Medley Centre

LakeRidge Centre

Main entrance as it appeared in September 2007
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 and a perception that crime was common. 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.

History

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. The mall was also beset by the perception that it was prone to crime.

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} 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]

Current anchors

• Macy's – Opened 1990 as Kaufmann's, became Macy's in 2006. (127,068 sq ft.)
• Sears – Opened 1990. (110,691 sq ft.)

Former anchors

• Bon Ton – Opened 1993 as McCurdy's, closed in 1994, became Bon-Ton in 1995. (103,456 sq ft.) Closed in May 2007.
• JCPenney – Opened 1990, Closed 2003, became Steve & Barry's on upper level in 2005(110,321 sq ft.)
• Kaufmann's – Opened 1990, Became Macy's in 2006. (127,068 sq ft.)
• McCurdy's – opened 1993, closed 1994, became Bon-Ton in 1995. (103,456 sq ft.)
• Steve and Barry's – Opened 2005 in upper level of former JC Penney. Closed 2008

References

1. ^ "Developers Showcase Plans for "LakeRidge Centre"". Scott Patterson, YNN Rochester. 2009-11-16. http://rochester.ynn.com/finger-lakes-news-2027-content/all_news/rochester/487841/developers-showcase-plans-for--lakeridge-centre-. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 
2. ^ "Medley Centre Sold". Rachel Barnhart, WHAM-TV. 2007-04-10. http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2305f98f-0fc3-42b2-9400-e5674fe9360e. Retrieved 2007-04-10. 
3. ^ "Steve and Barry's closing shakes Irondequoit's Medley Centre". Deborah Alexander, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. 2008-05-15. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/BUSINESS/805150341/-1/IRONDEQUOIT. Retrieved 2008-05-15. 
4. ^ "Developer planning to redevelop the former Irondequoit Mall is looking at reducing remodeling costs". Linda Quinlan, Irondequoit Messenger Post. 2010-04-20. http://www.irondequoitpost.com/latestnews/x57960483/Developer-planning-to-redevelop-the-former-Irondequoit-Mall-is-looking-at-reducing-remodeling-costs. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 

• Proposal for Irondequoit's Medley Centre takes shape

External links

• Official Site

See also

• Midtown Plaza
• Eastview Mall
• The Marketplace Mall
• The Mall at Greece Ridge

Coordinates: 43°11′55″N 77°34′12″W / 43.1985°N 77.5700°W / 43.1985; -77.5700