PUYALLUP

It will open a year later than originally planned, but South Hill Mall's expansion has begun.

The 400,000-square-foot addition, with new anchors The Bon Marche, Sears and J.C. Penny, will open next fall, says a Cafaro official. The addition is larger, and at $35 million to $45 million, more expensive than originally conceived.

Don DeSalvo, West Coast operations director for Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro, says sewer systems are expected to be completed before winter. Construction will start on the two-level building in the spring. The addition will be attached to the existing mall and contain another 90,000 square feet for small shops.

Mike Casey, the city planning and development head, said the project was delayed earlier this year because the company, city and Pierce County extended negotiations on how much Cafaro would pay to lessen the project's impacts. Cafaro has agreed to pay more than $5.7 million for road, sidewalk, sewer and other on- and off-site projects, to accommodate the bigger mall.

DeSalvo would not detail why the project is late.

The projects Cafaro must pay for include one on-ramp and one off-ramp accessing State Route 512 from 94th Avenue East. The mall, located off Meridian Street near 512, was built in 1988.

DeSalvo says the company has pre-leased some of the small store space in the addition. Sales at the mall have been good, he says, but he would not provide figures.

"Puyallup is a growth market," says DeSalvo. "The disposable income is there, and the demographics are there."

When completed, South Hill will be more than 900,000 square feet in size. Mervyn's, Lamonts and Target are the mall's existing anchors.