The Bon-Ton store has been an anchor at Warren Mall since 1979.

An Allentown Democrat wants the state to do more to help redevelop shopping malls around the state that find themselves in positions similar to the Warren Mall.

There were once around 2,500 shopping malls in the United States, according to an October Wall Street Journal article, with consultant Nick Egalanian telling the newspaper he expects there to be fewer than 150 malls remaining by 2032. Egalanian, the president of retail consulting firm Siteworks, the malls that remain will offer a mix of entertainment, restaurants and a few luxury stores.

That means there are hundreds of underused buildings waiting for a new use — and House Rep. Joshua Siegel, D-Allentown, is proposing the state help Pennsylvania municipalities and developers create new lives for the state’s vacant or underused mall properties.

“Shopping malls were once a staple of American culture, but with consumers seeking out online shopping and the closure of stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many shopping malls and plazas have been left vacant and leave an eyesore for the surrounding community,” Siegel wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “Municipalities have proposed revitalizing shopping malls into mixed-use development communities, but developers see these projects as very costly and are hesitant to take on such a vast job.”

Siegel is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation that would create incentives to turn malls into mixed use areas by requiring the state Department of Community and Economic Development department to establish an outreach program to make municipalities aware of help available to redevelop shopping malls. The legislation is also likely to include an authorization for local tax breaks for shopping mall redevelopment, a tax credit for businesses located in a redeveloped mall, a grant program to help modernize infrastructure for mall redevelopment sites funded by the Shopping Mall Infrastructure Fund and a state reinvestment of tax revenues generated by businesses in the redevelopment site into the Shopping Mall Infrastructure Fund.

“Municipalities deserve a fair shot at redeveloping outdated properties,” Siegel wrote. “Pennsylvania has a need for quality and affordable housing, this bill provides options to help solve these challenges.”

In 2021, California passed legislation that would allow developers to build new housing on the site of vacant malls without changing local zoning laws that prohibit housing in such commercial areas, one of the first states to allow multi-family housing on commercial sites statewide, according to the Associated Press. Many local governments opposed the measure while state lawmakers said the move was necessary to meet increasing demand for housing in California.