Fairgrounds Square to See Makeover

Anyone who has been to the Fairgrounds Square Mall in recent years knows that it has been very empty. There are very few stores still open for business. Recently, the owners have been talking about reconstructing the mall.

“Hull Property Group officials have personally visited with township, school board, and county officials on five different occasions in the last year and a half, in addition to numerous phone calls with township manager Jamal Abodalo,” Hull’s vice president of government relations John Mulherin said.

According to WFMZ, “Hull Property Group has been frank with township officials. The Fairgrounds Square Mall is a failed property and it failed many years prior to our purchase. Hull, headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, paid $1.16 million to purchase the 750,000-square-foot Fairgrounds Square Mall in 2016.”

The “new” mall will have townhomes around it as well as a new restaurant.

Michael Malinowski, who is the township commissioner had this to say: “We have a lot of good stuff going on in our community, so I would ask that if [Hull Management Group is] not interested in engaging us that I would hope they would do what is appropriate and allow others that want to engage with our community to do so,” Malinowski said.

“It’s time to put up or shut up, and we’ll apply as much pressure as we can for our residents to increase our tax base and develop this corridor,” WFMZ said.

In the next few years or so, the mall might look very different. With new town homes and restaurants, the plans for the new and improved mall could potentially get more business. So there will be some major changes to the Fairgrounds Square Mall to look for.

According to the Reading Eagle, “Boscov’s, which has occupied its spot since 1965, would remain, as would the Burlington Coat Factory, Planet Fitness, Super Shoes and AMC Classic theaters.”