Logan Valley Mall stores struggle with power outages
Ten retailers forced to temporarily close
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Businesses within the Logan Valley Mall have reportedly lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after a transformer blew out three weeks ago and forced 10 stores to temporarily close.
Jamie Powers, an assistant manager of Joseph Jacob Jewelers, on the second floor of the mall, said he hasn't been able to enter his store for nearly three weeks because the gate is electric and has been affected by the power outage.
Joseph Jacob Jewelers is down about $45,000 in sales from the outage, Powers said, noting the whole mall has been impacted by a lack of foot traffic.
"I talked to the guys at T-Mobile this morning, and their boss is yelling at them because they have done hardly any business," Powers said. "There's nobody coming into the mall. It's almost like it's deserted."
Other businesses that have been directly impacted by the outage include Victoria's Secret, Helen's Chinese Massage, Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters, Maurices, Auntie Anne's, Hot Topic, Torrid and a Veterans Supporting Veterans Group storefront on the first floor, according to Powers, who estimated a total loss of about $500,000 within the mall over the past three weeks because of the power issues.
A black box in a closed, vacant store reportedly went out Friday, June 26, though Powers said he believes it happened the night of Thursday, June 25.
"They don't know if it was caused by mice or if it was caused by water because the roof leaks, so it's one or the other," Powers said. "Because of that, it blew a transformer. They tried to get it repaired, but they can't repair it. It's going to have to be replaced."
The New York-based Namdar Realty Group, which owns the mall, reportedly has another transformer and is in the process of getting it to the Logan Valley Mall, according to Powers.
"It's going to be here in a few days, but they still can't tell us when or how," Powers said.
Powers said the mall reportedly has a mold issue and a problem with mice and gnats.
Up until about a week ago, there was a contaminated water problem after a valve and a pipe broke, around the same time the transformer blew out, Powers said.
"The water was contaminated and you had to boil water, so nobody was using the water," he said. "And the parking garage is in bad shape, too."
According to Powers, Qscapes, a full-service aquascaping and terrarium studio located in the mall, reportedly lost more than $100,000 in fish that died because of the water.
Signs posted within the mall advise people to follow the "Maurices (Altoona, PA)" Facebook page to stay up to date for when the store will reopen.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.