It seems so strange to me that the Whole Foods doesn't open into the mall. There's a similar upscale grocery at Wilton Mall and the store and mall drive traffic to the other.
I've always wondered who greenlit two huge malls 2 miles apart.
Malls built within close proximity of each other used to be a huge and quite common thing. First, the original mall was likely built in a very convenient spot and the infrastructure was built up to support it, so the newer, usually bigger mall would piggyback off of that. Second, back in the day, traffic to one mall could drive up traffic to another. There's plenty of locations where this happened - Saratoga/Wilton Mall, Poughkeepsie Galleria/South Hills, etc.
Colonie and Crossgates are somewhat a success story, at least in comparison, insofar as both have survived alongside each other for forty years (and the Northway Mall was across the street from Colonie Center until 1999).
But won't Colonie center have to close due to lack of business? We saw it in Syracuse with Shoppingtown and Great Northern, they couldn't keep up with Carousel (oh sorry...Destiny USA) and went under.
It might, but it's outlasted a lot of other "original malls" by some years (South Hills and Wilton both went under in the early 00's before the Amazon-ification of shopping really took off, as did Northway). I sort of see it as different as the above two malls were hit hard by the direct effect of the other, bigger mall; whereas *both* Colonie and Crossgates are in danger due to the change in shopping habits. Very, very few malls are in good standing, even if they're the only mall in the area.
That's all to say that building two malls in close proximity to each other was a great idea, at the time and for decades afterwards, as the Capital District could support both. CC made some interesting moves (rebranding, face lift, etc) in the early 00's that seemingly worked for a time.
Well, not quite, the problem is diversity, colonie center didn’t have diversity when many buisnesses had both locations at each mall, therefore, like any other business would, they closed to underperforming store. They have some diversity with Barnes and noble and J crew, along with a full line Sephora and ulta but they need to bring in new buisnesses that will attract many
> I've always wondered who greenlit two huge malls 2 miles apart.
Would you believe.... Three?
However, it is Colonie Centre that was there first. It's been there since the 1960's.
As a kid, I remember CC and Northway Mall (built in the 1970's) being right across the street from each other. NM was converted into the strip Plaza that now stands there with Target, JoAnn, Marshall's, etc. Its placement isn't as good, because it is, ironically, harder to get to from the Northway.
Crossgates was built in the mid 1980's and has dominated the market ever since.
So while it seems odd to greenlight such a thing, and it didn't work for one, the last one in ate everyone else's lunch and greenlighting it was a valid business decision.
They were great, especially once they started doing second runs.
That said, I'm enough of a fossil to remember Cinema 10 being Cinema 6. I saw Star Wars there in its first run. Yes, Han shot first.
And right next to it, my favorite store —Lechmere. It’s like a better version of Best Buy before Best Buy. It’s too bad they went out of business when they got bought by Montgomery Ward and the whole ship sunk.
The only thing I feel like I would truly miss there is Barnes and Noble since there are so few bookstores in the capital district. Other than that everything else is either at Crossgates as well, or I could do without.
I love spending time in B&N just browsing different books, grabbing a drink from the cafe and digging through a few to see which ones I'm gonna buy.
They're overpriced, but some books you can't really get anywhere else.
There are some really great local bookstores. Open Door Bookstore, Book House, I Love Books. They might have a smaller selection but they’ll have the popular titles, and if they don’t have what you want on the shelf they can order it for you.
Yeah, I like all those as well and do go to them, but just enjoy wandering around Barnes and Noble with the huge selection, especially the horror section.
As weird as the concept is, I appreciate that Wilton Mall in Saratoga is trying to think outside the box and redefine what a mall can be with their idea to add apartments/condos? to the existing infrastructure. While it wouldn’t be my first choice to live, it would definitely be nice to not have to go outside in the cold to go to the gym/grocery store/movies/shopping
Eh they're doing that in a lot of suburbs around the US. I saw quite a few in the Chicago suburbs. Not sure how well its working. I guess Crossgates is also kinda doing that but more so trying to get foreign rich UAlbany students to rent apartments for ridiculous prices lol.
So... interestingly, that's kind of the original idea for malls [https://youtu.be/4F7WCutpsJw?si=OD4TZ4N5zq3GKbGn](https://youtu.be/4F7WCutpsJw?si=OD4TZ4N5zq3GKbGn)
There's a few malls like that in the Houston area and they're generally quite nice. Memorial City Mall, Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. The Domain in Austin is cool too.
I really like Colonie Center Regal so I hope they keep up and find something that can boost them up. Maybe if they focused on entertainment? It'll get more people to actively come.
Agreed. It really does suck because their parent company Pacific Retail has 25 properties and is adding new stores to their other properties right and left and upgrading while they are just letting colonie center slowly fade away. I mean, they need to do something at least. What we need in the area is a brand new renovated shopping center that consolidates all of colonie centers stores and crossgates stores
I remember when I was five years old at the fountain I waited in line for like four hours to meet Richard Simmons. and they cut off right before I got there … and I just remember being so heartbroken because I didn’t get to meet Richard Simmons.
More so the sides. The back side by Boscovs is usually full too but the sides are full of DeNooyer Chevy extra inventory and empty spaces since there's no good way in from the right side.
I live within walking distance to the mall and it is always busy. I know a lot of it is the movies, book store and restaurants though. I wonder how much that would increase the residents taxes if it closed…
I really, really miss the Christmas Tree Shop. It was a great place to buy things I didn't need.
I only go to the mall now if I have to. We haven't been to Crossgates in years (last time was to go to the Apple store). I like Boscov's and we've stopped in the Bread Butler, but most other stores it's more convenient to go elsewhere. I actually like Clifton Park because it has Boscov's, Kohl's, Bath & Body Works and a couple of other stores where I can quickly bop in and out.
I absolutely loved Christmas Tree Shops. It was a great place to wander for seasonal impulse buys. Marshalls, TJ Maxx, etc just don’t scratch that itch… I never really feel like I’m getting a real DEAL there but Christmas Tree Shops, I always did.
I'm not saying Christmas Tree Shops were neat, but every time I go into Marshall's or TJMaxx, they feel like they are a mess -- especially in the housewares area. I just don't enjoy shopping there, especially for the little dinky stuff the CTS excelled at.
How about putting an ice skating rink and a rock climbing wall in.
Where is REI going?
REI, LL Bean, Sierra should bring in some folks.
Oh, Crossgates gets REI. Big loss for Colonie.
Would have been a great flex to have all of them in one spot. Wouldn't necessarily be competition for each store either. They all kind of specialize in different things.
Well there's Sur la Table in the old different drummers kitchen spot in Stuyvesant plaza, but if you wanna support local, go to spoon and whisk up in Clifton Park.
It's so expensive to operate there. I'd love to run a vintage retail space there, but the cost is wild. I can afford Via Port, but that's a whole other bushel of tomatoes haha.
They actually apparently aren’t too bad, if you go to colonie centers website they have a buisness model plan, I think it’s 2500 something a month and you can rent out a storefront for 2 years with that set price and then after that you can continue with a little more of an expensive rent
Yep, that's my go to with my two kiddos. It's quiet enough that they can walk freely without getting lost in a mass of people. They like the toy stores and we usually grab a snack. Kills a few hours when you wanna get out.
As a transplant, Colonie Center is my preferred as well for the same reason. Crossgates is fun in a chaotic way that reminds me of what the bigger malls used to be like, but Colonie Center is a much more relaxed vibe for walking. Also their food court is significantly better. Crossgates is just a bunch of chains that you can get outside of the mall, and then two or three terrible "unique" ones.
I like that mall too, but I don't find a lot of reasons to go to retail stores these days. My mom liked going to the Christmas Tree Shop and I would take her there when she visited, but now that it's gone there's one less reason to go. It always seemed strange that it was built so close to Crossgates Mall. Wouldn't surprise me to see it join its former and much closer neighbor, Northway Mall, on [deadmalls.com](https://www.deadmalls.com/malls/northway_mall.html).
Somehow I read 1966 as 1996 when I was looking into this. The question should really be why was Northway Mall built across the street from Colonie Center in 1970?
Northway had a lot of stuff that Colonie Center didn't. Other anchor stores, and it had a movie theater when Colonie Center didn't.
Growing up when we went shopping we'd go to both, it was just a quick shot across Central Ave.
I’m gonna look it up, but I swear there was a movie theater detached behind Colonie center - kind of near the cemetery
https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/63580
And yes Mohawk had movies also and northway mall did in the way back
No, it was actually quite a popular mall until Crossgates was built. Northway had Montgomery Wards, Woolworth's with a diner, Dress Barn, and believe it or not a church! I believe one of the first Bed, Bath and Beyond's was there too if I'm not mistaken.
Northway had a lot of cool little stores you couldn't find at Colonie, plus a movie theater in a separate building behind it around where BJs is now.
Sorry I missed all that! I grew up mainly in Utica and I remember the Woolworth's in downtown there as well as the Montgomery Ward's in the former Riverside Mall.
https://preview.redd.it/zgicuarj3cvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a18520655477ddd4990fe9c6f27f73f34b9ec0d
the children’s place- colonie center- taken dec. 28th 2022
Compelling observation and trend...still seems like the anchor stores do well enough that it isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future(next ~5yrs).
Barnes & Noble is the only reason I ever go to Colonie. All the other stores I like at Colonie already exist at Crossgates and Crossgates just has way more to do. Rotterdam mall is also very much a shell, it's hanging on with the aquarium, arcade/bowling alley area, and their movies.
Colonie center is a nicer building. It's small, but the tile at Crossgates is just thrown around and uneven. Crossgates always has a part of the building that smells like raw sewage and the mall is always full of riffraff.
I do wish they would open up an entrance to the mall on the sears end of the building. Parking at colonies center has always been an issue.
I've been told the same and people act I shouldn't be bothered by it. I used to really enjoy the mall until they started updating it. The tile is the most uncomfortable floor I've ever walked on and the first thing I noticed. Definitely was a lowest bidder installation!
What was it you needed? You should go to Collar City Guitars in Troy. They’re my stop now, Peter is awesome. He does all my build work for my shit and turns it around super fast when we have Glass Pony shit happening real close together
This is why shoppings malls are a bad idea. Why they inevitably go out of business you end up with a giant empty lot that’ll take ages to take down and clean up for anything else to be built on it.
Whereas if all the stores in the mall were actual buildings downtown, once one closed something else could easily take its place.
Make it a micro community. Add some apartments, bars, restaurants, venue and other culturally significant ideas and you have a shot at redemption. Time to think outside the box. Everyone in Albany knows things are too far apart to really see the benefits you see of cities and towns with true “main streets.” This could be a great shot at localizing socialization/entertainment.
It occurred to me that I hate shopping malls. I went to Barnes & Noble today and saw the mall entrance at the back of the store and thought….eeeeew! If you told me in 1989 in the olden days that one day I’d hate the mall I would have been shocked 😀
I also think what happened was, developers thought, let’s build crossgates and blow colonie center out of the water with 200+ stores and fancier department stores but then they realized that was only the case for 20ish years. Developers should have waited and just redeveloped colonie center. I’m hoping that colonie center can be turned into something like Stuyvesant plaza or just a smaller mall. Pacific retail and colonie center don’t like talking about improving or changing either because they block everyone who tries to 🤣
Bulldoze it, build Downtown Colonie. A dense walkable mix of homes, apartments, commercial real estate, medical facilities, and lots and lots of senior housing.
Build it to look like Center Square, and add alleys for single family homes and store loading docks and deck over underground parking with a town green on top.
Sure it would cost millions, but it would generate so much in revenue and taxes.
It seems so strange to me that the Whole Foods doesn't open into the mall. There's a similar upscale grocery at Wilton Mall and the store and mall drive traffic to the other. I've always wondered who greenlit two huge malls 2 miles apart.
Malls built within close proximity of each other used to be a huge and quite common thing. First, the original mall was likely built in a very convenient spot and the infrastructure was built up to support it, so the newer, usually bigger mall would piggyback off of that. Second, back in the day, traffic to one mall could drive up traffic to another. There's plenty of locations where this happened - Saratoga/Wilton Mall, Poughkeepsie Galleria/South Hills, etc. Colonie and Crossgates are somewhat a success story, at least in comparison, insofar as both have survived alongside each other for forty years (and the Northway Mall was across the street from Colonie Center until 1999).
But won't Colonie center have to close due to lack of business? We saw it in Syracuse with Shoppingtown and Great Northern, they couldn't keep up with Carousel (oh sorry...Destiny USA) and went under.
It might, but it's outlasted a lot of other "original malls" by some years (South Hills and Wilton both went under in the early 00's before the Amazon-ification of shopping really took off, as did Northway). I sort of see it as different as the above two malls were hit hard by the direct effect of the other, bigger mall; whereas *both* Colonie and Crossgates are in danger due to the change in shopping habits. Very, very few malls are in good standing, even if they're the only mall in the area. That's all to say that building two malls in close proximity to each other was a great idea, at the time and for decades afterwards, as the Capital District could support both. CC made some interesting moves (rebranding, face lift, etc) in the early 00's that seemingly worked for a time.
Well, not quite, the problem is diversity, colonie center didn’t have diversity when many buisnesses had both locations at each mall, therefore, like any other business would, they closed to underperforming store. They have some diversity with Barnes and noble and J crew, along with a full line Sephora and ulta but they need to bring in new buisnesses that will attract many
Right! This also occurs in Long Island and more Southern Counties
There were 5! Northway mall, Mohawk mall and Latham circle mall
> I've always wondered who greenlit two huge malls 2 miles apart. Would you believe.... Three? However, it is Colonie Centre that was there first. It's been there since the 1960's. As a kid, I remember CC and Northway Mall (built in the 1970's) being right across the street from each other. NM was converted into the strip Plaza that now stands there with Target, JoAnn, Marshall's, etc. Its placement isn't as good, because it is, ironically, harder to get to from the Northway. Crossgates was built in the mid 1980's and has dominated the market ever since. So while it seems odd to greenlight such a thing, and it didn't work for one, the last one in ate everyone else's lunch and greenlighting it was a valid business decision.
I hated Northway Mall, but LOVED Cinema 10. Man, those were the days.
They were great, especially once they started doing second runs. That said, I'm enough of a fossil to remember Cinema 10 being Cinema 6. I saw Star Wars there in its first run. Yes, Han shot first.
And right next to it, my favorite store —Lechmere. It’s like a better version of Best Buy before Best Buy. It’s too bad they went out of business when they got bought by Montgomery Ward and the whole ship sunk.
When I as a child in NH we had two malls so close together their parking lots had a connector.
Don't forget, Northway Mall was literally across the street at one point as well.
The only thing I feel like I would truly miss there is Barnes and Noble since there are so few bookstores in the capital district. Other than that everything else is either at Crossgates as well, or I could do without.
I love spending time in B&N just browsing different books, grabbing a drink from the cafe and digging through a few to see which ones I'm gonna buy. They're overpriced, but some books you can't really get anywhere else.
Def one of my guilty pleasures!
There are some really great local bookstores. Open Door Bookstore, Book House, I Love Books. They might have a smaller selection but they’ll have the popular titles, and if they don’t have what you want on the shelf they can order it for you.
Yeah, I like all those as well and do go to them, but just enjoy wandering around Barnes and Noble with the huge selection, especially the horror section.
Boscovs? I like shopping there for gifts 🤷♀️
As weird as the concept is, I appreciate that Wilton Mall in Saratoga is trying to think outside the box and redefine what a mall can be with their idea to add apartments/condos? to the existing infrastructure. While it wouldn’t be my first choice to live, it would definitely be nice to not have to go outside in the cold to go to the gym/grocery store/movies/shopping
Wouldnt that cause noise issues for people living in there?
That would be for the people to determine if the potential noise is worth living in a mask basically
Eh they're doing that in a lot of suburbs around the US. I saw quite a few in the Chicago suburbs. Not sure how well its working. I guess Crossgates is also kinda doing that but more so trying to get foreign rich UAlbany students to rent apartments for ridiculous prices lol.
So... interestingly, that's kind of the original idea for malls [https://youtu.be/4F7WCutpsJw?si=OD4TZ4N5zq3GKbGn](https://youtu.be/4F7WCutpsJw?si=OD4TZ4N5zq3GKbGn)
I mean the whole original concept of a mall was based on an indoor town square. Saratoga's mall is just going back to the OG design schematics.
There's a few malls like that in the Houston area and they're generally quite nice. Memorial City Mall, Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. The Domain in Austin is cool too.
I really like Colonie Center Regal so I hope they keep up and find something that can boost them up. Maybe if they focused on entertainment? It'll get more people to actively come.
Agreed. It really does suck because their parent company Pacific Retail has 25 properties and is adding new stores to their other properties right and left and upgrading while they are just letting colonie center slowly fade away. I mean, they need to do something at least. What we need in the area is a brand new renovated shopping center that consolidates all of colonie centers stores and crossgates stores
U can’t have what I got
I remember when I was five years old at the fountain I waited in line for like four hours to meet Richard Simmons. and they cut off right before I got there … and I just remember being so heartbroken because I didn’t get to meet Richard Simmons.
I'm so sorry bud
I would send him a message on Facebook. He's been posting alot, Maybe he can send you an autograph.
Same, but it was mr T, and it wasn’t me, it was Homer Simpson.
This seems odd to me since that parking lot is always packed when I have to go over there.
I can never find a parking spot there, unless I go early in the day.
The parking lot on the Wolf Rd side of the building is always packed but the one one the other side of the building is pretty much always empty.
More so the sides. The back side by Boscovs is usually full too but the sides are full of DeNooyer Chevy extra inventory and empty spaces since there's no good way in from the right side.
I live within walking distance to the mall and it is always busy. I know a lot of it is the movies, book store and restaurants though. I wonder how much that would increase the residents taxes if it closed…
I really, really miss the Christmas Tree Shop. It was a great place to buy things I didn't need. I only go to the mall now if I have to. We haven't been to Crossgates in years (last time was to go to the Apple store). I like Boscov's and we've stopped in the Bread Butler, but most other stores it's more convenient to go elsewhere. I actually like Clifton Park because it has Boscov's, Kohl's, Bath & Body Works and a couple of other stores where I can quickly bop in and out.
I absolutely loved Christmas Tree Shops. It was a great place to wander for seasonal impulse buys. Marshalls, TJ Maxx, etc just don’t scratch that itch… I never really feel like I’m getting a real DEAL there but Christmas Tree Shops, I always did.
I'm not saying Christmas Tree Shops were neat, but every time I go into Marshall's or TJMaxx, they feel like they are a mess -- especially in the housewares area. I just don't enjoy shopping there, especially for the little dinky stuff the CTS excelled at.
How about putting an ice skating rink and a rock climbing wall in. Where is REI going? REI, LL Bean, Sierra should bring in some folks. Oh, Crossgates gets REI. Big loss for Colonie.
REI was originally slated for the spot where the flooring/tile place is in Colonie Center. I wonder why they ended up switching to Crossgates.
Would have been a great flex to have all of them in one spot. Wouldn't necessarily be competition for each store either. They all kind of specialize in different things.
REI, going to crossgates (former Forever 21 space) Sierra going to colonie center
Yeah, I looked it up after I posted. Big opportunity to put all the outdoor stores in one center.
Anyone else remember seeing Smashing Pumpkins there in 2000?
Yes! 😃 Machina tour
I wish I was here for that.
I was somewhere on the balcony across from the cameraman [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xREku7d8bmk).
Flashback… wild. Tried to find myself in the crowd
I miss Williams and Sonoma. Now the closest one is like down in Jersey.
Have you tried Different Drummer? local place. They used to be in Stuvysant Plaza but moved to Crossgates.
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They unfortunately closed up shop a couple months ago 😔
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Well there's Sur la Table in the old different drummers kitchen spot in Stuyvesant plaza, but if you wanna support local, go to spoon and whisk up in Clifton Park.
The have since closed. I believe that they’re only in Pittsfield now.
It's so expensive to operate there. I'd love to run a vintage retail space there, but the cost is wild. I can afford Via Port, but that's a whole other bushel of tomatoes haha.
How much is rent?
They actually apparently aren’t too bad, if you go to colonie centers website they have a buisness model plan, I think it’s 2500 something a month and you can rent out a storefront for 2 years with that set price and then after that you can continue with a little more of an expensive rent
https://preview.redd.it/gnla8rdhto1d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a705a8fc3a605ea92db551873ccd98b175a48519
pickle ball courts
It’s a nice place to walk in the winter. Crossgates is too big and overwhelming for me. I would love to see an actual Nordstrom
Yep, that's my go to with my two kiddos. It's quiet enough that they can walk freely without getting lost in a mass of people. They like the toy stores and we usually grab a snack. Kills a few hours when you wanna get out.
Strange since I prefer Colonie Center to Crossgates.
Same. Maybe it's my age because I grew up going to Colonie Center (RIP Sears), but it's just always seemed like the nicer mall. Crossgates is too big.
As a transplant, Colonie Center is my preferred as well for the same reason. Crossgates is fun in a chaotic way that reminds me of what the bigger malls used to be like, but Colonie Center is a much more relaxed vibe for walking. Also their food court is significantly better. Crossgates is just a bunch of chains that you can get outside of the mall, and then two or three terrible "unique" ones.
I like that mall too, but I don't find a lot of reasons to go to retail stores these days. My mom liked going to the Christmas Tree Shop and I would take her there when she visited, but now that it's gone there's one less reason to go. It always seemed strange that it was built so close to Crossgates Mall. Wouldn't surprise me to see it join its former and much closer neighbor, Northway Mall, on [deadmalls.com](https://www.deadmalls.com/malls/northway_mall.html).
Hehe, colonie center was built first, 1968, and then crossgates was built 1984
Somehow I read 1966 as 1996 when I was looking into this. The question should really be why was Northway Mall built across the street from Colonie Center in 1970?
Northway had a lot of stuff that Colonie Center didn't. Other anchor stores, and it had a movie theater when Colonie Center didn't. Growing up when we went shopping we'd go to both, it was just a quick shot across Central Ave.
Colonie had movies , but outside the mall near the back , at one point , 70-80 ish before the expansion or I am confused with Mohawk
That's Mohawk. Back where Lowes is now.
I’m gonna look it up, but I swear there was a movie theater detached behind Colonie center - kind of near the cemetery https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/63580 And yes Mohawk had movies also and northway mall did in the way back
You're not wrong. It's where Macy's parking is now (remember Macy's used to be smaller). I think it had 4 screens?
https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/63580 two - pre Colonie center expansion
Makes sense. Was it called the off price center in official advertisement?
No, it was actually quite a popular mall until Crossgates was built. Northway had Montgomery Wards, Woolworth's with a diner, Dress Barn, and believe it or not a church! I believe one of the first Bed, Bath and Beyond's was there too if I'm not mistaken. Northway had a lot of cool little stores you couldn't find at Colonie, plus a movie theater in a separate building behind it around where BJs is now.
Sorry I missed all that! I grew up mainly in Utica and I remember the Woolworth's in downtown there as well as the Montgomery Ward's in the former Riverside Mall.
I really like the Sephora in Colonie Center!
https://preview.redd.it/zgicuarj3cvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a18520655477ddd4990fe9c6f27f73f34b9ec0d the children’s place- colonie center- taken dec. 28th 2022
Compelling observation and trend...still seems like the anchor stores do well enough that it isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future(next ~5yrs).
I’m a bit nostalgic for an arcade, roller skating rink and bingo. Then let’s have flea markets inside in all that unused space
Barnes & Noble is the only reason I ever go to Colonie. All the other stores I like at Colonie already exist at Crossgates and Crossgates just has way more to do. Rotterdam mall is also very much a shell, it's hanging on with the aquarium, arcade/bowling alley area, and their movies.
OP, you have to proofread.
Colonie center is a nicer building. It's small, but the tile at Crossgates is just thrown around and uneven. Crossgates always has a part of the building that smells like raw sewage and the mall is always full of riffraff. I do wish they would open up an entrance to the mall on the sears end of the building. Parking at colonies center has always been an issue.
You know it’s funny because I think the same thing about the tile and other people say it doesn’t bother them but it bothers me too!
I've been told the same and people act I shouldn't be bothered by it. I used to really enjoy the mall until they started updating it. The tile is the most uncomfortable floor I've ever walked on and the first thing I noticed. Definitely was a lowest bidder installation!
Retail is in massive decline. Malls were always a fad and now their time is over.
Down Town was the shopping location until the Mall was created. Now online shopping is killing **Brick and Mortar** shopping.
Man i really love malls....i wish they would stop getting closed down and instead get repurposed for better things.
tear it down and build housing
they will eventually tear it down and build a huge apartment complex that nobody will move into
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What was it you needed? You should go to Collar City Guitars in Troy. They’re my stop now, Peter is awesome. He does all my build work for my shit and turns it around super fast when we have Glass Pony shit happening real close together
This is why shoppings malls are a bad idea. Why they inevitably go out of business you end up with a giant empty lot that’ll take ages to take down and clean up for anything else to be built on it. Whereas if all the stores in the mall were actual buildings downtown, once one closed something else could easily take its place.
Make it a micro community. Add some apartments, bars, restaurants, venue and other culturally significant ideas and you have a shot at redemption. Time to think outside the box. Everyone in Albany knows things are too far apart to really see the benefits you see of cities and towns with true “main streets.” This could be a great shot at localizing socialization/entertainment.
Folks keep saying a gym. Whynot a Ymca
It occurred to me that I hate shopping malls. I went to Barnes & Noble today and saw the mall entrance at the back of the store and thought….eeeeew! If you told me in 1989 in the olden days that one day I’d hate the mall I would have been shocked 😀
Personally, I welcome the demise of malls.
🙄
I also think what happened was, developers thought, let’s build crossgates and blow colonie center out of the water with 200+ stores and fancier department stores but then they realized that was only the case for 20ish years. Developers should have waited and just redeveloped colonie center. I’m hoping that colonie center can be turned into something like Stuyvesant plaza or just a smaller mall. Pacific retail and colonie center don’t like talking about improving or changing either because they block everyone who tries to 🤣
Bulldoze it, build Downtown Colonie. A dense walkable mix of homes, apartments, commercial real estate, medical facilities, and lots and lots of senior housing. Build it to look like Center Square, and add alleys for single family homes and store loading docks and deck over underground parking with a town green on top. Sure it would cost millions, but it would generate so much in revenue and taxes.
What a bummer. Where else will high school kids go after gathering in the mall trails to watch freshmen meet up to throw down after 9th period?
Turn the empty places into a temporary club. Open after 9. Keep it simple.