The Pyramid Shops at Ithaca Mall

 

    

     It has been a bit since our last mall post, hasn't it? Let's fix this by looking at the slowly declining Shops at Ithaca Mall. Originally developed as the Pyramid Mall Ithaca, it opened in 1976 under than no other than the Pyramid Companies. The mall got the even more generic The Shops at Ithaca Mall name in 2007 when it became under new management. None of the original anchors (JCPenney, local store JW Rhodes, Montgomery Ward and Hills) remain. 

1995 Satellite view courtesy of Google Earth

    Bon-Ton would buy out the local JW Rhodes at some point and a smaller Sears joined the mall as a 5th anchor in the late '80s or early '90s. JCPenney departed the mall in 2002. Around the same time, Ames would takeover Hills and Montgomery Ward would go bankrupt. With the anchors at both ends of the mall now empty, anchoritis could of set in and gradually cause the mall to go into a downward trend, but it was not to be. Pyramid was able to make the needed changes to the mall by bringing Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods and Borders to take over the old JCPenney.

    Pyramid took quite drastic action to for the old Montgomery Wards. In order for Target to open up shop, parts of the Montgomery Ward would be absorbed to become more mall space while the remainder would evidently be torn down. The newly created mall space became a hallway to Target of sorts with Old Navy on one side of the corridor and AC Moore arts on the other. As you can see in the 2006 satellite view below, you'll also notice the demolition of the Hills/Ames space to make way for REGAL cinemas. 

    The 2009 view shows the property as it looks today, although additional changes to the anchor lineup have occurred since then.

Additional changes occurred with the Borders space becoming Ultimate Athletics in 2011. That same space would see even more turnover in 2014 with DSW Shoes and Ulta Beauty brought in to replace the gym. Ultimate Athletics would move to the now closed Sears space. The next major change would occur in 2015 with AC Moore closing this location in order to make way for a relocated Micheal's. (The previous location is now a Homegoods store.) Bon-Ton would close in 2018 along with the rest of the chain. From what I understand, it appears that Cayuga Health will be taking over a significant portion of the mall signaling a trend toward mixed-use.

Capture courtesy of Google Maps