Boscov's files for bankruptcy (Scranton, Washington: shopping mall, move, suite)

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

We always shop for our groceries at Wegman's for the same reasons, but Walmart has the best price on ammo in the valley.

We purchased a new grill from Boscovs and our washer/dryer set is from there as well. I like the store but HATE the mall.

I try to stay away from the Steamtown Mall as much as possible myself. I don't like the vibe there. If I have to go to a mall it's usually Viewmont.

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

I try to stay away from the Steamtown Mall as much as possible myself. I don't like the vibe there. If I have to go to a mall it's usually Viewmont.

It's a different world during the day

[SteelCityRising]

I personally just wish the Mall at Steamtown's developers had a bit more foresight back in the early-1990s. Instead of imploding a couple of city blocks of older buildings to make way for an enclosed white elephant, why couldn't they have invested their funds in renovating the facades of those buildings to house GAP, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, etc.? As of right now people have no incentive to visit other downtown venues because the mall, with its imposing parking garage, is isolated from the rest of the city. A "Shoppes at Montage"-like design right along Lackawanna Avenue would have been a much more formidable proposal. One could walk along the sidewalk from business to business and be tempted to cross the street to shop at other venues or grab a bite to eat. Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I personally just wish the Mall at Steamtown's developers had a bit more foresight back in the early-1990s. Instead of imploding a couple of city blocks of older buildings to make way for an enclosed white elephant, why couldn't they have invested their funds in renovating the facades of those buildings to house GAP, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, etc.? As of right now people have no incentive to visit other downtown venues because the mall, with its imposing parking garage, is isolated from the rest of the city. A "Shoppes at Montage"-like design right along Lackawanna Avenue would have been a much more formidable proposal. One could walk along the sidewalk from business to business and be tempted to cross the street to shop at other venues or grab a bite to eat. Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.

That's what I've said all along. Downtown Scranton would be a totally different place if that had happened. Indoor malls are now a relic of the past...plus, in a downtown, the mall actually hurts the rest of the downtown since people just drive into the parking garage, go to the mall, get back in their car and get on the highway without going anywhere else in the downtown. Where a "lifestyle center" type of place would have forced people to walk around a bit. Instead of what could have been a great destination in downtown Scranton for years into the future, we have a big white elephant suburban-type indoor mall that probably will eventually be blighted and have a future as an indoor flea market.

The same thing happened in Columbus, Ohio...a downtown mall like Steamtown was built in Columbus, 5 years before the Steamtown Mall, and has since failed. The Columbus Mall even had a pedestrian bridge linking the mall to a long-standing downtown department store called Lazarus, just like Steamtown did with The Globe. Here's a feature on that mall on a site that the Steamtown Mall will probably eventually end up on called deadmalls.com :
Dead Malls dot Com: Feature: Columbus City Center: Columbus, Ohio
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...1_QG7J3F3.html

[Southwb]

They build a mall and number one it is night all day in the parking garage. And they completly ruined the city's appearance, Steamtown the museum is ok, but instead of building all those stupid buildings, they should have worked with what they had.

[scrantonluna]

This was brought up not too long ago, and I said at the time that I do not think it would be too costly to 'retool' the mall. Certainly, the side facing Lackawanna Avenue could be revamped to look like individual store fronts; the Shoppes is nothing more than a continuous cookie-cutter building with a little variation in the facades to give the idea of individuality. As for the inside, I suppose it would still be mall-ish, but a more open entry to the street might fix that. The bridge to the old Globe store is truly a 'bridge to nowhere,' and I would not hesitiate to rip that thing down; how many parade character balloons have been squeezed under that thing in the past decade or so? Some sort of walkway linking the 500 of Lackawanna project to the mall might be a good idea. I know it was suggested last time that sections of Lackawanna Ave be closed off for good, to allow a court of sorts to be built, but I really do not think the traffic could be routed in such a way as to make this happen. At the very most maybe you could get one or two blocks, but let's face it, Washington and Adams have to stay open.

[scrantonluna]

That was a pretty good article, so close to what we have now, it's eerie. This quote was in the other link; probably the only option open, and more expensive than I would have though.

Those in charge of City Center will face similar options to reinvigorate the surrounding area.
Glimcher Realty made an unsuccessful bid to acquire half-ownership of City Center in 2004, when Mills Corp.'s bid was accepted by General Motors Pension Trust. Cannon said his company's plan was to significantly reduce the retail portion of the mall, open it up and build a street through the middle of it. The streetscape would be improved with restaurants, a grocery store and residences.
A similar mixed-use plan probably would be best for City Center, said Brian Ellis, president of Nationwide Realty.
But Cannon said it won't be easy.
"It's very expensive -- hard by comparison to building new," he said. "It's three to five times more expensive."

The problem with the mall is that it soaks up all of the buisnesses that chose to operate in the city. If half of the small shops at Steamtown were instead located throughout the downtown, you would not have abundant vacant store fronts like we do now.

[timbolv]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I personally just wish the Mall at Steamtown's developers had a bit more foresight back in the early-1990s. Instead of imploding a couple of city blocks of older buildings to make way for an enclosed white elephant, why couldn't they have invested their funds in renovating the facades of those buildings to house GAP, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, etc.? As of right now people have no incentive to visit other downtown venues because the mall, with its imposing parking garage, is isolated from the rest of the city. A "Shoppes at Montage"-like design right along Lackawanna Avenue would have been a much more formidable proposal. One could walk along the sidewalk from business to business and be tempted to cross the street to shop at other venues or grab a bite to eat. Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.

Back when it was built, indoor malls were still the thing. The whole lifestyle thing is 21st century. Am I wrong?
--I keep hering about a White Elephant or a Flea Market used to describe the current state of the mall. Is it really that bad?? I haven't been in there for about 5 years, but even then all of the storefronts were filled. Has alot changed since then?
--- Remember when you had to pay for parking? When you pulled up to the ticket dispenser, a soft female voice would say " Please take the ticket" I remember always forgetting to have the ticket validated. then I would run in Boscov's and ask one of the cute clerks to stamp it for me

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by timbolv

Back when it was built, indoor malls were still the thing. The whole lifestyle thing is 21st century. Am I wrong?
--I keep hering about a White Elephant or a Flea Market used to describe the current state of the mall. Is it really that bad?? I haven't been in there for about 5 years, but even then all of the storefronts were filled. Has alot changed since then?
--- Remember when you had to pay for parking? When you pulled up to the ticket dispenser, a soft female voice would say " Please take the ticket" I remember always forgetting to have the ticket validated. then I would run in Boscov's and ask one of the cute clerks to stamp it for me

A lot has changed...there are a lot of empty storefronts, the food court is dead, even Wendy's couldn't make it there. Although there is some Chinese place in the food court where the workers yell at you when you walk by....nothing makes me want to eat somewhere like someone yelling at me when i walk by trying to get me to eat there. Even stores like the Gap and Eddie Bauer have closed up shop, and there is no bookstore in the mall anymore (although it doesn't look like the people who hang around that mall are much into reading). I still go there sometimes for the Children's Place, and I hope that doesn't close as well, because they also have a store at Montage.

People just aren't into malls anymore....neither am I really, I never go to a mall just to go there. I'm hardly ever in the Viewmont Mall (once or twice a year maybe), and pretty much the Steamtown Mall only for the Children's Place.

As far as Boscov's is concerned, with a lousy economy, people just aren't shopping at the traditional department stores....nothing sold at a department store like Boscov's is a necessity that you can't get at a discount store, and people just don't have the money these days to pay more for name brands. People aren't going to Boscov's, the Bon-Ton, Macy's, etc....they're going to Target, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart. Personally, I like Kohl's for clothes...much cheaper than places like Boscov's....always running big sales.

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

there is some Chinese place in the food court where the workers yell at you when you walk by....nothing makes me want to eat somewhere like someone yelling at me when i walk by trying to get me to eat there.

Yeah, that really irritates me; if you haven't seen it, they have asian looking girls working there who intentionally yell broken english at you as you walk by. It's hard enough to get through the day without someone with a fake asian accent screaming 'Chickie? Chickie?' at you.
He looka lika man.