Developer Has Big Plans for Clay’s Great Northern Mall

The shuttered Great Northern Mall is in for a grand reimagining, according to the vision of local developer and incoming owner Guy Hart Jr.

The managing partner of Hart-Lyman Companies is looking to demolish the mall, which has been closed since 2022, and reopen the property with a live-work-play strategy, Syracuse.com reported.

The project would deliver what Hart described to the outlet as a “true town center.”

Hart is seeking to build up to 1,700 luxury multifamily units — both apartments and condos and 200 units of senior living, but no affordable housing — and six hotels with 750 rooms.

The project also includes more than 600,000 square feet of retail, community, grocery, restaurant and entertainment space, 790,000 square feet of medical and office space, more than 3,000 parking spaces and a community space in the center of the property.

The size of the project would be nearly unprecedented in the region’s history, taking up the equivalent of two-thirds of Syracuse University’s campus.

Part of the project’s allure is its proximity to Micron Technology’s proposed computer chipmaking complex, expected to be a job creator. There is political support for the proposal, including from Onondaga County County Executive Ryan McMahon.

The developer purchased the mall from Kohan Retail Investment Group for about $9 million last year, several years after Kohan purchased the asset and let it fall into disrepair.

Hart doesn’t yet own all of the land needed for the project, controlling roughly two-thirds of the 215 acres he wants at both the mall and its surrounding properties. He’s at the offer stage for the remainder.

Hart hopes to start construction on the $1 billion project by the end of the year, aiming to complete the full redevelopment in about five years. Widewaters Group will be responsible for managing and leasing the commercial space, while Conifer Realty is partnering on the multifamily portion of the development, which is not yet fully financed.

The developers have landed initial financing for site preparation and demolition. They plan to apply for more aid from different levels of government and may ask the county for local property tax breaks.

Hart still needs town approval and a zoning designation for the project. Traffic is expected to be one concern as the developer works with the town and county.

— Holden Walter-Warner