Latham Circle Mall

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Latham Circle Mall


caption =
location = Latham, New York
opening_date = 1957 (Open-air), 1977 (Enclosed)
developer =
manager =
owner = Eugene Weiss
number_of_stores = 40
number_of_anchors = 3
floor_area = 660,000 ft²
floors = 2 (main mall is on first floor, with movie theater and some offices on second floor)
parking =
website =

Latham Circle Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located adjacent to the Latham Traffic Circle (US 9, NY 2 and NY 7) in Latham, New York. It is anchored by JCPenney, Regal Cinemas, Burlington Coat Factory, and Lowe's Home Improvement.

History

Latham Circle Mall was opened in 1957 as an open-air plaza called Latham Corners Shopping Center before being converted into an enclosed mall in 1977. The new mall featured a JCPenney (which stayed over from the original mall), Woolworth, and Boston Store as anchors. Other stores included a mix of national and local stores such as Deb, Jonathan Reid, Lerner New York, Casual Corner, Denby's, Papa Gino's, and Waldenbooks. The mall was expanded in 1988 to include a Caldor, a new JCPenney store to replace the old one and a second level which would house the ten screen movie theater. The two level space occupied by The Boston Store closed in the late 1980s, however, due to a fire that ripped through the upper floor. The store closed for remodeling and was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory in the early 1990s. In 1998, a Stein Mart was added as an anchor, moving into the old Woolworths which closed in 1995, but closed in 2001. Also, Caldor closed in early 1999 when the chain went out of business, but the vacated building remained until 2003, when it was demolished to make way for a new Lowe's Home Improvement store. The new Lowe's was opened in late 2003; however, it was only served by an exterior entrance. Several other stores have recently left the mall, including Klein's All Sports (a local sporting goods store that went out of business in 2005), McDonald's, GNC, Gateway Computers, Gold's Gym, CVS Pharmacy, Foot Locker, and much of the Food Court. The mall has fallen on hard times during the past decade due to the growing popularity of other regional shopping centers such as Crossgates Mall and Colonie Center. In 2005 it was announced that the mall's developer would be sinking money into reviving the property and that Regal Cinemas signed a new lease and would expand their theaters.

Cancelled Renovation

It was reported in May 19, 2007 by all major Albany media outlets, that plans are underway to renovate the mall. The plan would involve a complete refacing out the building and converting Latham Circle Mall into a hybridized power center/lifestyle center/enclosed mall combo. A wing will be de-malled and replaced with an open-air courtyard. The mall will change its name, however, the name has not been announced.

Several new restaurants were announced, including Bonefish Grill and Texas Roadhouse. The current food court would be removed for Krazy City, and new stores such as Old Navy, Michael's, REI and Circuit City will be in the mall (though Circuit City and Michael's will not have mall access). Other stores have been recruited including J.Crew, The Disney Store, and Ann Taylor LOFT. However, it still must be approved by the planning board of the Town of Colonie. BL Companies, the company doing the work, has renovated Westfield Connecticut Post in the past.

Sadly, the renovation never materialized. Latham Circle Mall will face foreclosure and is in debt for $21 million. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/06/09/story5.html Latham Circle owners ask for time as lender files $25M foreclosure petition - The Business Review (Albany): ] ]

Notoriety

Latham Circle Mall has been noted by many dead mall fanatics as an interesting mall with many oddball characteristics, with wildly varying décor (ranging from exposed HVAC systems to ceiling tiles and hanging globe lighting), random second levels that don't connect, and a cinder-blocked deadend where Lowe's should be.

Anchors

* Burlington Coat Factory: Two levels, opened in the 1990s in former Boston Store space.
* JCPenney: Opened 1988.
*Lowe's: Opened in 2004 on the site of the former Caldor. It does not have an interior entrance.
*Regal Cinemas: Opened in 1988.

Former Anchors

*Grand Union: Opened 1956, moved to outparcel building in 1984. Closed 2001.
*Caldor: Opened 1984 in former Grand Union space. Demolished, now Lowe's.
*The Boston Store: Opened 1956, closed in 1990. Now Burlington Coat Factory.
*Woolworth: Opened 1977, closed 1997. Later Stein Mart.
*W.T. Grant: Opened 1956. Later JCPenney.
*JCPenney (original location): Demolished for new Regal Cinemas complex. A replacement location was built
*Stein Mart: Opened 1998 in former Woolworth, closed 2001, now vacant.

References

External links

* [http://www.cameronllc.com/PropertyDisplay.aspx?id=1019 Cameron Group]
* [http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/latham_circle_mall.html Latham Circle Mall] at [http://www.deadmalls.com/ Deadmalls.com]
* [http://www.labelscar.com/new-york/latham-circle-mall Latham Circle Mall at Labelscar]
* [http://thecaldorrainbow.blogspot.com/2007/06/languishing-latham-circle-mall.html "The Languishing Latham Circle Mall" at The Caldor Rainbow]
* [http://retail-stories.blogspot.com/2006/11/latham-circle-mall-latham-new-york.html Latham Circle Mall at RetailStories.com]