Skyview on the Ridge

Skyview on the Ridge was a shopping mall located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester. The mall opened in 1990 as Irondequoit Mall, but early success gave way to dwindling patronage. At its peak, it featured four anchor stores: J. C. Penney (later Steve & Barry's), Sears, Sibley's (later Kaufmann's and Macy's), and McCurdy's (later The Bon-Ton). The mall later changed its name to Medley Centre, and closed in 2009 except for Macy's and Sears, which respectively closed in 2014 and 2016. On January 22, 2016, Angelo Ingrassia, a local real estate developer who specializes in redeveloping distressed properties into first class properties, purchased the mall.

Skyview on the Ridge
Main entrance as it appeared in September 2007
LocationIrondequoit, New York, United States
Coordinates43.1985°N 77.5700°W / 43.1985; -77.5700
Opening dateMarch 1, 1990
Closing dateFebruary 2, 2009
DeveloperWilmorite Properties
ManagementAngelo Ingrassia
OwnerAngelo Ingrassia
No. of stores and services0 (110 at peak)
No. of anchor tenants0 (4 at peak)
Total retail floor area1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2)
No. of floors2

On August 29, 2017, current owner Angelo Ingrassia announced a plan to redevelop the vacant mall into an office park with light retail, a residential component, and a community center named Skyview on the Ridge.[1]

On July 30, 2019, The town of Irondequoit approved a referendum that would allow the town to borrow $7.25 million to transform the vacant mall into a community center.

History

Wilmorite Properties first announced plans for Irondequoit Mall in June 1985, and by May 1988, the first three anchor stores were confirmed: Sears, J. C. Penney, and Sibley's, which became Kaufmann's shortly after opening. It opened in March 1990 with approximately 110 stores, and had an estimated 80,000 customers in its first weekend of business. McCurdy's opened as a fourth anchor store in 1992, but closed after only two years in business and became a location of The Bon-Ton.[2] Although initially successful, Irondequoit Mall began to lose tenants when two other regional malls also owned by Wilmorite (The Mall at Greece Ridge, created by connecting adjacent malls Greece Towne Mall and Long Ridge Mall to each other, and Eastview Mall) were renovated and expanded, drawing shoppers away from Irondequoit.[3]

By 2000, the mall was a rumored source of crime. That same year, Wilmorite sold it to The Equitable. J. C. Penney closed its store in 2003 due to declining sales. Adam Bersin bought the mall in 2005, at which point it was 70 percent vacant. Under Bersin's ownership, the mall was renamed Medley Centre. Also, the former J. C. Penney space became a Steve & Barry's in 2005, and Target opened under an outparcel a year later.

On January 22, 2016, Angelo Ingrassia a local real estate developer who specializes in redeveloping distressed properties into first class properties purchased the mall. On August 29, 2017, current owner Angelo Ingrassia announced a plan to redevelop the vacant mall into an office park with light retail, a residential component and a community center, named Skyview on the Ridge.

Congel era

In 2007, Bersin Properties was purchased by Scott R. Congel, a former principal with The Pyramid Companies of Syracuse. The sale triggered speculation that the half-empty mall may be developed into a mixed use property.[4] Congel announced ambitious plans for redeveloping the property: a 421-room hotel, 330 condominium units and a 16-screen movie theater would be part of the project, as well as retail, restaurant and office space and an underground parking garage.[5]

Before any work on redevelopment began, existing tenants began to leave. Bon-Ton closed in late 2007, and Steve & Barry's closed in 2008.[6] With the exception of Sears and Macy's stores anchoring either end of the mall, the remaining tenants were all closed in February 2009.[2]

The town made emergency repairs to the mall's pump station in January 2014. Owner Scott Congel had failed to respond to a letter from the town's fire inspector calling on him to take "immediate mitigation measures to prevent a catastrophic failure of the water system to the mall and/or the structural collapse of this building." [7]

In February 2014, Bersin Properties was cited for a series of code violations after pipes from the property's sprinkler system burst inside the vacant mall, flooding out some floors and sending water spewing out into the parking lots. Inspectors found that the interior of the building was not heated, and the burst pipes had caused significant damage.[8][9]

Earlier that month, the town of Irondequoit, the East Irondequoit Central School District and the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency gave owner Scott Congel a May 1, 2014 deadline to make good on a series of missed payments, some dating back to 2009.[10]

Congel said that he needed to renegotiate the terms of the agreement in order to secure financing for his redevelopment project.[11] On January 21, 2016, The Medley Center was sold at a public auction held by Monroe county. It was sold to the only bidder, Businessman Angelo Ingrassia purchased the vacant building for $100,000 which includes nine adjoining parcels.[12]

References
  1. "Former Medley Centre to house community center, offices". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  2. McDermott, Meghan M. (April 8, 2014). "Medley Centre timeline". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. Alexander, Deborah (April 15, 2007). "Brighter days at Medley Centre?" (PDF). Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. "Medley Centre Sold". Rachel Barnhart, WHAM-TV. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
  5. "SProposal for Irondequoit's Medley Centre takes shape". 2008-11-22.
  6. "Steve and Barry's closing shakes Irondequoit's Medley Centre". Deborah Alexander, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  7. "Irondequoit makes emergency repairs to Medley Centre pump station". 2014-01-07.
  8. "Irondequoit issues ultimatum to Medley Centre owner". 2014-03-12.
  9. "COMIDA to end Medley deal unless payment made owner". 2014-04-15.
  10. "Irondequoit gives Congel until May 1". 2014-02-04.
  11. "Congel accuses Irondequoit of grandstanding". 2014-03-14.
  12. "A new future for Medley Centre". 2016-01-22.

See also
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