ShoppingTown to become “District East”

EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The long-awaited fate of ShoppingTown mall in East Syracuse has been decided.

County Executive J. Ryan McMahon announced that OHB Redev LLC, a joint venture made up of four CNY based development firms including Redev CNY, Hueber-Breuer Construction, DalPos Architects and Housing Visions, have been selected to purchase and redevelop the current ShoppingTown Mall site into “District East.”

BREAKING NEWS: ShoppingTown Mall will become District East.

District East is described as five distinct, but blended districts that include residential housing, entertainment, restaurants and hospitality, retail and office space.

The owners are made up of four local groups. pic.twitter.com/Wqeq7334YQ
— Andrew Donovan (@AndrewDonovan) July 21, 2021

The site will be turned into five distinct, but blended districts that include residential housing, entertainment, restaurants/hospitality, retail spaces, and offices.

“We could not be more excited to celebrate this new chapter for the ShoppingTown Mall site. With the selection of OHB to redevelop this site, our community can finally look forward to reading about grand openings, job openings and progress instead of tax evasion and closures.” McMahon continued, “This investment will result in real opportunities for people of all socio-economic levels, produce sales tax dollars that help us fund County government and keep property taxes low and most importantly continue our momentum we transition to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ryan McMahon, Onondaga County Executive

According to a press release, OHB Redev LLC will purchase the property for $8 million and will invest at least $300 million more over the course of a multi-year redevelopment plan.

Ryan Benz, the owner of Oh My Darling and Luna Loca, is one of the partners in District East.

He says construction would happen in phases over several years.

He expects significant demolition, meaning a lot of the current ShoppingTown property will be taken down. pic.twitter.com/0MB3G0AmCj
— Andrew Donovan (@AndrewDonovan) July 21, 2021

“The ShoppingTown site is both an incredible opportunity and a massive undertaking, and we are honored to be selected by the County to advance this important regional project. In everything we do, we focus on building a CNY – the place we raise our children – to become a better, more vibrant and just place. And it is that passion and pride that will help fuel the resurgence of this property and bring our vision for DISTRICT EAST to fruition.”
Ryan Benz, OHB Redev Partner

The development team is encouraging feedback from the community and will solicit suggestions and opinions from local residents and businesses through a portal on the project website. The community can continue to follow the progress on this exciting redevelopment by visiting districteastsyr.com.

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