On Thursday, Keith White and Son Excavating was tearing out walls, ceilings, and roof in the area just south of the main Bon-Ton entrance.

“Demolition has started and we expect to be completed in a few weeks,” Cocca Development of Boardman, Ohio, President Anthony Cocca said.

For now, that entrance and the main north-south hallway will remain intact, according to Keith White.

Inside the mall, there are places where visitors can look through windows and doors on the west side of the hallway and see the demolition in progress.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Keith White and Son Excavating is demolishing large, unused sections of Warren Mall. The owner’s plan is to turn the mall in an open-air center.

According to White, the company will be doing demolition of sections of about 60-feet in length on both sides of the main entrance.

“What we’re doing right now is going to be parking lot,” White said.

There are still businesses in areas that Cocca Development, the owner of the mall, has said will be eventually torn down.

“We are finishing up a Shoe Department suite next to Ollie’s right now and plan to turn over to them in September,” Cocca said. “They are the larger format that Shoe Show owns.”

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry The view from inside of Warren Mall includes demolition of some of the space to the west of the mall corridor.