Saratoga Mall

Saratoga Mall (demolished)
Location Wilton, New York, U.S.
Opening date October 18, 1973
Closing date 1999
Developer The Pyramid Companies
Owner Starwood Ceruzzi Properties, Inc.
No. of anchor tenants 3
Total retail floor area 450,000 sq ft (42,000 m2)
No. of floors 1

Saratoga Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Wilton, New York near the city of Saratoga Springs, New York. It was demolished in 1999. It was previously known as Pyramid Mall Saratoga and was located on Route 50 just off Exit 15 on I-87 (the Adirondack Northway portion). After demolition, it was replaced by a big box strip center known as Wilton Square.[1]

Development

Originally called Pyramid Mall Saratoga, the mall was built by The Pyramid Companies. Construction began in late 1972[2]/early 1973. It was the first regional mall developed by the company.[3]

The mall was on 45 acres (180,000 m2) of land. Landscaping included:[3]

Opening

The mall opened for business on October 18, 1973 with fifty stores and no vacancies. The original size of the mall was 310,000 square feet (29,000 m2). It employed more than 450 people.[3]

For opening day, Miss New York State, Susan Carlson, was set to cut the ribbon. There was a drawing for a free flight for two to Nassau in the Bahamas.[4]

Mostly due to the new shopping mall, Wilton town supervisor Robert Gavin announced a property tax reduction of 54 percent one month after the mall's opening.[3]

Initial Interior Features

There were four major courts in the mall that had fountains, skylights, bridges, and pools.[3]

Initial Tenants

Anchors[3]

Smaller Tenants[3]

Unnamed Tenants[3]

Expansion

In Spring, 1976, Montgomery Ward opened, bringing the total size of the mall to 435,800 square feet (40,490 m2).[6] The addition included 113,502 square feet (10,544.7 m2). The Montgomery Ward store addition totaled 95,500 square feet (8,870 m2).[7]

Later Tenants

Tenants in this list are based on articles or advertisements. Some of these tenants may be initial tenants that were not specifically named in the earliest articles.

Tenant Name Date Opened
Mechanics Exchange Savings Bank before February 28, 1975[8]
Kirsch before April 20, 1975[9]
Hilton's Music before October 21, 1975[10]
Montgomery Ward before Spring, 1976[6]
Marine Midland Bank before March 26, 1976[11]
Movie Cinemas (3 theaters) before April 27, 1976[12]
Kinney Shoes 1976[13]
Carl's Drug (later became Fay's Drug) before January 18, 1981[14][15]
Record Town before June 17, 1981[16][17][18]
Penney Catalog Store March 11, 1987[19]
Friar Tuck Bookshops before November 26, 1989[20]
Wilton Town Supervisor's Office before March 10, 1990[21]
McDonald's before March 18, 1990[22]
Gifts & Novelties before August 19, 1990[23]
New York State Labor Department Community Service Center October 1, 1990[24]
KB Toys (simultaneously in Wilton Mall next door) before December 9, 1990[25]
Jamesway before July 24, 1991[26]
Fay's Drug (took over Carl's Drug) before August 23, 1991[15]
Benson's Pet Shop before October 12, 1991[27]
Saratoga Computer Shoppe before July 31, 1998[28]
Service Merchandise before December 15, 1991[29]
Ryan Jewelers before December 15, 1991[29]
Price Chopper (60,000 sq ft. free-standing building) 1991[30]
Creative Fashion Eyewear before July 26, 1992[31]
Van Arnum Flowers and Gift Shop before July 26, 1992[31]
Hair 2000 before July 26, 1992[31]
Dime Savings Bank of New York before July 26, 1992[31]
Papa Gino's before July 26, 1992[31]
Lazer Pix before April 11, 1993[32]
Short Stop June 10, 1993[33]
General Nutrition Centers before October 14, 1993[34]
Arcade (Games People Play?) before October 14, 1993[35]
Eckerd (took over Fay's Drug - remained to the end and continued to new Wilton Square) 1997
The Gardeners before April 3, 1998[36]
Spa.Net before July 31, 1998[36]
Praises Christian Book Store before September 3, 1998[37]
Senior Solutions before September 4, 1998[38]
New Life Christian Church before 1999[39]
Pasanno Paints before 1999[40]

Joanne's Nut House (candy)

Danielle's (formalwear rental)

Adirondack Dental?

Name change

The mall's name changed in 1987 when it came under new ownership.[41][42]

Proposed strip mall

Owners of the Saratoga Mall in 1989 proposed a small strip mall called Wilton Square (the eventual name of the successor to the mall after demolition) of 29,000 square feet (2,700 m2) with 135 parking spaces. The number of parking spaces was not enough for Wilton town code. An exception was not made as it was for the Wilton Mall at Saratoga being developed next door to the Saratoga Mall.[43]

Montgomery Ward planned move to Wilton Mall

Montgomery Ward planned to move to the newer Wilton Mall by 1991. At that time, the owner of the Saratoga Mall suggested the move would not be a problem but instead would be an opportunity to brand Saratoga Mall as a discount mall.[44] Montgomery Ward never actually moved to Wilton Mall. When it announced its store closures for the area, its Wilton store was still located in the Saratoga Mall.[45]

Stores in Saratoga Mall and Wilton Mall at the same time

A handful of stores opened in the new Wilton Mall while simultaneously having stores in the Saratoga Mall. They included:

Due to competition from its newer, larger neighbor, the mall began trying to develop a mixed-use strategy by attempting to attract office space and businesses such as doctor's offices to bring traffic to the remaining retailers.[41]

Second run movie theater

In mid-1992, the movie theaters at Saratoga Mall were managed by Hoyts. Hoyts also had newer theaters in the Wilton Mall next door. On June 19, 1992, the Saratoga Mall theaters became a second-run theater with ticket prices at $1.99. At that point, the mall had six theaters.[46]

The final showings at the mall took place on Thursday, August 26, 1999. At the time, there were eight employees working for that cinema.[47]

Ownership

The mall was originally owned and developed by The Pyramid Companies.[3] The mall again changed ownership in 1987, changing its name from Pyramid Mall Saratoga to Saratoga Mall in the process.[41] In 1991, it was owned by Pyramid Centers of Empire State Co.[48] In 1999, it was sold by Pyramid Centers of Canada to Starwood Ceruzzi Properties, Inc., of Fairfield, Connecticut. This company completed demolition of the enclosed mall and built Wilton Square in its place. Starwood Ceruzzi Properties then sold the property in summer 2005 to Inland Western Saratoga Springs Wilton, LLC for almost four times what they paid.[1]

Demolition

The possibility of demolition was announced in late 1998. Mall management began talking to big box retailers such as Target about location on the site. At the time, it was mentioned that this would offer flexibility in case the owners wanted to sell the mall. The mall was 450,000 square feet (42,000 m2) at that point and did not have any major anchors. Former anchors included Montgomery Ward, Jamesway, and Service Merchandise. At the time, the mall was owned by Pyramid Center & Co. Ltd.[49]

The Price Chopper portion of the property was subdivided from the rest of the mall in 1998.[50]

Demolition of the mall was completed in Fall, 1999.[51]

Sources

  1. 1 2 Yusko, Dennis (2006-03-26), "Mall Makeover", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. CQ44
  2. ↑ "Pyramid sparks growth with in-house control", Syracuse Herald Journal, p. 78, 1973-01-28
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Pyramid's 1973 expansion puts firm in top 50", Syracuse Herald Journal, p. 108, 1974-01-27
  4. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Bennington (VT) Banner, The, p. 2, 1973-10-16
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Major Stores Listed for Mall in Wilton", Times Record, The (Troy), p. 1, 1972-10-04
  6. 1 2 "Pyramid builds on past growth", Syracuse Herald American, p. 78, 1976-02-08
  7. ↑ "Falcone, partners expand operations", Syracuse Herald American, p. 114, 1977-02-20
  8. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Times Record, The (Troy), p. 15, 1975-02-28
  9. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Troy Record, The, p. 74, 1975-02-28
  10. ↑ "Tom Paxton to appear in Saratoga concert", Bennington (VT) Banner, p. 11, 1975-10-21
  11. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Times Record, The (Troy), p. 14, 1976-03-26
  12. ↑ "'Breakheart Pass' a real soggy movie", Times Record, The (Troy), p. 14, 1976-04-27
  13. ↑ Allen, John (1998-11-06), "Retail lease negotiations involve more than rent charges", Business Review, The (Albany)
  14. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Syracuse Herald Journal, The, p. 22, 1981-01-18
  15. 1 2 "Practical nurse charged with forging prescriptions", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B8, 1991-08-23
  16. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Syracuse Herald-American, p. A7, 1981-06-17
  17. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Syracuse Herald-American, p. C10, 1981-09-20
  18. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Syracuse Post-Standard, p. P3, 1981-11-26
  19. ↑ Hass, Nancy (1987-03-10), "Penney Catalog Store Opening in Pyramid Mall", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B12
  20. ↑ Times Union, The (Albany), p. C4, 1989-11-26 http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5527523 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ Times Union, The (Albany), p. B7, 1990-03-10 http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5555215 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑ "Woman attacked in Saratoga Mall", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B3, 1990-03-18
  23. ↑ Lesly, Elizabeth; Brown, Cailin (1990-08-19), "'Vox Shopuli' Consumers Face Choices as Malls Continue to Grow", Times Union, The (Albany), p. E1
  24. ↑ Thurman, Ken (1990-10-17), "State Offices Move to Mall", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B7
  25. ↑ "(Advertisement)", Syracuse Herald Journal, p. I8, 1990-12-09
  26. ↑ "Shopping", Times Union, The (Albany), p. 8, 1991-07-24
  27. ↑ Delaney, Barbara (1991-10-12), "Psychologist Teaches Class in Animal Talk", Times Union, The (Albany), p. D1
  28. ↑ Dalton, Joe (1998-07-31), "Chamber of Commerce's web site is catching interest", Times Union, The (Albany), p. F3
  29. 1 2 Shiro, Peg (1991-12-15), "Let's go shopping with nifty ideas", Times Union, The (Albany), p. T8
  30. ↑ Swift, Aisling (1994-06-25), "Bigger is better in supermarket wars", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B12
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 "Spa City Life", Times Union, The (Albany), p. T27, 1992-07-26
  32. ↑ Times Union, The (Albany), p. B2, 1993-04-11 http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5663670 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ↑ "Open for business", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B4, 1993-06-06
  34. ↑ Shiro, Peg (1993-10-14), "Stillwater resident wins a new car in national scratch-card promotion", Times Union, The (Albany), p. T5
  35. ↑ Jonas, Ilaina (1994-02-07), "Game Not Over Yet", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B1
  36. 1 2 "Government Action", Times Union, The (Albany), p. F2, 1998-04-03
  37. ↑ "Gospel singer will perform", Times Union, The (Albany), p. F3, 1998-09-03
  38. ↑ "Doer's profile", Times Union, The (Albany), p. F2, 1998-09-04
  39. ↑ Bruno, Michael P. (1999-01-02), "Mall Churches Sent Shopping", Times Union, The (Albany), p. C7
  40. ↑ Wood, Robin (1999-10-29), "Passonno Paints to open design centers", Business Review, The (Albany)
  41. 1 2 3 Thurman, Ken (1991-12-01), "Saratoga County Malls Hit by Recession", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. C8
  42. ↑ Lee, Cliff (1989-07-30), "Saratoga Lengthening its 'Season' for Dollars", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. T11
  43. ↑ Yu, Winifred (1989-09-07), "Town Approves Wilton Mall Sewer Plans", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. B11
  44. ↑ Conzola, E.J., Jr. (1990-07-08), "Wilton Mall Changes as Competition Grows", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. F1
  45. ↑ "Ward looks to close 44 stores", Times Union, The (Albany), pp. A3, 1997-08-01
  46. ↑ "Movie goers to get price break at mall 6", Times Union, The (Albany), p. T17, 1992-06-18
  47. ↑ "Hoyts Cinema closes doors at Saratoga Mall", Times Union, The (Albany), p. D5, 1999-08-27
  48. ↑ "No decision in sewer line dispute", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B4, 1991-01-19
  49. ↑ "Builders look to raze Saratoga Mall", Times Union, The (Albany), p. A1, 1998-10-03
  50. ↑ Crowe II, Kenneth C. (1998-10-10), "New plan for shops off Route 87", Times Union, The (Albany), p. B4
  51. ↑ Wood, Robin (2000-04-14), "A.C. Moore, Petsmart to be the last big-box tenants at Wilton Square Mall", Business Review, The (Albany), p. B4

Coordinates: 43°06′N 73°44′W / 43.10°N 73.74°W / 43.10; -73.74

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