A regional shopping center with 21 large stores and many smaller shops will be built in the northern half of the old Frankford Arsenal and should be up and running by late summer or fall 2015, developer Mark Hankin last week told members of the Frankford Civic Association.
Hankin has seen proposals come and go for the property he and other partners in Arsenal Associates have owned since 1983, but this plan is ready to be made a reality, he said on Nov. 7. Construction will begin in 2014.
The new center will provide about 1,000 jobs, with another 450 jobs while under construction. It will contribute $3 million in taxes to the city and $11 million to the state, Hankin said.
Originally, the idea was to build an industrial park, but that plan was scrubbed and substituted with one for a shopping mecca. For the last 12 years, Hankin said, his company has been overseeing environmental cleanups and demolition of old Arsenal buildings.
He said Interstate 95 separates the property from surrounding neighborhoods, and the current highway upgrades will include a ramp that will enter right into the mall. Road improvements and traffic lights will make entering and leaving the mall at Bridge and Tacony streets.
Much of the property already is leased. There will be many stores, restaurants and ample parking. He said he was not at liberty to name any of the stores. ••
