with the venture, but his surname remains in the Bersin Properties LLC name. The sale triggered speculation that the half-empty mall may be developed into a mixed use property.[2]
On May 13, 2008 Steve & Barry's announced that they would close their Medley Centre store by May 25 to move it to a new location at the West Gates Shopping Center[3]; shortly thereafter the entire Steve & Barry's chain went out of business.
It was also learned by numerous members of the local media that the mall had filed with the Monroe County Clerks Office a 66,000-square-foot (6,100 m2) lease agreement with Regal Entertainment Group for a first floor cinema complex, which again triggered speculation on what the future holds for the property.
Current plans involve extensive redevelopment of the property into a mixed-use facility including a large hotel, condominiums, a movie theater, and office space, in addition to retail and restaurant space. Pursuant to that, all of the stores remaining in the mall, except for Sears and Macy's, closed in early January 2009.
On March 17, 2009, Bersin Properties LLC received final approval from COMIDA (County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency) of a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement that, in the previous week, received the required consent form both the Town of Irondequoit and the East Irondequoit Central School District (the school district in which the property is located).
With the PILOT agreement approved, the redevelopment project is now able to move forward from legal and regulatory perspectives. However, the slowdown in the economy has made obtaining final financing a major difficulty for SRC Development; thus, as of autumn 2009, the project has not yet begun.
In April, 2010, a local newspaper reported that Scott Congel had met with Irondequoit's new Supervisor, Mary Joyce D’Aurizio. "The developer is just repositioning some of the tenants in an effort to reduce remodeling costs," said D'Aurizio in the news article. "“The project has not been reduced in scope...he left no doubt that he’s definitely moving forward with his plans.”[4]
On October 18, 2011 the town gave Medley Centre developer Scott Congel an ultimatum on money it's owed. Town Supervisor Mary Joyce D'Aurizio outlined her request: the town needs $750,000 by December 31, 2011. It's money owed for demolition, construction, and permits. The town board unanimously approved a resolution to take legal action against Congel.