Middletown Commons nearing 80% capacity as officials plan new developments

“That’s more than expected, but well-deserved and needed,” Biafora said. “It had to be done right.”

Biafora said that while it took several years, the infrastructure for the project is complete, including water, storm water, sewage and electrical work in the main building, as well as major work done to the parking lot and the installation of a new entrance to the property at the intersection by Walmart.

“The 400,000-square-foot structure is reworked and rewired with a new roof,” Biafora said. “Everything is basically done. There is some space available — about 70,000 or 75,000 square feet — that needs to be built out on the interior, maybe some storefronts and plumbing and HVAC work, for individual businesses or whatever may go in. Then we’re going to start a new 10,000- or 12,000-square-feet building in between Aldi and the car wash that will house a couple of [restaurants] and retail.”

Premier Commercial Real Estate salesperson Jonathan Howard, who deals with the leasing of Middletown Commons storefronts and spaces, said the Commons is between 75% and 80% full.

He said it’s important for the property to have a variety of tenants that include restaurants, small retail businesses, national chains, hospitals and more in order to create a one-stop location for anyone’s needs or wants.

“With the sheer size of the Commons, we need a diverse portfolio of tenants,” Howard said. “With a project of that size, you have to do a little bit of everything. It’s important that there are both mom-and-pop businesses as well as national tenants because ... there can be these large fronts where we have these deep spaces and, towards the middle [of the building], we have shallow spaces where the mom-and-pops can go. ...

“It couldn’t just be like an old mall where there are 30,000- or 40,000-square-foot spaces and it all gets leased. That’s just not possible, and it’s not where the market for something like this is today. ... It’s a very fluid, cohesive plan where everything flows together.”

Howard said there are several large chunks of space along the building that are yet to be filled, but noted that he and his team are consistently in talks with businesses to come open shop at the Middletown Commons.

Biafora further explained that a 5-mile stretch of land to the northeast of the Commons is also set for development. He said the land will be home to new housing, a car dealership and other businesses.

Biafora noted that General Acquisitions purchased this area long before it was interested in the mall, and he said housing is just as big a need in the area as retail, with the company already investing $11 million in developing the area.

“It really is going to fit in with the [Commons] with the shopping and convenience of having everything right there,” Biafora said. “Banking, living, working, hospital, food or retail, you name it, we got it, and that’s pretty darn cool. ...

“This is very important. TJ Contracting will be building approximately 98 to 100 homes, and our sons are going to build 48 apartments right before the gates of Canterbury. You’ve got to have rentals, patio homes, single homes and [homes] for families, and we’ll have every part of the mix.”

Although General Acquisitions has spent more than anticipated on the Middletown Commons project, Biafora said it’s a worthwhile investment, noting the high demand for such a location and the support from the local community.

“(Marion County) has always been a loyal community, and they’re supporting it,” Biafora said. “It was always there. It just took someone like my brother and I to go in there and totally revamp it and make something proud. As the old saying goes from ‘Field of Dreams,’ build it and they will come. They were already going there, but they needed a better, accessible pathway.”

Howard shared his sentiment.

“For Marion County, this means a lot,” Howard said. “In Monongalia County, you have so many different things. There are a lot of these different powerhouse commercial areas in Mon County, and in Harrison County, there are a handful, too. ... In Marion County, it seemed like Middletown was the hub, and it was the first mall in West Virginia, but because it had that lack [of care] over time, Marion County didn’t have a commercial hub like this for a while. ...

“It’s a placemaking spot now for Marion County, and that’s the biggest difference of what it was, what it’s become and why it’s so important for Marion County to have that.”

While the work isn’t yet complete, Biafora is proud of what the Middletown Commons has become, and he’s excited to get even more businesses — ranging from national chains to locally owned stores — settled in the complex.

“This has been the most gratifying project we’ve ever done,” Biafora said. “Marion County welcomed us with open arms, and we were able to express and do what we wanted to do that we thought would work and was well-needed. We put it together with very little negativity or obstruction. It’s been really, really good. ...

“Everybody has been so supportive and complimentary. (At first), a lot of people said ‘Why?’ We’re entrepreneurs, we’re capitalists and this was an opportunity and we just had to put the gloves on and go to work. Our grandmothers on both sides are from Marion County. The roots started there; what can we say?”