IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. -- It’s Medley no more.
After sitting vacant for years, the former Medley Centre in Irondequoit was reborn Tuesday as “Skyview on the Ridge.”
The name is a nod to the former mall’s glass ceilings.
But don’t call it a mall now.
Marketers say Skyview's "flex space" options reflect a rapidly changing commercial landscape.
“It’s a very challenging environment right now,” said John Manilla of Pyramid Brokerage. “I think it’s exciting to be part of that change, and to be able to afford retailers maybe a little bit of a nontraditional option.”
Phase one of the redevelopment includes 300,000-square feet of options for office space, warehouses, fitness centers — and possibly some retail.
Plans also call for the old food court to be transformed into collaborative meeting spaces.
No tenants have committed to the project yet.
Designers say flexible modular features allow customization for different tenant needs.
“The logic of what we’re developing is to be able to make those big spaces small or big again, and have the flexibility to do that,” said John Bartolotti of Dalpos Architects.
Developer Angelo Ingrassia is seeking state funding to help with the estimated $11.4 million cost of phase one.
Ingrassia has developed other properties in Irondequoit and purchased the former mall at a tax foreclosure option in 2016 for $100,000.
Work on phase one of is expected to start this fall and take 12 to 18 months.
Separately from the redevelopment of the former mall space in phase one, the former Irondequoit Dodge car dealership is being demolished to make way for an unnamed tenant.
And Town Supervisor Dave Seeley says a new 50,000-square foot community center in space donated by Ingrassia will help restore community pride.
“The fact that our town has become so synonymous with this 1 million-square foot albatross that has been nothing but a broken promise after broken promise for so many years,” Seeley (D) said. “There’s a little bit of a sting, I think, in people. People are so proud of this town, and to see this redeveloped and reborn, I think will infuse even more pride.”