Hills Plaza South, the shopping center off of South Atherton, is currently undergoing massive expansions to modernize its stores.
Recent lease negotiations with Weis Markets spearheaded the renovations and expansions for the entire shopping center, says Anthony Vita, president of Vita & Vita Realty Corp. and owner of Hills Plaza South.
“You don’t remodel for the sake of remodeling,” Vita says. “But when your anchor tenant sets forth what they want to look like, you need to model the other stores around that.”
Interior renovations of Weis Markets began in December and exterior renovations along with an expansion began in June, according to a news release from Vita & Vita Realty Corp.
Local architect Albert A. Drobka and Veronesi Construction will complete the remodeling for the remaining 111,000 sq. ft. of Hills Plaza South.
There are only four stores still available for lease in Hills Plaza South, says Vita. New tenants have signed leases in Hills Plaza South, including Pella Windows, H20 To Go and Huntington Learning Centers.
H20 To Go was previously located in the Weis Market in Hills Plaza South, Vita says, but will now have its own store where customers can conveniently go to fill up their bottles and jugs with purified water.
Renovations for the smaller stores should be done in two to three weeks and Weis Markets in September.
Ace Hardware of Hills Plaza South was remodeled three years ago which began the process of modernizing the shopping center. Clothes Mentor was also added to the shopping center two years ago as well as Kid to Kid one year ago.
McDonald’s of Hills Plaza has also signed a new 20 year lease, according to the news release.
Vita says that Hills Plaza’s Taco Bell will undergo exterior and interior changes in the upcoming fall and winter, respectively. “It will be a complete renovation.”
Hills Plaza will also have annual seasonal tenants in many of the stores, including Amish Farmers Market, The Flower Tent, State College Mulch, Keystone’s Fourth of July Tent, Associated Realty’s Student Sign-In, Auctions by Stere and Toys for Tots.
Campus Skooters, a company that leases and sells motor scooters, is also a new Hills Plaza addition.
