Xerxes Wilson

The News Journal

Tri-State Mall at 401 Naamans Road in Claymont has struggled with vacancies.

The 535,000-square-foot structure, built in the late 1960s, sits partially empty.

Neighbors hope the center will be bolstered by future improvements nearby.

Claymont is seeing a flurry of activity with the repurposing of the Evraz Steel Mill, a new train station and ongoing construction of new apartments on Philadelphia Pike.

But the Tri-State Mall's future remains an uncertain eyesore tucked into the unincorporated area. Local planners hope activity around the faded shopping center off Interstate 95 will prod its owners to rethink the 41-acre site's future.

"It needs to be redone. All you have to do is take a look around," said Jean Byrne, a Pennsylvania resident who has shopped at the Tri-State just across the state line for more than a decade. "There is lots of space that has been empty for years."

The 535,000-square-foot structure, built in the late 1960s, sits partially empty. Last year, it was featured on a YouTube series chronicling "dead malls" across the country.

The complex just north of the former steel mill across Naamans Road has been hurt by store closures, including a Value City that shut its doors in 2008 and a Kmart that vacated nearly two years ago.

STORY: Claymont revitalization a 'game-changer'

STORY: Claymont train station gets green light with $10 million grant

The indoor portion closed last year. Today, what was once the frontage of a Kmart and other stores is a dingy white slate overlooking a sea of empty parking space.

Larry Tarabicos, an attorney representing Tri-State's owners, said there is talk about reworking the retail outpost, but nothing concrete is currently in the works. Officials for The Rosen Group, which owns the land, were not immediately available for comment.

"There is strong desire and earnest effort to attract interest to redevelop the property but there is nothing beyond that really," Tarabicos said.

Tarabicos said businesses must be able to survive largely off the local population. He said the commercial potential of the building has been tempered by job losses in the area like the closing of the neighboring steel mill.

"It is a tough economy," Tarabicos said. "People struggle every day, and particularly in that area of New Castle County."

Similar issues have confronted suburban malls across the U.S. Some have gone dark as consumer spending shifts online and marquee anchor stores struggle. In recent months, Macy's and Sears have announced store closures, citing weak sales.

Green Street Advisors, a Newport Beach, California, real estate research firm, estimates that several hundred malls could close in the next decade. The group said department-store closures will be "problematic" for "lower productivity malls that have already had their fair share of struggled competing against online retail."

The empty store frontage along Naamans Road paints an incomplete picture of the potential of the land, said store owners along the strip-mall portion that is mostly obscured from view by a hill and has no vacant space.

"It is a good location. Lots of store owners have been here for 30 years. There has to be a reason for that," said Farzad Rostami, who owns the Tobacco Express in the strip mall.

Rostami, whose business has been at Tri-State since 1991, said there have been rumors about an overhaul of the building for decades. He said the area suffers from an unfair, dangerous reputation that can benefit from work on the steel mill and train station.

"Claymont's location is first class," Rostami said. "A lot of things are happening. Slowly you will see progress. Within five years, you will see a change."

Brett Saddler, executive director at Claymont Renaissance Development Corp., a non-profit organization that receives some public funding and is aimed at encouraging redevelopment in the area, said the center has retail and residential potential that will be bolstered by future improvements nearby.

Those future plans include:

A proposed $40 million covered train station built on a portion of the former Evraz Steel Mill site in Claymont. Officials recently announced a $10 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation spurring the project which will also see state investment.

The redevelopment of Evraz Steel Mill into what is being called First State Crossing, a mix of offices, warehouses and a logistics center for container shipping. St. Louis developer Commercial Development Co. estimates the 425-acre project could bring as many as 5,000 jobs to the area.

The first of two buildings at the Reserve at Darley Green, a 281-unit apartment development on Philadelphia Pike, is showing strong rental activity with a townhome portion of the development also seeing strong sales, officials said.

Saddler's organization has teamed with state economic development and transportation officials, the Wilmington Area Planning Council and New Castle County government to develop an "ideal scenario" they hope can serve as a guide for future development of the center.

They say the mall has potential for an institutional use as well as retail and residential development situated in a walkable village setting. The idea includes a road connecting the Tri-State through the former steel mill site to the new train station, tying potential residents to job centers in Wilmington, Philadelphia and beyond.

"The train station will be the big catalyst for redevelopment there," Saddler said.

The plan is expected to be presented to the public in October.

"We are going to be presenting (the land owners) with the community-based preferred redevelopment plan, that is based on market analysis," Saddler said. "We will be saying what we believe is the highest and best use and a way for the owners to maximize the use of the property and bring new residents to Claymont."

Rostami said he wants to be a part of whatever happens.

"If they make the building look nicer, fine," Rostami said. "Whatever happens, hopefully, we can be a part of that."

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.