Room for Improvement: Olean Center Mall (updated October 2023)

 

     Believe it or not, but I first started my photography hobby now over 10 years ago in 2012 with a photo of my local Kmart still operating at that time. 10 years later, I turn my attention to another local retail establishment, the previously toured Olean Center Mall. This particular blog post will provide my thoughts on the potential reuse of the local mall given its state and using the knowledge I've learned over the last decade. It also.serves as a sort of anniversary special post of my first venture into retail through my Flickr account. 

    With redevelopment set to take place soon, it's now or never to provide my takes. I well realize that this post is unlikely to effect plans in place by the developers or adjust them, but I thought I'd take the time anyways. Simply put, my opinion is that one shouldn't be so quick to give up on retail use for the property. Let's take the time to analyze a few things as to why I've drawn this conclusion. 

• Olean is Improving
• Olean has been working over the last decade to revitalize its downtown to improve the streets-cape and be a more pedestrian friendly area. Ir's efforts have had success as it has seen a notable number of relocated and/or entirely new businesses in operation along N Union Street. Not to mention a number of developments throughout the city, including chain retail operations listed below.
• Recently, the former Siemens Energy campus was bought out by a joint venture between U.S. based Related Companies and the Italian company Cimolai S.p.A. and is intended to create up to 250 jobs. With both companies being involved with the steel industry, it would imply an intent for steel production.
• A brand new state-of-the-art cheese production factory is being built in Franklinville by the Great Lakes Cheese Company, 24 miles to the north. That may seem far from the city, but keep in mind this is a rural area, so it will be a benefit to Olean since the city is the primary area of commence.

• Look Beyond Cattaraugus County
• Even with an overall population decline, the Olean area still has seen some improvement in recent years. There actually was a slight increase in population for the city between 2019 and 2020. 
• And it needs to be noted that the area sees plenty of potential customers come thanks in part of it having established itself as the major trade city for a very large geographical area as seen in the photo below: (courtesy of Google Maps)

Olean generally serves as the major trade area for the highlighted areas

• In terms of numbers, we are looking at an area population of around 140,000 people as of the 2020 census spread across Allegany and Cattaraugus counties in New York and McKean, Potter and parts of Cameron counties in northern Pennsylvania. For comparison, the neighboring Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia metropolitan statistical area has 127,657 residents- as of the 2020 census.  
• This can be hard to realize since Olean is considered to be part of a micropolitan statistical area that only includes Cattaraugus County. 

• It should come as no surprise then to see new retail activity already occurring in the area in recent years with:
• Hobby Lobby 
• Chipotle 
• WellNow relocation
• A THIRD Tim Hortons on the east side of the city.
• return of Pizza Hut
• Starbucks
• proposed Arby's

• Issues with Other Projects
• the proposed Olean Gateway shopping center has stalled with only Hampton Inn & Suites opening. The pandemic certainly played a role in this, but there are other possible reasons:
• not having room for a reasonably sized anchor and a plaza both 
• The current plan (as seen on an online real estate website) only has the largest available space at 35K. 
• Hypothetically speaking, let's say Target, for example, was interested in the area. They would not build here at this location. Why? It's too small! Target's newest store format- for stores that being built from the ground up- is going big with stores of at least 130,000 sq. ft.
• While true that up to a 100K space could be constructed, there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest as most chains with a larger footprint have already established themselves in the area.
• With the size constraints, the best possible option would be for a supermarket as an anchor. Wegmans, with one of their 86K suburban stores, comes to mind. Unfortunately, it would probably take some serious effort to convince Wegmans since they aren't really all that interested in small markets anymore. Smaller markets where they do operate in such as Hornell and Corning are seemingly 'grandfathered' in. Wegmans also has a history in the area with a failed store in Allegany. That being said, it is worth noting that the store was a small store and nothing like the modern Wegmans of today. It also was in a bad location too far from Olean proper. There's a reason why Kmart relocated in 1995.
• Without an anchor to get things off the ground, the location is too far from the primary retail corridor along W. State Street. There is also an established secondary corridor that the mall is part of on N. Union Street. 
• Another option, admittedly a long shot given what it would involve, would be to perhaps turn the Holiday Park Office Complex entirely back into retail by turning it into a big box center. It would be a far more attractive location than the Gateway since it would be on the primary retail corridor. The now former Valu Home Center isn't very attractive as a result of this office conversion. 

• Customer Loyalty
• With the third Tim Hortons set to come, customer loyalty is pretty evident. Personally, I would never have expected a city the size of Olean to get a third location. 
• JCPenney's store is (or at least at one point was) among the top 50 best preforming stores for the chain. I was told this by an employee a couple years back. 
• Friendly's closed all of their locations across western New York and the Rochester markets, except for Olean. Olean remains open as the only location in this part of western New York as of this writing.
• Olean is home to the only remaining Perkins in all of western New York.

• Proximity to Tourism
• Olean is in a position to benefit from tourism through the activities of:
• Allegheny River Valley Trail
• the proposed rail trail from the Genesee Valley Greenway in Hinsdale to the Empire State Trail in Lackawanna
• Rock City Park
• Sprague's Maple Farms
• Seneca Nation of Indians
• Seneca Allegany Casino
• Allegany State Park
• Ellicottville and Holiday Valley Ski Resort
• Griffis Sculpture Park
• The Amish Trail
• the PA Wilds region
• Allegheny Reservoir
• I-86 also provides easy access to pretty much the rest of the country through the interstate system 

• Education
• St. Bonaventure University
• St. Bonaventure is ranked #5 in Best Value Schools in 2022
• The Bonnies men's team have made the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament 8 times which would suggest an increased awareness of the college nationally
• University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
• JCC Olean Campus is literally across the railroad tracks from the mall.

So what are my proposals for the redevelopment of the Olean Center Mall? Well I've taken the time to make a few ideas. I'll explain my thoughts to each individually as we go. No matter what scenario is chosen, I would suggest adding a connection over or under the railroad tracks to form a more direct connection with the JCC and Allegheny River Valley Trail- if it is possible.

  As will be the case for all the proposals, any business listed that is not currently operating at the mall is not confirmed as coming to the mall. These are just potential ideas of my own research that could be considered when choosing potential tenants. 

    Scenario 1 is pretty much the same idea as to what developers plan. That plan calls for the demolishing of the former Bon-Ton space and in its place adding multiple level senior apartments- possibly above a ground floor of commercial. While I know this is what is most likely to occur, I feel like this could be expanded upon. A couple of outparcels could be added if the parking lot orientation was rearranged to as seen above. In addition, a food court and a new back entrance could be created that leads to a few exterior access only junior anchor tenants. The current corridor by JCPenney that serves as a entry corridor would be shrunk and used only as an emergency exit hallway.

  

       Scenario 2A would see the addition of a possible anchor in Dick's Sporting Goods along with creating space for Ulta Beauty and about 6,000 sq. ft. of additional tenant space by repurposing the current vacant Bon-Ton. A small portion of the front of the former Bon-Ton would be demolished to allow for this occur. In regards to housing, this proposal simply shifts the location of proposed residential building to be behind the mall and preserve commercial use along North Union street while still adding housing.

    Scenario 2B simply expands upon by scenario 2A with a possible variation of inline tenant space. As this proposal shows, along with the ones to follow, the neighboring vacant land would be used to create an additional residential building. Although this would require the corporation of Olean 2020, LLC. or outright purchasing the parcel from them, this move would create more apartments in the long run and would benefit the city by using underutilized land that has been vacant for at least a decade. A third residential building could in theory be added by JCPenney as well.

Scenario 3 calls for parking lot to be reoriented and subdivide the former Bon-Ton. Again, a portion of the Bon-Ton would be demolished, but this time it would be the left side of the building. This would allow for a straight road to be created better connecting the N. Barry St. entrance. Additional retail would be constructed by JCPenney.

Scenario 4 would see a small new entrance corridor to be built and create some exterior storefronts by the main entrance for vehicular traffic. The back ring road would be straightened. Additional retail would be constructed by JCPenney.

Scenario 5 wouldn't require any involvement with the neighboring vacant property, but would see most of the former Bon-Ton demolished. While the scenario shows an expansion on the back side of the mall, this was mainly done in case a tenant would need a loading dock. Planet Fitness would not require a loading dock, so in theory they would make minimal changes. I could see them wanting exterior access though, so maybe a new entrance could be added. Elsewhere, you'll notice Barnes and Noble. They have been expanding lately with new smaller format stores and I feel one of these could do well in the area. 

   Scenario 6 brings us to a point of half mall, half lifestyle center or town center. In addition to what is already proposed, this would see part of the mall come down and be replaced by a more strip mall like setting. While I'd hate to see the mall go, at least a part of it would still exist. 

    In an all of this of though, an obvious question still occurs. Why not just reuse ALL of the former Bon-Ton? Honestly, that is a good question. A perfect option would be Target. With three colleges in the twin tiers area, Target would be able to take advantage of St. Bonaventure, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and the JCC Olean campus that is literally just over the railroad tracks. And since Target just recently opened a store down the interstate in Lakewood, it wouldn't be that hard for them to go just a little further east. Target opened a store in a former Bon-Ton in South Burlington, VT, in a spot that was around 60K. For comparison, Olean's former Bon-Ton is 73K. And in a funny coincidence, Target is opening a 73K store in Doylestown, PA by making use of a former Bon-Ton. Clearly they could do it here!

While I admit none of my suggestions are unlikely going to make a difference in whatever does happen, I'd thought it would be a good opportunity to put my 10 years of retail experience and knowledge of the local area to work. 

In summary, don't give up on retail for this property. The Olean trade area is under served and could use more shopping and dining options. With the arrival of new businesses elsewhere, a golden opportunity exists to attract even more new retailers and restaurants to the area via redevelopment. Don't dismiss it simple because of the dead mall stigma. While rare, malls can turn around if the right steps are taken to revive it. This particular mall feels like it is a prime candidate for rebound if done right. 

And to be clear, any business listed that is not currently operating at the mall is not confirmed as coming to the mall. These are just potential ideas of my own research that could be considered when choosing potential tenants. 

In the off chance one of the developers is reading this post, feel free to ask for further explanation by contacting me directly.