HERMITAGE, Pa. – The new development at the site of the former Shenango Valley Mall should be taking shape later this year, a city official said.
The plan is for building pads and vertical construction to get under way later this summer or in the fall at what will be known as Hickory Fields, Gary Hinkson, city manager, said Monday.
The buildings on the former mall property all have been demolished, and the old asphalt pavement is being removed, he said.
“Bids for construction of Hickory Fields Boulevard, which will be a public street through the development from the East State Street roundabout, have been received, and a contract will be awarded, hopefully later this month,” he said.
In January, representatives of Flicore LLC, which purchased the mall property through an affiliate in August 2022, outlined plans for Hickory Fields at a Hermitage Planning Commission meeting.
The presentation included plans for Longhorn Steakhouse, Chili’s and Chick-fil-A to open restaurants at the site and a big-box store operated by a “Minnesota-headquartered, publicly traded, national brand general merchandise retailer with nearly 2,000 locations.”
That description, and a rendering presented to the planning commission, indicated that Target was the retailer in question, though neither the retailer nor the developer has confirmed.
Target is “continually evaluating potential store locations to serve new guests,” but a store spokeswoman said Monday she didn’t have any news to share about new stores.
“At this time, we have no additional information to share,” Robert Abramovich, Flicore executive vice president, said in an email Monday.
“The developer has not confirmed that Target is the big-box retailer in the first phase of Hickory Fields, although from everything we have seen, it certainly appears to be Target,” Hinkson affirmed.
Pictured at top: A rendering of retail space at Hickory Fields.