MANITOWOC (WLUK) -- "End of an era. Beginning of another!"

That's how Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels described the completion of demolition at the former Manitowoc mall sites.

"The Mid-Cities mall buildings have all been demolished as of today, with the former Younkers being the final building to be demolished," Nickels wrote in a social media post Thursday. "Crews will continue to be on site through spring cleaning up and ripping up the foundations. Then the site will be flat and seeded."

It was in the early 2000s that stores at the Mid Cities and Lakeshore malls started leaving, as commerce in Manitowoc shifted to the southwest part of town where Interstate 41 was built. As a result, the malls' buildings and lots have been demolished and/or sitting vacant for years.

40 new single-family homes and more than 150 multi-family units are planned for the site. There will also be room for several commercial businesses, like restaurants, to move in.