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Light Drizzle Green Acres Mall to receive overhaul, addition
Sunrise Cinemas to be replaced with new retail space
A new two-story, 323,000-square-foot retail plaza will be added to the Green Acres Mall when a $162-million renovation is completed, the mall announced last week. The project, slated to begin in mid-2015 and expected to take up to 10 years to complete, will include the demolition of the nearby Sunrise Cinemas.
The project will be split into two phases: Sunrise Cinemas, long rumored to be marked for destruction, will be torn down and replaced with an $83-million, 323,000-square-foot retail facility. Developers said the project would bring 180 construction jobs and 570 retail jobs to the site.
The second phase will address the existing mall. Plans call for a $79 million upgrade, which will include improvements to the food court and seating areas, roofing, security systems, escalators and lighting. Developers said it will create 45 construction jobs. Macerich, the California-based company that owns the mall, declined to comment on the plans.
The new project comes on the heels of construction work already occurring at the mall. A project started last year is removing portions of the building’s exterior and replacing it with a more distinctive and modern design. Work is also being done on the south side of the mall with the expansion of H&M outfitters, the installation of South Shore Opticians and the construction of two restaurants, Chipotle and Panera Bread. Dawn Simon, senior marketing manager for Macerich, said those projects are expected to be completed within the first quarter of 2015.
The Hempstead IDA said it will provide tax breaks for this newest project. The project’s developer, Valley Stream Green Acres, LLC, is seeking $50,000 in sales tax exemptions from the IDA over a 10-year period, and property tax breaks on the construction itself, as well as sales and mortgage tax breaks on the theater project. Specific numbers were not yet known, according to IDA officials.
Bob Barra, Valley Stream’s village clerk, said that while the tax breaks would not come directly from the village, the village’s bottom line may still be effected.
“We’re not offering any direct tax breaks to them, no,” Barra said. “The IDA does affect school taxes and village payments, so there may be an effect there, we’re not sure yet. But we aren’t offering them anything directly.”
