Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing sits at an inflection point after a turbulent 2024–2025. By late 2024 the borough, responding to recurring sinkholes in travel lanes, secured a court-backed agreement that fenced off unstable sections of the parking fields and restricted traffic to prevent a full holiday-season shutdown while longer-term fixes were evaluated. Through 2025, municipal enforcement has continued to shape on-site activity, with deadlines for structural repairs and stormwater planning layered on top of ongoing inspections and performance-bond requirements. The public pressure has been equally visible: on August 5, 2025, State Senator Judy Schwank sent Namdar Realty Group a formal letter citing “rapidly deteriorating” conditions and calling for clear answers on structural integrity, repairs, and the owner’s long-term intentions—invest meaningfully or sell.
Against that backdrop, redevelopment momentum has gathered. Abrams Realty & Development has the mall under contract with a plan to demolish most of the enclosed structure, retain Boscov’s, and rebuild the 59-acre site as open-air retail organized around one or two national anchors and a necklace of outparcels. Borough officials have signaled openness to that direction, describing a desire to “turn the mall inside out” after years of deferred maintenance and site instability. In practical terms, that means new freestanding buildings along the perimeter, a rethought circulation plan, and a comprehensive stormwater strategy that addresses sinkhole risk rather than patching it.
Inside the building, the picture is stark. After The Bon-Ton closed in 2018 and Sears shuttered in 2019, Boscov’s remains the lone full-line anchor. A scattering of in-line tenants persists, but vacancy has become the defining feature of the concourse. For patrons, the experience is an uneven mix of beloved legacy draw (Boscov’s) and hollowed-out corridors hemmed by construction fencing and caution tape beyond the doors. For the borough, almost any credible redevelopment that stabilizes the site and restores a healthy tax base is preferable to the status quo.
Abrams’ playbook fits regional retail trends. At nearby Exton Square Mall the firm is pursuing a similar strategy: preserve Boscov’s, remove most of the enclosed footprint, and re-tenant with an open-air, “Main Street” environment. Whether or not housing ultimately joins the mix at Berkshire, the structural logic is the same: it’s typically cheaper and faster to reset failing infrastructure, roofs, façades, and drainage in an outdoor format than to keep a 1970-era envelope on life support. Open-air layouts also meet current retailer preferences for direct storefront access, flexible footprints, and visibility from primary drives.
To visualize Berkshire’s next chapter, think in phases. First comes selective demolition while Boscov’s continues to trade, paired with heavy site work—grading, utilities, and a stormwater system designed to mitigate subsurface risks. Then arrive the pads and anchors: freestanding restaurants and services at the edges, junior and big-box anchors stitched into a walkable retail spine. Wayfinding, lighting, and landscaping do as much work as bricks and mortar, helping the property read as a new place rather than a remodeled relic. If the deal closes, leasing announcements and permit filings are the early tells; cranes and concrete follow. If it doesn’t, expect continued fencing, court timelines, and incremental repairs as vacancy deepens.
All of this sits on top of a half-century story familiar to Berks County shoppers. Conceived in 1967 with Sears as the northern bookend, Berkshire opened on February 10, 1970, with John Wanamaker at the south and Lit Brothers in the center. The anchor roster morphed with regional retail: Lit Brothers gave way to Pomeroy’s and then The Bon-Ton; Wanamaker’s cycled to Hecht’s and Strawbridge’s before Boscov’s took the box in 2002; the upper-level Terrace Café food court debuted in December 1989. Ownership, too, changed hands from the Goodman Company to Equitable in 1985 and Allied in 2002. The last fifteen years brought hard knocks—a storefront fire in 2009, a Boscov’s fire in 2010, skylight-shattering hail in May 2014—followed by the anchor losses of 2018–2019 and Namdar’s 2020 acquisition. By 2022, condemnation actions and code violations foreshadowed the sinkhole-triggered access restrictions of 2024.
The near-term outlook is therefore binary. If Abrams closes, expect a visible transformation that starts with demolition and dirt work and progresses to pad-site leasing, anchor announcements, and a phased return of foot traffic in a format aligned with today’s retail economics. If the status quo persists, borough enforcement and court orders will continue to govern who parks where and which repairs happen when, while the challenges of vacancy and deferred maintenance compound. Either way, Berkshire Mall has reached the end of its enclosed-mall era; what comes next depends on timing, capital, engineering, and the first anchors willing to plant a flag.
Build new store front and knock down the mall and make a new look like the store at limerick at 422 different which has many different stores you can enjoy buying different things and can walk out side and around
I sure hope there are future changes & development as mentioned in this article. I remember when the Berkshire Mall was new. Worked there for quite some time and have many fond memories of friends & co-workers.