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Wyoming Valley Mall

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Coordinates: 41°14′50″N 75°50′40″W / 41.247267°N 75.844578°W / 41.247267; -75.844578
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Wyoming Valley Mall
Map
LocationWilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates41°14′50″N 75°50′40″W / 41.247267°N 75.844578°W / 41.247267; -75.844578
Address29 Wyoming Valley Mall
Opening date1971[1][2]
DeveloperCrown Construction Company[3]
OwnerWyoming Valley Realty Holding LLC (4th Dimension Properties)[4][5]
No. of stores and services70[6]
No. of anchor tenants4[7]
Total retail floor area910,000 square feet (85,000 m2)[1]
Public transit accessBus transport NEPTA bus routes 10, 17, 18[8]Bus transport Hazleton Public Transit route 15[9]
Websiteshopwyomingvalleymall.com

Wyoming Valley Mall is a shopping mall located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania.[10] It is anchored by JCPenney and Macy's.[1]

History

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Work began on the mall in April 1968, when land was purchased from the Blue Coal Corporation. Illegally dumped garbage from the East Side Landfill Authority was removed during early work. Sears opened before the mall in early 1971. Pomeroy's opened in August and JCPenney in April 1972.[3] Wyoming Valley Mall did not become successful until Hurricane Agnes in 1972 caused significant damage to the surrounding area and the post-disaster need for supplies.[11] Multiple movie theaters have existed at the mall, opening with two screens inside, and later adding another three outside.[3] Zollinger closed in October 1977, with Hess's opening in May 1978.[3][12]

Wyoming Valley, along with the Viewmont Mall, was sold by Crown American to PREIT in 2003.[13] Wyoming Valley Mall was renovated in 2006 for $8 million, and received significant cosmetic changes.[2][14] H&M opened at the mall in September 2017, occupying three storefronts.[15] In April 2018, The Bon-Ton and Sears both announced they would close.[16] Wyoming Valley Mall was undamaged during the June 2018 EF2 tornado, but lost power and was closed for a day.[17] Bon-Ton, open since 1971 (originally as Pomeroy's), closed on August 29, 2018.[11][18][19] Ken Pollock Auto Group opened a service center in February 2019 using the former Sears Auto Center.[20]

The mall was turned over to its lender, GS Mortgage Securities Trust, by PREIT in late September 2019 after not being sold.[21][22] PREIT owed $72.8 million on the loan, which had been in special servicing since July 2018.[21][23] Wyoming Valley Mall had lost 75% of its 2014 $122 million value before being turned over.[24] Jones Lang LaSalle took over management of the mall in October 2019.[25] Wyoming Valley Mall was sold to the Kohan Retail Investment Group for $17 million in August 2021.[26] 4th Dimension Properties bought the mall in October 2023.[4]

After significant negotiations between several parties, the real estate taxes of Wyoming Valley Mall were lowered in June 2024 to $13.6 million from $68.7 million. This was due to a significant reduction in the value of the property.[5][27] In July 2024, an gas explosion occurred at the future K Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot restaurant that injured two people and caused the mall to be evacuated.[28]

Notoriety

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The mall sits on land that was involved in the 1919 Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Wyoming Valley Mall - PREIT" (PDF). PREIT. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Hudson, Kris (February 26, 2009). "Malls Race to Stay Relevant in Downturn". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Look back: The construction of the Wyoming Valley Mall". Times Leader. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b Tomkavage, Robert (17 October 2023). "Florida firm acquires Wyoming Valley Mall". Scranton Times-Tribune. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b Learn-Andes, Jennifer (2 June 2024). "Wyoming Valley Mall's real estate tax assessment drastically lowered". Times Leader. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  6. ^ Guydish, Mark (October 15, 2017). "Bucking the trend: Wyoming Valley Mall remains viable as others shut down". Times Leader. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Wyoming Valley Mall - PREIT". PREIT. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  8. ^ "System Map – LCTA". Luzerne County Transportation Authority. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Wilkes Barre Mountain Top" (PDF). Hazleton Public Transit. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Google Maps - Wilkes-Barre Township, PA". Google Maps. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b Lisicky, Michael J. (2014). Shop Pomeroy's First. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625850836. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  12. ^ Moylan, Tom (June 11, 1986). "Zollinger Bankruptcy Nears The End". The Morning Call. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. ^ Bolus, Kathleen (September 21, 2014). "Viewmont, busy with changes, provides contrast to Mall at Steamtown". Times Tribune. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Scenes from an American Mall". Wall Street Journal. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ^ Blackburne, Carolyn (28 September 2017). "Hundreds of Shoppers Come out for Grand Opening of Popular Clothing Store". WNEP. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  16. ^ O’Boyle, Bill (April 20, 2018). "Search is on to find two new anchor tenants for Wyoming Valley Mall". Times Leader. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  17. ^ Leckey, Ryan (15 June 2018). "Wyoming Valley Mall Reopens after Power Outage Caused by Tornado". WNEP. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  18. ^ Stokes, Dan (29 August 2018). "Bon-Ton's Wyoming Valley Mall store closes after nearly 50 years". Times Leader. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  19. ^ Hiller, Mark (30 August 2018). "The last day at Bon-Ton". PAHomepage. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  20. ^ Allabaugh, Denise (January 25, 2019). "New life for former Sears Auto Center". Citizens Voice. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  21. ^ a b "PREIT Turns Over Wyoming Valley Mall in Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure". Commercial Real Estate Direct. September 27, 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  22. ^ Allabaugh, Denise (October 1, 2019). "Wyoming Valley Mall avoids foreclosure". www.citizensvoice.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  23. ^ "$74.3Mln CMBS Loan Against Pa. Mall Moves to Special Servicer as Vacancies Increase". Commercial Real Estate Direct. July 13, 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  24. ^ Kostelni, Natalie (September 27, 2019). "PREIT gives mall back to lender". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  25. ^ "How JLL Retail Is Restructuring Deals, Preserving Key Tenants". Urban Land Magazine. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  26. ^ Lynott, Jerry (28 August 2021). "Struggling Wyoming Valley Mall has new owner". Times Leader. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  27. ^ Mark, Eric (6 June 2024). "Wyoming Valley Mall tax assessment plummets under negotiated agreement". Citizens Voice. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  28. ^ Kalinowski, Bob (11 July 2024). "Propane explosion shutters Wyoming Valley Mall, wounds two contractors". Citizens Voice. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  29. ^ Golias, Paul (June 2, 2019). "FIRE IN THE HOLE— THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF BALTIMORE MINE TUNNEL DISASTER". Citizens Voice. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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