Sun Vet Mall in Holbrook gets new name, The Shops at SunVet, with $87 million revamp
An artist's rendering of the Whole Foods Market coming to Sun Vet Mall in Holbrook, which has been renamed The Shops at SunVet. Credit: Regency Centers
Sun Vet Mall’s $87 million revamp as a shopping center will come with a new name.
The nearly vacant Holbrook property has been renamed The Shops at SunVet, according to the lead developer in the plan to transform the long-struggling property.
Last month, the Town of Islip approved Regency Centers Corp.’s revised site plan that retains more of the mall's current building in the redevelopment project. The overhaul will convert the property to an open-air shopping center with a more upscale mix of tenants, including a Whole Foods Market.
“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to re-use the existing structure to minimize waste, while providing all of the new design features and amenities demanded by today’s top retailers. Our planned lineup includes many stores new to the area,” Rebecca Wing, Regency vice president of investments, said in a statement Tuesday.
Newsday reported in May that Whole Foods, which will be the biggest tenant in the shopping center, is expected to open its 40,000-square-foot supermarket in 2025. Next year, a freestanding Starbucks with two drive-thrus, one for mobile orders only, but no indoor seating, will arrive.
Also, leases recently have been signed for a 3,173-square-foot, freestanding Wells Fargo bank branch and 3,500-square-foot Aspen Dental, both of which will open when Whole Foods opens, Wing told Newsday on Tuesday.
Citibank and Sun Vet Wines and Liquors are the only two tenants left in the mall. Citibank will remain open until it relocates to its new 3,800-square-foot, freestanding building in the shopping center in late 2024, Regency said. The liquor store will be relocating from the property.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market IP Inc., which has six stores on Long Island, did not respond to Newsday’s requests for comment.
Built in 1973 at 5801 Sunrise Hwy., the once-bustling, 282,000-square-foot Sun Vet Mall, which sits on 18 acres, has been losing tenants for years, including two major anchors — an approximately 100,000-square-foot Toys R Us store and a 60,000-square-foot Pathmark supermarket that closed after their parent companies filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
Regency plans to convert the mall into a 168,000-square-foot shopping center, including the six smaller outparcels that will be constructed around the main building.
In May, the Islip town board approved the site plan for the mall’s redevelopment that originally called for reducing the existing mall building to 134,000 square feet.
But Regency revised the plan, so that some of the mall's left side could be salvaged as a separate building.
The revisions call for the left side of the mall to be converted to a 28,850-square-foot row of shops, instead of that portion of the structure being demolished as had been originally planned, Wing said.
The right side of the mall will become the shopping center's main building, with 115,900 square feet for tenants, including Whole Foods.
The changes were made “to meet the layout requirements of our retailers, to be more marketable to today’s retail tenants,” said Wing, who added that the changes will create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
Demolition of parts of the mall’s interior started last summer and exterior demolition will begin soon, she said. New construction will start in the spring and most of the exterior work on the project should be done by 2025, Wing said.
Blumenfeld Development Group Ltd., or BDG, in Syosset signed a 99-year ground lease for Sun Vet Mall in summer 2022 with plans to redevelop it.
Last May, BDG entered into a joint venture with Regency, which holds a majority interest in the deal, to redevelop the mall.
Regency became a partner on the ground lease for the site, and will oversee leasing and operations for the property.
A Jacksonville, Florida-based real estate investment trust, Regency owns or has interest in 480 properties, mostly retail, across the nation, including 11 on Long Island.
Sun Vet Mall’s $87 million revamp as a shopping center will come with a new name.
The nearly vacant Holbrook property has been renamed The Shops at SunVet, according to the lead developer in the plan to transform the long-struggling property.
Last month, the Town of Islip approved Regency Centers Corp.’s revised site plan that retains more of the mall's current building in the redevelopment project. The overhaul will convert the property to an open-air shopping center with a more upscale mix of tenants, including a Whole Foods Market.
“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to re-use the existing structure to minimize waste, while providing all of the new design features and amenities demanded by today’s top retailers. Our planned lineup includes many stores new to the area,” Rebecca Wing, Regency vice president of investments, said in a statement Tuesday.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Sun Vet Mall in Holbrook has been renamed The Shops at SunVet as part of an $87 million revamp of the property.
- Whole Foods, Starbucks, Wells Fargo and Aspen Dental have signed leases for the site.
- New construction will start in the spring and most of the exterior work is due to be done by 2025.
Newsday reported in May that Whole Foods, which will be the biggest tenant in the shopping center, is expected to open its 40,000-square-foot supermarket in 2025. Next year, a freestanding Starbucks with two drive-thrus, one for mobile orders only, but no indoor seating, will arrive.
Also, leases recently have been signed for a 3,173-square-foot, freestanding Wells Fargo bank branch and 3,500-square-foot Aspen Dental, both of which will open when Whole Foods opens, Wing told Newsday on Tuesday.
Citibank and Sun Vet Wines and Liquors are the only two tenants left in the mall. Citibank will remain open until it relocates to its new 3,800-square-foot, freestanding building in the shopping center in late 2024, Regency said. The liquor store will be relocating from the property.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market IP Inc., which has six stores on Long Island, did not respond to Newsday’s requests for comment.
Built in 1973 at 5801 Sunrise Hwy., the once-bustling, 282,000-square-foot Sun Vet Mall, which sits on 18 acres, has been losing tenants for years, including two major anchors — an approximately 100,000-square-foot Toys R Us store and a 60,000-square-foot Pathmark supermarket that closed after their parent companies filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
Work has begun on the revamp of Sun Vet Mall in Holbrook. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Change of plans
Regency plans to convert the mall into a 168,000-square-foot shopping center, including the six smaller outparcels that will be constructed around the main building.
In May, the Islip town board approved the site plan for the mall’s redevelopment that originally called for reducing the existing mall building to 134,000 square feet.
But Regency revised the plan, so that some of the mall's left side could be salvaged as a separate building.
The revisions call for the left side of the mall to be converted to a 28,850-square-foot row of shops, instead of that portion of the structure being demolished as had been originally planned, Wing said.
The right side of the mall will become the shopping center's main building, with 115,900 square feet for tenants, including Whole Foods.
The changes were made “to meet the layout requirements of our retailers, to be more marketable to today’s retail tenants,” said Wing, who added that the changes will create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
Demolition of parts of the mall’s interior started last summer and exterior demolition will begin soon, she said. New construction will start in the spring and most of the exterior work on the project should be done by 2025, Wing said.
Blumenfeld Development Group Ltd., or BDG, in Syosset signed a 99-year ground lease for Sun Vet Mall in summer 2022 with plans to redevelop it.
Last May, BDG entered into a joint venture with Regency, which holds a majority interest in the deal, to redevelop the mall.
Regency became a partner on the ground lease for the site, and will oversee leasing and operations for the property.
A Jacksonville, Florida-based real estate investment trust, Regency owns or has interest in 480 properties, mostly retail, across the nation, including 11 on Long Island.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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