It’s coming down: Mall demo begins

By DAVID L. DYE

Herald Staff Writer

HERMITAGE — In a place where customers once shopped at Macy’s — sifting through racks of coats, dresses and other merchandise — heavy machinery now sifts through piles of rubble, metal and pieces of scrap.

Demolition of the Shenango Valley Mall started Monday, beginning on the eastern end with Macy’s, one of the mall’s former department stores. Sereday’s, of Masury, Ohio, is handling the project.

And since most of the Sereday family grew up in and still reside in Brookfield, they appreciate what it means to see the mall get knocked down, Lauren Sereday said Tuesday morning.

“We’re sad to see this historic building go, but we’re hopeful for what the developers have in mind for the residents and the city of Hermitage,” Lauren said.

Lauren serves as the company’s project manager, while her husband Ryan serves as operator. Other family members serve with the company as well.

The demolition of the mall must be completed within 90 days, and represents what is

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Inside the Shenango Valley Mall during demolition on Tuesday in Hermitage.

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An excavator demolishes the former Macy’s section of the Shenango Valley Mall on Tuesday in Hermitage.

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Demolition of Shenango Valley Mall underway

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expected to be a new era for the site.

The mall property is owned by Butterfli Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Flicore LLC. Butterfli plans to demolish then redevelop the former mall property in the center of Hermitage’s business district at North Hermitage Road and East State Street.

Hermitage city officials also have plans for development around the property, creating a mixed-use city center.

Fencing to secure the site was erected around the mall shortly after Christmas, with the demolition beginning earlier this week. Some debris will be sold for scrap, such as concrete blocks that can be crushed and resold for concrete.

As the demolition progresses, crews will work from Macy’s toward the former Sears at the far, opposite end. While passersby may not notice at first, the exterior of the building will come down “very quickly” toward the end of the project, Lauren said.

With the utilities disconnected, the only natural lighting inside the mall comes from small skylights and the few large, glass-door entrances.

Lauren said it was surreal being inside of the mall, which used to contain about three dozen storefronts and three department- store anchors. The mall closed in May after the last of those three anchors, JC Penney, closed, along with a handful of remaining small shops.

“All of us used to visit the mall growing up, and our parents and grandparents shopped here, so seeing it so empty now feels really weird,” Lauren said.

Certain storefronts are completely empty, while others still contain shelves or signage, such as the former MasterCuts or King’s Jewelry.

“The merchandise was completely gone before the demo work started. I hoped to find something left behind at King’s Jewelry, but everything was gone,” Lauren said with a laugh.

Sereday’s has demolished other large buildings in the past, such as the former Huntington bank office tower in downtown Sharon in 2023 and the former Hermitage Middle School, which closed in 2008 and stood across North Hermitage Road from the mall.

But while those projects may have featured multiple floors, the Shenango Valley Mall is probably the largest project in terms of width for Sereday’s.

“This building is about 500,000 square feet,” Lauren said.

An excavator demolishes the former Macy’s section of the Shenango Valley Mall on Tuesday in Hermitage.

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The former MasterCuts inside the Shenango Valley Mall during demolition on Tuesday in Hermitage.

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A cluster of benches next to a Shenango Valley Mall directory during demolition of the mall on Tuesday in Hermitage.

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