Crossgates Mall
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Crossgates Mall is an enclosed,
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
-oriented, super-regional
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
located in the
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
suburb of Guilderland. It is the largest indoor shopping center in the
Capital District A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...
, and the third largest in the
State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
. The mall is anchored by retailers
Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...
,
JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
,
Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized in all caps as DICK'S Sporting Goods) is an American chain of sporting goods stores founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack. It is the largest sporting goods retailer in the United States and is listed ...
,
Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...
, Burlington, and
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
. Both Crossgates Mall and the nearby
Crossgates Commons Crossgates Commons is a large shopping plaza in Albany, New York along Washington Avenue Extension. It is owned and managed by Pyramid Management Group, Inc., who also own and manage the nearby Crossgates Mall. History Crossgates Commons i ...
shopping plaza are owned and operated by the Pyramid Management Group, Inc. through multiple subsidiaries. The mall has a gross leasable area of and features 212 stores and
restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
s as well as an 18-screen
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
Regal Cinema The Regal Cinema is an Art deco movie theatre located at Colaba Causeway, in Mumbai, India. Built by Framji Sidhwa, the first film to be aired at the Regal was the Laurel and Hardy work '' The Devil's Brother'' in 1933. According to the '' ...
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...
. Vehicular access is available from Western Avenue, Washington Avenue Extension, and a ramp just south of
Adirondack Northway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
terminus. There are 10-12 parking lots. Public transit is available via a major bus stop served by multiple Capital District Transportation Authority routes.


History


Proposal, opposition, and construction

In the 1970s, Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group, Inc. (Pyramid) began purchasing lands within the Pine Bush with the intent to develop a shopping mall, but it wasn't until 1978 that their plans were revealed to the public. The initial proposal called for a $50 million mall on a lot with six anchor stores, 100 vendors, a food court, and direct access from the
Adirondack Northway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
. Opposition from residents and environmentalists was rapid and widespread. The first public hearing on the project was attended by more than 300 speakers, the majority of whom opposed the projects on the grounds that it would destroy a large swath of the unique and ecologically sensitive Pine Bush, would contribute to the continuing urbanization of Guilderland, would cause traffic congestion, and would not provide the claimed economic benefits, among other objections. Despite widespread opposition, a petition from a citizen's group known as the Concerned Citizens Against Crossgates, and an embattled town board, the project was approved rapidly. In opposition, the town supervisor at the time stated: "Taking into consideration that the majority of the correspondence I got was opposed to the Crossgates, and (a) feeling that I have that, in the future that part of town will just be a conglomeration of traffic, I am forced to vote in the negative." The decision was the cause of at least one town official's resignation. During the four years following the unveiling of the proposal, the town board only voted unanimously on one aspect of the project: that the town should receive its full share of the resulting tax revenue.


Early years

The mall opened on March 4, 1984. Although Pyramid had initially planned for a 1.3 million square footprint with six anchors, at opening it occupied only and had four anchors: a
Caldor Caldor, Inc. was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by husband and wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett. Referred to by many as "the Bloomingdale's of discounting," Caldor grew from a second story "Walk-Up-&-Save" operation in Port Ches ...
,
Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain founded in 1841 by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh. It was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. The destruction of the historical flagship store o ...
,
Filene's Filene's was an American department store chain founded in 1881 by William Filene. The historic Filene's Department Store in the Downtown Crossing district of Boston, Massachusetts housed the flagship store and headquarters, while branch store ...
, and
JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
. Of the roughly 170 smaller vendor spaces, 80 were occupied. It was the seventh enclosed shopping mall built by Pyramid, part of a nationwide boom in shopping center openings that peaked at 2,600 in 1985. Throughout the 1980s, Pyramid sought to expand the mall into the footprint originally envisioned, but were repeatedly rebuffed by the Town.


Expansion

In October 1994 the mall underwent an expansion nearly doubling its footprint to almost and providing space for up to 250 stores. Following this expansion,
Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...
, Hoyts Cinemas, and a new Filene’s store opened as anchors. The original Filene’s space was partially occupied by a
Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized in all caps as DICK'S Sporting Goods) is an American chain of sporting goods stores founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack. It is the largest sporting goods retailer in the United States and is listed ...
. In 1996, anchor Jordan Marsh was replaced by Macy's when the Jordan Marsh brand was retired. In 1998, Pyramid attempted to double the mall footprint to for a new recreation facility, and sought to raze a nearby residential neighborhood for an 8-story hotel. Following widespread citizen protests, the Guilderland Town Board rejected the required zoning changes. In 1999, Cohoes Fashions relocated their store from their historic location in downtown
Cohoes, New York Cohoes ( ) is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's ...
. In 2007 their parent company,
Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, is an American national off-price department store retailer, and a division of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation with more than 1,100 stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico, with it ...
, closed many of the Cohoes locations and branded those that remained as Burlington Coat Factory.
Caldor Caldor, Inc. was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by husband and wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett. Referred to by many as "the Bloomingdale's of discounting," Caldor grew from a second story "Walk-Up-&-Save" operation in Port Ches ...
went out of business the same year. Their space at the mall's center court was split between a
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
on the second floor and an H&M on the first.
Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...
would build a store in 2014. In 2021, it was announced the legendary division would shutter and was replaced with
Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...
.


Recent Years

Pyramid developed several dining and entertainment categories during the mid-2010's. Among them are Maggie McFly's,
Texas de Brazil Texas de Brazil is a family owned churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) restaurant chain with locations both internationally and domestically. It debuted October 13, 1998, in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The restaurant is a Brazilian-America ...
, Funny Bone, 110 Grill, 5 Wits, Aloha Krab, and APEX. By 2023, since the government lockdown, Crossgates Mall has also announced several newest additions, among them are Earthbound Trading Co,
Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...
, Lovesac,
Lovisa Lovisa is a Swedified form of Louise, which originates in Louis and has been used in Sweden since the 17th century. It was placed in the Swedish calendar in the 1750s after king Adolf Fredericks marriage to Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia in 1744. Lo ...
, Offline by Aerie,
Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...
,
Dry Goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...
,
Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...
, and
REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...
. In August 2017 Pyramid announced a plan to construct a hotel in partnership with Hilton. The hotel opened in 2018, achieving a strategic goal Pyramid had held since at least the late 1990s. It opened under the Homewood Suites, aimed at long-term stays, and the Tru brand, aimed at younger travelers. Both brands are owned by Hilton. On the heels of the hotel opening, Pyramid announced a plan to develop three sites adjacent to mall. Initially, this called for 222 residential units and a
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...
. The latter was to be developed on a lot that would require demolition of a "ghost neighborhood", consisting of homes Pyramid had purchased in the preceding two decades. Within a month, local environmental watchdog group Save the Pine Bush, residents, and other groups sued Pyramid alleging that clearcutting of the Costco site had occurred in violation of the SEQRA and the 14th Amendment. The suit was later dismissed.


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{Shopping malls in Upstate New York Shopping malls established in 1984 1984 establishments in New York (state) Shopping malls in Albany County, New York The Pyramid Companies Guilderland, New York