A- Absolute Victory
Minimum vacancy rate of 95%. All anchors are in excellent or decent standing financially and are filled, or are undergoing construction to accommodate a new one. Possible one anchor with financial issues that manages to hang on for real estate purposes. The mall serves as a regional shopping destination. Surrounding retail (if any) is filled or mostly filled.
B- Better Be On the Lookout
Vacancy rate of 80% - 94%. At least two anchors in larger malls are decent standing financially. Possible one or two anchors with financial issues or one empty anchor space. Other anchors are filled and in decent standing financially. Surrounding retail (if any) is mostly filled.
C- Complicated
Vacancy rate of 50% - 79%. At least one anchor is empty, but ideally would have two or more empty anchor spaces. Anchor spaces can range from decent financially to likely to have one or two anchors with financial issues. Possible one anchor in decent financial status manages to continue due to great sales or since owning the store. Surrounding retail (if any) may have empty storefronts. This category is the most unique of all five due to various factors that are unique to each mall.
D- Dead & Dying
Vacancy rate of 1% - 49%. For smaller malls, at least one of two anchors are empty. For larger malls, at least two anchors are empty. Remaining anchor spaces likely to have one or two anchors with financial issues. Possible one anchor in decent financial status manages to continue due to great sales or since owning the store. Surrounding retail (if any) is likely to either be already empty or may have empty storefronts.
F- Failed
Mall itself has either less than five stores or is entirely closed down to the public. Possible that one or two anchors may remain. Surrounding retail (if any) is likely to either be already empty, may have empty storefronts or simply may have been repurposed.
EC (Extra Credit)-
A mall that has managed to make a comeback from a failed status to either attract a new purpose or reopen its doors. This category is given the name extra credit do the extra steps that were taken to get a shopping complex back up and running either as something else entirely or a "new" shopping plaza that manages to have some of the old mall structure in tact. The catch is the that mall building itself WAS NOT entirely torn down to make room for something new. Surrounding retail (if any) is likely to have either been repurposed or unchanged from before the mall closed its doors.
If I missed a mall below, that is likely due to the fact I've never heard of it. Obviously then, such mall would automatically get an F, unless it manages to fit into the Extra Credit category.
Another thing to note this is not a final grade list, as an anchor leaves a mall it can lead to a free fall effect on the stores inside the mall. The more stores close, the lower of a grade a mall gets.
PA Malls:
- A
- Millcreek Mall
- Viewmont Mall
- B
- Clarion Mall
- Downtown Meadville Mall
- Dubois Mall
- Laurel Mall
- Nittany Mall
- Wyoming Valley Mall
- C
- Clearfield Mall
- Cranberry Mall
- Mall at Steamtown
- D
- Lycoming Mall
- Shenango Valley Mall
- Susquehanna Valley Mall
- F
- Columbia Mall
- Harborcreek Mall
- Meadville Mall
- Warren Mall
- EC
- Bradford Mall
- Pittston Mall
- West Side Mall
NY Malls:
- A
- Destiny USA
- Eastview Mall
- Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls
- The Mall at Greece Ridge
- Walden Galleria
- B
- Chautauqua Mall
- Marketplace Mall
- Salmon Run Mall
- The Shops at Ithaca Mall
- C
- Arnot Mall
- Boulevard Mall
- Eastern Hills Mall
- McKinley Mall
- Oakdale Mall
- Olean Center Mall
- Triphammer Marketplace
- D
- Finger Lakes Mall
- Great Northern Mall
- Main Place Mall
- Shoppingtown Mall
- F
- Batavia City Center Mall
- Irondequoit Mall
- Pyramid Mall (Geneva)
- Thruway Mall
- Tri-County Mall
- University Mall (Binghamton)
- EC
- Cortlandville Mall
- Camillus Mall
- Fairmount Fair Mall
- Fayetteville Mall
- Midtown Plaza Mall
- Rainbow Mall
- Penn-Can Mall / Driver's Village
Do you agree with my assessment of the malls? If not, I'd love to hear why in the comments below.
Baldwinsville Mall, you mean Tri-County Mall? I do agree, given it's now apartments and the only trace is a Rite-Aid (Eckerd) outparcel.
ReplyDeleteOf those I've been to, I agree with the assessments. A few of those I didn't even know existed.
Ah, so that's the name. I couldn't quite remember what is was called so thank you.
DeleteSome of these are long gone and so are any trace of them.
An Extra Credit one that you missed would be the West Side Mall in Kingston, PA (now the Narrows Shopping Center). That mall was mostly torn down in the late 90's to be converted into a strip center, except for the Hills/Ames building at the north end of the site, and a small wing of the mall on the east side of the property. The Hills/Ames was later torn down for a new Lowe's, but the remaining old wing still stands, and was converted into a strip center (the portion where Rite Aid and Petco are now with the odd roofline). Rite Aid actually dates back to the mall days, and is still in the same spot from that era too! This is a link to the site on Google Maps if you want to take a look at the site now: https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+Side+Mall/@41.2600055,-75.9046591,566m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89c5109d6dc3e3b1:0xd2a3cd15af1ca294!2sNarrows+Shopping+Center,+Edwardsville,+PA+18704!3b1!8m2!3d41.2594692!4d-75.9023256!3m4!1s0x89c5109d7d1d23d1:0x7b60aa6de6f0c4!8m2!3d41.2596397!4d-75.9029941
ReplyDeleteOther than that, of the malls I'm familiar with, the ratings seem pretty accurate.
I should of known that was a mall, but regardless thanks for the heads up! I've added it to the list.
DeleteCool idea for a blog post! You certainly know of a lot more malls than I do.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and I try. :D
DeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI think Susquehanna Valley might be teetering between D and F being that Bon-Ton there is closing.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely closer to F at this point now, but still within the D category.
DeleteIm surprised the Cranberry Mall is still hanging on after losing both Sears and JCP...and what really got,me is the Bon Ton there is not on the closing list of the 42 to be closed...honestly,what can mall management do to get stores to move into the empty Sears and JCP spaces?
ReplyDeleteCranberry is definitely in the D stage now.
DeleteWith the Clarion Mall,I've heard quite a few rumors of what could be moving into the old Kmart...Ollies,Big Lots,etc...but the one story I had heard was Rural King was looking at the space, but I heard it fell thru because of a couple reasons...outside storage(which was small)..and people saying they wanted it to come there,but then RK backed out because of all the rumors...your thoughts on this also?..IMO the Franklin PA would be more suited for RK ..more outside storage space and bigger store...
ReplyDeleteAnd my take on this is if whoever manages the mall,strip center etc,knows about the eventual shutdown of say a store like KMart or Sears,why aren't they trying to get something in there soon after it closes,instead of waiting months or years to get something in to replace it?
ReplyDeleteIt's complicated. More often that not, it comes down to lease issues.
DeleteChautauqua mall is loosing Sears
ReplyDeleteI feel it should be a little lower on that list
Definitely C category nowadays.
DeleteOakdale Mall is sliding into the D category. It now has 3 empty Anchor spots with just JC Penny and Burlington remaining. The Burlington has reduced the size of the sales floor. Inline stores are starting to bleed out, the Sears wing is almost completely dead and they just announced this week the closing of VanCott Jewelers.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how long it would take. I made a visit out there last year and was surprised that so many chains were still present. I didn't realize Burlington shrunk the store.
DeleteYeah when you go into the Burlington if you look along the back of the store you can see they put up temporary walls decreasing the size of the sales floor. The walls don't go to the ceiling so it's noticeable. It has been a while since they did that though, I noticed it last year. There was an article in the Press & Sun this weekend that the owners have transferred the mortgage to an investment company out of Florida, which is not good news and there is concerns that the owners are not going to make their tax payment this year.
DeleteAlso there was another enclosed mall in Binghamton. The Metro Center opened in 1984 in downtown Binghamton as a retail shopping mall with a food court in an effort to revitalize downtown. That was short lived however and the mall is now entirely occupied by businesses. I remember there being a handful of stores left operation as late as 2001 because as a senior in high school we would eat lunch at the food court at times. There was also a clothing store, Hallmark, a nail salon, a candy shop, a convenience type store, at least 2 out of 5 food court eateries open, a woodworking store and a branch of Visions Credit Union.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I didn't know about this place. Sounds a lot like Buffalo's Main Place Mall. I assume it didn't have any anchors? Or did Boscov's sort of act like one?
DeleteIt was connected to the Boscov's Parking Garage by a fly-over above Water St. I don't think it had traditional anchors, maybe the Bennetton because that was a national chain.
DeleteI was talking with some people in a Historic Binghamton page I'm on and from what they told me some of the stores in the mall were Rinker's Jewelers, a video rental store, Benneton, Hallmark, Goldsmith (local jeweler), B Dalton, A children's boutique (from 89-90), A chocolate shop, Sensational Hair Salon, Tiffany Bank Cafe, a men's clothing store, Elizabeth's Shoes, a DMV office, an optician, a convenience type store, Daniel Florist, Julie's (an ice cream/sandwich shop), Cobbler's Bench, Merle Norman. So some national chains but a lot of local business as well.
Thanks for passing this information along!
DeleteSo Boscov's kind of acted like an anchor but in an indirect fashion. This former mall probably explains why Boscov's even has a store in downtown Binghamton.