STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The developer of The Boulevard -- a multi-level $150 million mall being built where Hylan Plaza stands in New Dorp -- is in negotiations "to lock in" the first four anchor tenants, which include a supermarket, health club, movie theater and "big box" apparel merchandisers.

"We are very close and have been working with these retailers for a while. ..."We are hopeful that we will have commitments by the end of the summer," said Joshua Weinkranz, president, northeast region of the Long Island-based Kimco Realty Corp., the project developer.

"Our goal is to land the first four anchors first, before we focus on the smaller units," he said of the 356,000-square-foot multi-level shopping center that will house up to 60 retailers.

In addition, many restaurants -- both chains and local mom an pop eateries -- have expressed interest in being located in the new shopping complex, said Weinkranz, noting that Kimco owns six Staten Island shopping centers, including the soon-to-be-redeveloped Forest Avenue Shopping Plaza.

"We don't want to do all chain restaurants. We want to add some local flair to it; it will add some uniqueness to the property. I don't think everyone wants to see four national restaurants that they can get at any property," he said.

"We haven't committed to any of the restaurants yet, but there is a whole lot of interest. There's also a lot of retail that has expressed interest. ...We want to have the anchors in place first because in the negotiation process the anchors may have initially thought they wanted 20,000 square feet and it ends up being 25,000 square feet, so that affects the site plan. This is why we focus on the bigger blocks first," he added.

Ground-breaking is slated for spring 2017, and the project will take about 18 months to two years to complete, he said.

RECONFIGURATION OF SHOPPING CENTER

According to the developer's plans, the back of the existing shopping center -- where Kmart and the UA Hylan Plaza movie theater are located along Mill Road -- will be demolished. Some of those retailers will be relocated to other storefronts in the shopping center, said Weinkranz.

"A lot of them (retailers) have leases, but a lot of them don't. Some may be staying and relocating. Others may be leaving at the end of their lease term," said Weinkranz.

Only in the early planning stages, the project will require authorization from the Department of City Planning, as well as other agency approvals.

Weinkranz noted that there will be traffic studies conducted to ensure easy traffic flow in and out of the center.

"The entrance on Hylan Boulevard will remain because it's at a traffic light and that can't be moved. I suspect that the entrance at Ebbits Street will remain the same. The Mill Road entrance in the back may be moved slightly depending on the final plan," he said.

FOLLOW Tracey Porpora on