The wait is almost over ... date set for former Medley Centre announcement

The countdown is on when it comes to learning what developer Angelo Ingrassia plans to do with the long-vacant former Medley Centre in Irondequoit.

According to invitations circulated this week, Ingrassia is holding an announcement event at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 29 to let the community know his plans for redeveloping the defunct mall.

"I'll let Angelo talk about the project, but based on how I've been briefed, I think it's a very practical, actionable plan," said Town Supervisor David Seeley. He would not provide any specifics of what might be in store. "That was my request to him, I didn't want to hear something that was unattainable, a fantasy like what we dealt with in the previous guy."

That "fantasy" was prior mall owner Scott Congel's 2008 announcement that he would sink $260 million into reworking the mall to include condominiums, a 421-room hotel, retail, restaurant, office space and an underground parking garage.

Long struggling since its initial grand opening in 1990 by Wilmorite Inc. as Irondequoit Mall, the site was renamed Medley Centre in August 2005 when it was purchased by developer Adam Bersin. His efforts to reboot the space ultimately failed, and he sold his company Bersin Properties LLC to Congel in 2007.

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In 2009, the last of the mall's tenants left and the site's doors were closed to the public. That set off years of back-and-forth wrangling between Congel, the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency, the town of Irondequoit and the East Irondequoit Central School District. over a tax-break pact designed to spur redevelopment.

In January 2016, Ingrassia purchased the mall at a tax foreclosure sale for $100,000.

As previously reported, Ingrassia also assumes responsibility for $44 million in debt owed to Nomura Credit and Capital by Bersin Properties LLC, former owners of the site before they sold it Scott R. Congel in 2007.

Ingrassia did not immediately return phone calls on Friday seeking comment.

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Another section of the property already has new activity underway: Developer David Flaum purchased the former Macy's store property on the mall's western end. Conduent Inc., the former business services division of Xerox Corp. announced in April that it would move its local call center operations to the site and bring hundreds of jobs to the area.

More: Conduent to bring 750 jobs to former Medley Centre

Seeley said he believes Ingrassia did "exhaustive research" to determine what would be the most appropriate and reasonable way to reuse the property. He cautioned against the community setting its hopes too high.

"Over the last 18 months, I've heard a lot of recommendations about what people think would be best there," he said. "A lot of people want it to be a mall again, but given how the world works, that's just not feasible. Malls aren't opening anymore, they're closing and retail has really gone away."

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According to CNN Money, the number of store closings so far this year is triple what it was by this time in 2016. More than 5,000 retailers closed their doors during the first six months of this year. The shift to online shopping is to blame.

Still, Seeley said, he is "thrilled" by Ingrassia's plans.

"Based on what I've been briefed, I'm confident it's an approach that works," he said. "It might not satisfy everyone's expectations, hopes and dreams, but it is an approach that works."

He continued: "Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com