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The Williamsport Sun-Gazette
WILLIAMSPORT -- After months of speculation about when and if it will happen, the Lycoming County commissioners were on their way to the real estate closing for the Lycoming Mall property after Thursday's meeting.
In a press release from the developers following the finalization of the sale, Jon Jahanshahi, president for Famvest Partners LLC, developers for the mall project, said, "Acquiring the Lycoming Mall has been in the works for quite some time.We are thrilled to be able to move into the first phase of redevelopment of this property."
The developers have a multi-phase plan to convert the mall property into a mixed-use work/live/play site that will include commercial, hospitality, recreational and residential components.The initial phase includes changes to the initial infrastructure by adding new transportation assets, demolishing, and refurbishing existing buildings, adding new utility assets, and constructing new buildings, according to information from Famvest.
The county's involvement in the purchase of the failing commercial site in Muncy Township is in providing a $5 million loan to the developers toward the $15 million purchase price for the 135-acre property.
Although prior to the finalization of the sale the developers were not able to be more specific about the businesses planned for the site, they indicated that they had obtained "confidentiality agreements with a number of large tenants, some of which will be new to this market."
"Officially acquiring the mall property now allows us to have substantive conversations with potential tenants," Ara Kervandjian, manager, vice president, and secretary for Famvest Partners, said in the release.
"While the list of potential tenants remains fluid, we believe the prospects will provide great economic benefit to the surrounding community," he stated