The College Township Council approved spending more than $150,000 to repair a sinkhole on Nittany Mall property, but officials said they’ll get the money back from the mall’s owners, through a municipal lien if necessary.
Located in the stormwater basin between the Rural King parking lot and College Avenue, the sinkhole opened up in December 2023 and has remained unrepaired since then, despite the township filing several civil complaints against the Nittany Mall’s owners.
The sinkhole was deemed a “civilian safety hazard” by Assistant Township Engineer Jere Northridge, with Solicitor Mark Lingousky saying the sinkhole’s proximity to the road is another reason why the repair job needs to get done quickly.
Talks between College Township and Namdar Realty Group, the mall’s owners, about how to fix the sinkhole were going smoothly until April, when the group dropped communications with the township, Assistant Township Manager Mike Bloom said.
“Initially Namdar (Realty Group) had worked on that project and was moving ahead in terms of doing what they are required to do to mitigate the problems with that sinkhole,” Bloom said. “They stopped work on that in April, and since that time the township has tried multiple times to reengage them in this process to no avail.”
Earlier this month, College Township filed another civil complaint against Namdar Realty Group, seeking $12,000 in enforcement penalties for not fixing the issue. Excavation work initiated by Namdar stopped in late April after a secondary sinkhole was discovered, according to the complaint.
“No work has been done since the initial stoppage and College Township has received no plans for corrective or timeline for work,” the complaint states.
Namdar Realty Group did not respond to a request for comment.
At July’s College Township Council meeting, the council voted to take bids for the project of repairing the sinkhole. On Thursday, the council voted to accept the lowest bidder — HGI, Inc., with a bid of $153,490.
All costs will be backcharged to Namdar, according to the meeting’s agenda.
“College Township will provide an opportunity for the property owner to make that repayment in a timely manner,” Bloom wrote in an email to the CDT. “If that does not occur, a municipal lien against the property can by levied to ensure repayment.”
In addition to the $12,000 in enforcement penalties the township is seeking through the lawsuit for Namdar being in violation of the township’s stormwater management ordinances, the township’s ordinance provides for a fine of up to $1,000 per day for each day that a violation of the ordinance exists until work is done that helps correct the issue.
The August complaint also states that the township intends to continue filing for additional penalties. Namdar has not paid any of the fees owed to the township yet, Bloom said.
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