Sylvester Mallardi is still a graduate student at the University at Buffalo but has some big plans for the Eastern Hills Mall.

He's one of 24 students who put together 3D models for the future of the site. His design includes a large park that he said could be influenced by the types of shops that make up the development.

"There are part shop, part retail-oriented, part residential and office spaces all interdispersed around the periphery of the park," Mallardi said.

Developers and other Eastern Hills Mall stakeholders discussed the future of the 106-acre site Wednesday afternoon.

Representatives from Uniland Development and Gensler said they are conducting a market analysis and a feasibility study before a master plan is released later this year.

Gensler Principal and UB grad, Marc Bruffett, says they got some great ideas from the students' presentations.

"We were, in conjunction with Uniland, evaluators of student work. And that work was inspiring. It came full circle to me to see these student practitioners, if you will, tackling the same problems that we're tackling as professionals," Bruffett said.

Clarence Town Supervisor Patrick Casilio says he was inspired by a lecture he heard 3 years ago on urban planning, and was intrigued by a town center concept like Crocker Park in Ohio, which includes retail, offices and residential space.

By having a dense design, and not a space dominated by big box stores and parking lots, more money will be generated for the town.

"Eastern Hills Mall is the most valuable address in the Town of Clarence. It used to be the biggest taxpayer in the 80s," Casilio said.

Uniland Vice President Carl Montante Jr. says there's a lot of desire for a walkable, mixed-use, urbanized environment in a suburb, and Clarence is the perfect spot.

As far as the building timeline goes, he says it will gradual.

"We're envisioning about a 7-10 year build-out timeline, so you may see a cluster of development every couple of years or so," Montante said.