The expansion and renovation of the Nittany Mall is among four Centre Region shopping centers scheduled to be renovated or built in the near future, a county official says.

The $10.7 million facelift of the Nittany Mall will be the first of many additions to shopping areas in the Centre County area, said Harry Burd, Centre County's code administration director. Other locations for planned malls include College, Ferguson and Patton townships, he said.

"The expansion of the (Nittany) Mall is very positive for us," said Sears manager Josh Toby. "It will more than double the size of our present store."

Although Crown America - the mall's owner -- and mall representatives are still negotiating about the department's reconstruction and expansion, the store is pleased about the change, Toby said.

The addition to the mall is to be named later by the merchant being added, said Crown America representative Chris Menna.

"The proposed store to be added is J. C. Penney, but it is not official," Menna said. "The management of the store will be up to the discretion of the merchant."

Renovating the mall will be the first step in the facelift plan, Burd said, and Mall merchants also were encouraged to modernize their storefronts.

A second mall planned to open across from the Nittany Mall would further increase shopping options in the State College area, Toby said.

The Patt, Inc., organization of Holidaysburg is planning construction of a mall on the Benner Pike to beginning in late August, said David Petal, Patt's commercial development officer.

"The mall will have four anchor stores," Petal said. "One will be a supermarket of 52,000 square feet and a clothing store of 22,000 square feet."

Petal said the anchor merchants --the main stores in malls that traditionally draw the largest volume of customers -- have been selected, but cannot be announced yet. The two remaining anchor stores for the mall will be major retail merchants, he added.

"Another mall is being built off of Clinton Avenue (in Ferguson Township)," Burd said. "The main store is being built now and they have plans into our office for some strip stores along there."

Strip stores are smaller, specialty merchants who fill in the space between the anchor stores in malls, he said.

A mall on Waddle Road in Patton Township is in the planning stages under Federated National Inc., 810 Cricklewood Drive, Burd said.

"There is a site called Toftrees Corner where we are talking to developers about (possibly building) a mall," Federated National Consultant Don McCormick said.

Menna said eight Crown American malls at various locations will see renovation; seven include expansion, he said.

"Crown America looks at its properties and tries to improve," Menna said. "Some malls are on their second and even third renovation."

A Crown America mall in Uniontown is presently under transition, Menna said, while one mall in Maryland will join the remainder of five Crown American malls in transition later this year.