BOARDMAN — A venue that mixes craft beers, specialty coffee, baked goods and indoor amusement is among several entertainment concepts that will anchor the redevelopment at the Southern Park Mall.

Mall operators Washington Prime Group Inc. announced Monday that Steel Valley Brew Works will overlook and connect to DeBartolo Commons, the outdoor athletic and entertainment green space and event venue at the former Sears location.

It’s billed as a “new-to-market concept” imagined by Joshua Langenheim, a Youngstown native and owner / operator of StoneFruit Coffee, which already has stores in Boardman, Youngstown, Cornersburg and Columbiana.

The newest store will occupy about 12,000 square feet inside the mall. There will be coffee roasting on site and indoor bocce courts, billiards, pinball, foosball and other leisure games.

Washington Prime Group said it expects to announce more entertainment anchors in the near future, including an indoor golf and entertainment venue and a well-known local restaurant that will operate in with the 37,000-square-feet of renovated space at the mall.

The demolition of the former Sears building is expected to be complete in mid-December. The demolition of the former Sears Auto Center location is complete.

DeBartolo Commons is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020.

Change at the mall was a topic for the fall dinner meeting of the Boardman Civic Association.

Matt Jurkowitz, vice president of Washington Prime Group, discussed how the transformation will make Southern Park Mall a hub of retail, dining, and entertainment in the area.

Jurkowitz said the group looked at what was needed to breathe new life into the mall. The concept was to come up with an outdoor green space that could be used for a variety of venues. Four acres were set aside for DeBartolo Commons that can play host to concerts, sporting events, festivals and gatherings. It was designed to make portable stages easy to move in and out.

“We are also working with Boardman Park and zoning to bring a bike trail connector to the commons,” Jurkowitz said. “We will have a bike station for riders to stop at.”

Jurkowitz added there are plans for a skating rink, splash pad, and an indoor golf facility as well as more restaurants. “We’ll be announcing more new companies soon,” he said.

He added that most of the new venues presented are hoped to be finished in time for the 2020 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Southern Park Mall. That celebration will take place some time in October

Also speaking was John Kufleitner, owner and dealer principal for Boardman Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. He said when he considered opening a store in Boardman, he was up against the rules limiting multiple dealerships in neighboring markets. Kefleitner already owned a dealership in Salem and one in Columbiana.

“To open Boardman, we had to sell one of our other dealerships,” he said.

The decision was made to sell the Salem one and keep Columbiana. which he felt would handle the whole of Columbiana County.

As for the new dealership, Kufleitner said it will sit on 18 developed acres that will include an 18-vehicle showroom. He told those at the dinner he hopes to be opened in December as a lot of the finishing details are being installed now.

Another speaker was Krista Beniston, Boardman zoning and development director, on how Boardman zoning has, and is, changing to encourage business and residential investment within the township.

“We are trying to rework our code so both business and residential property owners can invest in Boardman,” she said. “We are trying to set new standards while staying flexible.”

Reporter Ron Selak contributed to this report.

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