STEUBENVILLE — The owners of Fort Steuben Mall have been given 30 days to address numerous building and property maintenance violations or face possible closure of much of the facility.

City building inspectors declared large portions of the mall “unsafe for occupancy and uninhabitable,” with the affected area beginning just beyond the Great American Cookies storefront.

The order does not affect the standalone buildings occupied by 7 Ranges Entertainment and Walmart. The JCPenney location also could remain open if a temporary floor-to-ceiling wall is constructed to separate it from the rest of the mall.

Inspectors also cited concerns at 3 Bad Hombres, where officials said alleged structural instability near interior entrance doors will require the business to either install an additional code-compliant exit at its front entrance or reduce occupancy to 50 people.

Businesses located in the mall’s main entrance corridor — including Touch of Elegance Bakery and The Ville Restaurant — could remain open if a temporary floor-to-ceiling wall is installed to isolate that section from the remainder of the mall.

Businesses outside that corridor may be forced to close unless temporary walls are installed and required repairs are completed. City officials said some businesses could relocate to the main entrance corridor during the repair process.

In a two-page notice sent to mall ownership, inspectors cited numerous alleged safety hazards and code violations, including shifting storefront facades with displaced glass panels, uneven flooring with major concrete deviations, broken skylight glass, ongoing roof leaks extending into storefronts and common areas, odors indicating possible mold or mildew and large potholes in parking areas.

Inspectors said any temporary walls must be designed by a licensed professional and include accessible entry points for emergency responders. The city also is requiring professional repair drawings, structural evaluations and mold and air-quality assessments before repair work can begin. Once plans are approved, ownership would have 180 days to complete repairs.

“Failure to comply with this notice shall result in further enforcement action by the city, including, but not limited to, condemnation, issuance of violation and any additional remedies permitted under applicable codes and ordinances,” Code Official Tim Maurer wrote in the notice.

Maurer also stated the city requested a corrective action plan from mall ownership in February but had not received a response.

City Manager Mike Johnson described the situation as serious, saying the city had attempted to work with the mall’s owners but could not continue allowing potentially unsafe conditions to remain.

“The building department didn’t have to go through all this,” he said. “They could have just made it, rendered it, uninhabitable, everybody (get) out, but that wasn’t what we wanted to do.”