Rotterdam

Work to bring an aquarium to Rotterdam Square Mall is beginning under a recently issued permit from the town.

Banners inside and outside the mall say in bold green letters "Coming Soon." Inside the mall, one of the signs says the aquarium and "funzone" is coming to the Sears corridor, which is the mall's most vacant stretch.

Inside, five separate retail spaces are being combined into a 25,000-square-foot aquarium and an almost 30,000-square-foot Family Entertainment Zone.

The mall's new owners, Istanbul-based Via Properties, purchased the half-empty retail center May 15 for $9.25 million. The former owner, Mehan Kohansiek, had paid $8.5 million for the mall when he bought it in January 2014.

Via Properties pledged after the purchase was announced in June that it would invest $10 million in renovating the troubled mall, which lost a key anchor in Macy's earlier this year. Mall officials could not be reached for comment on the work.

On Wednesday, the mall remained largely vacant, but workers were inside the space where the aquarium will be built. They have taken down the walls separating what were once individual stores. The company's subsidiary, Rotterdam Square LLC, received a building permit July 9 from the town of Rotterdam. The permit, posted in the window of one of the storefronts, lists the value of the work being done at $1.8 million.

A Florida firm, Jimerico Construction, applied for the permit.

Via Properties has said visitors will see specimens of sharks and deep-sea fish from all over the world. The family entertainment zone also was said to feature a bowling alley, sports bar and restaurant and more than 50 arcade games.

Via, based in Istanbul, owns hotels, theme parks, outlet malls and other retail properties. Two of its malls in Turkey feature aquariums.

The same developer acquired the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg, Fla., from Kohansiek in September 2014 and converted it into Via Port Florida. That mall had been 40 percent vacant but has been renovated and now includes a 30,000 square-foot entertainment center that includes a 22-lane bowling alley, a restaurant and bar, and an arcade. It does not have an aquarium.

tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientu