Bon-Ton Stores Inc., the national department store company that owns Younkers, announced the “dual-anchor format” plan will begin construction in January and be completed by fall of 2008.

“The idea here is that we’re not just adding square footage onto the existing store, but that Younkers will execute an anchoring of this mall by occupying another corner,” said Mary Kerr, vice president of public and investor relations for Bon-Ton Stores.

The growth will bring Younkers’ presence at Meridian Mall to 168,000 square feet, or more than one-sixth of the mall’s leasing space. Both stores will undergo renovations, but the existing store will remain open, Meridian Mall spokeswoman Claudia Bleil said.

Kerr said the additional space will allow the store to add to its existing product lines and brands. The existing two-level store will house an expanded selection of women’s products. Men’s, kids’ and home items will move into the new store.

Gail Martin, a DeWitt resident shopping at the existing store Sunday, said she comes to the Younkers about four times a week. While it’s one of her favorite stores, Martin said she is hesitant of the plan to separate women’s products from men’s, kids’ and home.

“If (Younkers) needs more room, that makes sense because the old Mervyns has been empty for so long,” she said. “I just wouldn’t want to have to walk from one end of the mall to the other, because sometimes I shop for the home, sometimes I’m shopping for my son and sometimes for me.”

Bleil said a flow of traffic between the two stores could benefit other stores, as well.

“Younkers is a store that has a strong appeal to our market,” she said. “When you have that kind of success and you’re able to expand on it in this way, every one of the spaces between these two stores have an opportunity to bring in more shoppers.”

Bon-Ton Stores set a deadline to complete the expansion by early September next year. Bleil said it will be critical that deadline is met before back-to-school and holiday shopping, when the mall does most of its business.