HERMITAGE, Pa. – Imagination is the key that will revitalize and restore glory to the American shopping mall, according to Pennsylvania realtor Jim Sarvas.

Sarvas is the realtor charged with the task of filling the vacant spaces at the quickly emptying Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage, a small city in western Pennsylvania.

“We have to think past the ordinary,” Sarvas said.

Sarvas, a commercial Realtor for Northwood Realty, has a long career in Pennsylvania’s Shenango Valley as an entrepreneur and businessman.

Possibilities being kicked around to include museums, libraries, restaurants, bowling alleys, golf simulators, indoor racing with electric cars, hotels and even – large retailers.

“These are successful things that have worked elsewhere,” he said, adding some ideas likely won’t do.

“I don’t think creating office space at the mall is going to work,” Sarvas said. “There’s already enough office space in the area.”

Since the start of the year, the mall has been shedding stores. Macy’s and Sears, two of its anchor tenants, have closed. Other smaller stores such as entertainment media retailer f.y.e. and, more recently, the rue21 teen apparel store have also pulled the plug.

Large retailers across the country like Macy’s, Sears and JC Penny, are closing their bricks-and-mortar stores as more consumers shift their buying habits online. One third, about 400 of the 1,100 enclosed malls in nation, are expected to close in the coming years, retail analyst Jan Kniffen told CNBC last year. 

“This isn’t just a Shenango Valley situation, it’s happening all over the country,” Sarvas said. “But there are malls doing wonderful things to get people back into the retail stores.”

Failing malls across the country have added attractions like aquariums, farmers markets, ice rinks, dog runs, cooking demonstrations and even wedding venues to bring them back to life. The country’s first ever enclosed mall, The Westminster Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island, closed in 2008 after 180 years in business. The Arcade reopened in 2013 to include 48 small loft apartments, with some retailers, restaurants and coffee shops operating below.

Like any other business, malls – and retailers – have their ups and downs, Sarvas said. Built in 1969, the Shenango Valley Mall was the hottest thing in town.

“When the mall concept first developed, there was a waiting list to get in,” he said.

Yet, while a number of retailers are hurting, by no means does that mean the entire industry is dead. Sarvas said one retailer has expressed interest in the open spaces, but he declined to name it.

Charles Bestwick is a former Realtor who is not involved in soliciting new tenants to the Hermitage mall. But, he said, his experience tells him the mall will need major changes to succeed.

“I’ve gotten very few comments or questions about the mall from local people,” Bestwick said. “It tells me the general public has accepted the fact there’s not much there or much of a reason to go there.”

Regardless, Sarvas said the mall is willing to talk turkey when it comes to offering deals.

“Believe me, we are willing to be very flexible,” he said.

Roknick writes for the Sharon, Pennsylvania Herald.