ShoppingTown Mall

Shoppingtown Mall began as an open-air shopping center, first announced in August 1953 and managed by Eagan Real Estate Inc. At this time, tenants including F. W. Woolworth, J. C. Penney, Walgreens, Grand Union, Acme Markets, Fanny Farmer, Endicott Johnson, and Kinney Shoes had already signed on to the project.[1] Local Syracuse department store Addis' would sign onto the project in February 1954, and later that month a four-day grand opening gala was announced, set to begin March 3.[2][3] The center would open as planned on March 3 with most major tenants, with Addis opening later on October 8, 1954.[4][5] Multiple new stores, including Flah & Co, W. T. Grant, and a Kallet Theater, would begin construction in 1955-1956.[6][7]

A Dey's Store For Homes would be first announced in 1960, with plans for the home store to open by 1961, with a full store projected to open at a later date.[8] The home store would open August 25, 1962, followed by the full store which opened on October 11, 1966.[9][10] The center would be affected by a fire in April 1967, which most affected Flah & Co, who would remain closed for over a month to completely restock and remodel the store.[11][12] A branch store of Syracuse department store E.W. Edwards & Sons would open in November 1968.[13] A new 2-screen Kallet Theater would open December 28, 1968.[14]

Shoppingtown would begin conversion into an "all-climate mall" in late 1973, with Edwards planned to be one of the anchors, though Edwards would close its doors amidst bankruptcy on November 7, 1973.[15] The mall would suffer a fire in June 1974, which would fatally injure one firefighter and cause an estimated $500,000 in damages, primarily to W.T. Grant.[16] The two-screen Kallet theater would be purchased by Carrols Development Corp in 1974, and operated as a Cinema National.[17] Woolworth would also announce the closure of its Shoppingtown store on December 31, 1974.[18] Rumored since shortly after the store's closing in 1973, J. C. Penney would open a new, larger store in the former Edwards on January 22, 1975.[19][20] Both Flah & Co and Addis' would open new stores at the mall, said to be double the size of their previous locations in the center.[21] The mall would open on August 4, 1975, with a week-long grand opening ceremony.[22]

Woolworth's would re-join the mall in 1978, taking over the former W.T. Grant space in mid-August.[23] The mall would see an expansion in 1984, adding a 57,000 sq ft Chappell's as an anchor, which opened October 3.[24] Addis would merge with Dey Brothers in May 1989, with plans to close the Addis store at the mall, and merge operations into the existing Dey Brothers store.[25] Shortly after this, Wilmorite Properties would gain control of the mall through a partnership with Eagan in Summer 1989, announcing a major remodel later that year.[26]

The remodel would be completed at a cost of $53 million in 1991, adding a new wing which included a relocated Addis & Dey store and a food court, with the original Addis & Dey store being split between TJ Maxx in 1991 and Steinbach's in 1992..[27][28] Addis & Dey would announce the closure of their Shoppingtown Mall store amidst bankruptcy in 1992.[29] Shortly thereafter in early 1993, Kaufmann's announced it would relocate from Fayetteville Mall to the former Addis & Dey space.[30] Woolworth's would close for the second and final time in early 1993.[31] Steinbach's would close July 1, 1994, after recording hundreds of thousands in losses at the store, and TJ Maxx would relocate to the Fayetteville Mall.[27] Sears would take over both floors of the former Addis & Dey space, in addition to building a new auto center.[32] Media Play would be announced in April 1994, taking over the former Woolworth's and Kallet Theater spaces for a 48,000 sq ft location.[33] The Bon-Ton would come to the mall with their acquisition of Chappell's in late 1994.[34]

Old Navy would open in January 2000, and Dick's Sporting Goods would be announced in March that year.[35][36] Shoppingtown Mall would be one of several properties sold to Macerich by Wilmorite in late 2004 for $2.3 billion.[37] Macy's would join the mall in 2005, after their conversion of many regional department store brands, including Kaufmann's.[38] Media Play, Bon-Ton, and Old Navy would all close their stores at the mall in early 2006.[39][40][41] In March 2007, Macerich would announce plans to demolish the Sears wing to create an open-air plaza with new shops facing Erie Boulevard East, though this never materialized.[42] CNY Gym Centre would open in October 2008, taking over the former Old Navy.[43]

Macerich would walk away from the property in 2011, allowing it to go to bankruptcy auction, where it would be purchased by Moonbeam Capital Investments for $14.3 million.[44] Macy's would close as part of a larger closing round in 2015, as well as Dick's Sporting Goods, who relocated to DeWitt Commons.[45][46] J. C. Penney would close it's doors in April 2016, and Sears would close on September 2, 2018, leaving the mall with no anchors.[47][48] The mall would close as part of New York's COVID-19 pandemic response in March 2020, and would not reopen.[49] Moonbeam Capital would serve eviction notices to all remaining tenants in September 2020.[50] Following its closure, Moonbeam Capital would sell the property to the Onondaga County, New York government, for $3.5 million, as well as $13 million in forgiven back-taxes and interest.[51]