A former mall in Niagara County is getting a whole new look.

If you walk into the former Summit Park Mall these days, you’ll find plenty of activity, thanks to Niagara International Sports and Entertainment.

“After bouncing some ideas around, we came up with the idea that we can turn it into a sports and events center,” said Neal Turvey, the director of athletics and events for Niagara International Sports and Entertainment.  

The idea is slowly becoming a reality. The once vacant space is now being redeveloped by Zoran Cocov, a Canadian developer. The project so far has resulted in the creation of batting cages, pitching lanes, basketball and volleyball courts, and a space for dek hockey.

“They’re looking for places to go and just hang, they don’t hang at the park like we used to hang at the park, they need a place, they need something where it’s a little more structured and safer and the parents feel comfortable with the kids and that’s what we wanted to provide,” said Turvey, who is also the manager of the project.

Turvey said this is only the beginning. They plan to build fieldhouses behind the former mall and welcome new businesses like a brewery and pizza place. The first phase of the project is expected to take two to three years.

“We’re seeing about 170 kids a night during the week the Monday through Friday and on the weekends, we see 270 kids or 280 kids a day,” Turvey said.

As malls continue to close all over the country, Western New York joins a growing list of places seeing mall sites being redeveloped.

 “The mall was a mall back in the 1970s and it was very exciting to have a mall. Now malls have to be turned into something else, somebody’s got to find something where they can be used for, where it can take advantage of the area and that’s what we’re doing, we’re trying to put something here that takes advantage of being in this area,” Turvey said.

The Niagara International Sports and Entertainment facility is open 7 days a week. Check out their website to see how you can get involved.