Summit Park aka Summit Mall RIP (New York, Walden: sale, 2014, loan)

[Thundarr457]

Wikipedia:

The Summit, formerly Summit Park Mall, was an enclosed shopping mall in Wheatfield, New York. Opened in 1972, the mall became largely vacant by the late 1990s. It underwent renovations in 2004 and 2005 which added new anchor stores and tenants, but after the mall's developers filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, the complex was closed except for three anchor stores: Sears, The Bon-Ton and Save-A-Lot, with two more vacant anchors last occupied by Steve & Barry's and a Macy's closeout store. As of September 2017, Save-A-Lot has closed permanently, leaving only Sears and The Bon-Ton still open in the mall. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that The Bon-Ton would be closing in August 2018. as it is going out of business leaving Sears as the only tenant left. On May 7, 2018, it was announced that Sears would also be closing in August 2018 which will leave the mall with no tenants

From BN: 5/7/2018

Sears was a true survivor at the former Summit Mall complex in the Town of Wheatfield.

The store was an original anchor tenant when what was called the Summit Park Mall debuted in 1972. In the decades that followed, Sears endured amid rising vacancies at the Williams Road complex, changes in mall ownership, and revitalization ideas that never panned out.

Now the Sears store is closing. A liquidation sale will start May 18 and the store will close in early August, said Howard Riefs, a Sears spokesman.

The impending loss of Sears and the mall's only other active store, Bon-Ton, returns attention to a persistent question about the massive former Summit Mall: What now?

A Canadian developer, Zoran Cocov, has owned the mall since 2014. Cynthia Potts, a Cocov official, noted that Sears is not a tenant, since Sears owns its own building and the parcel of land it sits on. The county assessed that property's value at $1.5 million.

"While we feel this would be a great loss to our community," Sears has not yet contacted Cocov about the fate of its Wheatfield store, Potts said.

But Potts noted the original contract with mall ownership has a clause giving Cocov the right of first refusal to acquire the property in the event of a closing.

"We would at that time consider all possible options for mall ownership and how it may be included in future development opportunity," Potts said.

The former Summit complex's woes are well documented. By the late 1990s, the once-thriving mall was mostly vacant, as tenants and shoppers headed to other retail destinations. The site has changed hands over the years, and dreams of revival — including a Wizard of Oz theme park next to the mall – have come and gone.

Bon-Ton's Wheatfield store will close as the chain shuts down all of its locations by Aug. 31. And a Save-a-Lot store that once operated at the mall has left.

But Potts said new development is in the works, in the form of a sports and entertainment venue. The plans include a Big Thunder Brewing Co. microbrewery and restaurant, and two indoor sports facilities, consisting of 96,000 square feet each, next to mall for sports like volleyball, baseball, soccer, softball and lacrosse.

Cocov is "open to new partnerships, business startups and entertainment-based businesses that may be interested in being a part owner of this project," Potts said.

"There is a lot of opportunity right now because of the square footage available and we are planning several phases that will be occurring over an eight- to 10-year period," she said. The former mall consists of about 800,000 square feet. Cocov also owns 570 acres around the mall.

The Wheatfield Local Development Corp. and the Town of Wheatfield are facilitating a $750,000 grant for the Big Thunder Brewing element of the project, from the state Office for Community Renewal. The Wheatfield Local Development Corp. said the closing documents have been prepared but a closing date has not been set.

"We are excited about the prospects this brewery represents in regard to the property itself and are proceeding forward based on a construction timeline to be provided and updated by brewery ownership," the development corporation said in a statement. A Big Thunder Brewery representative did not return a request to comment on Monday.

The News reported in August 2017 that Cocov's plans for the two sports facilities lost its tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, when the developer changed its proposal from using inflatable domes to metal buildings.

Sears has closed some other area stores, shutting down its Walden Galleria and Boulevard Mall locations. The chain has struggled financially for years, but its stores at Eastern Hills Mall and McKinley Mall remain open.

Riefs declined to reveal the number of employees the Wheatfield store has. Employees who are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Sears and Kmart stores in the area.

"We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced," he said.

Having fewer stores – and the right format – will help us bring Sears Holdings to a size and place to meet the realities of the changing retail world," Riefs said.

But there is hope:

Summit Mall project estimated to finish in late 2018
Fri, Feb 9th 2018 08:40 pm

Big Thunder Brewery project mentioned at recent WLDC meeting
By David Yarger
Tribune Editor

For years now, other than a few surviving stores, the Summit Park Mall complex along Williams Road has been a ghost town. As 2018 progresses, the light is seeming to shine brighter for the complex.
The Wheatfield Local Development Corporation met last Thursday night to discuss the current situation of the Big Thunder Brewing project, which is slated to replace the old Toys R' Us building, recently vacated by Save-A-Lot, with a brewery, bar and restaurant.
The WLDC had a timeline of the progress, but wouldn't reveal exact dates for the project, saying the information shouldn't be revealed to the public. The only updates on progress received, was that the Save-A-Lot building has been completely gutted, and the brewery should be finished sometime in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The WLDC, according to their website, "is committed to fostering new business as well as retaining and expanding existing local businesses to build economic capacity specific to the Town of Wheatfield."
Back in early 2017, John Robinson, a principal of Big Thunder Brewing announced the project would cost around $3.3 million. Also, in early 2017, the Town of Wheatfield Town Board applied for a $750,000 grant to be used for brewery equipment, which the grant was received later that year.
The grant is also broken down in three parts, which Councilman Larry Helwig explained early last March, saying "They're actually asking for a half million (dollar) loan for five years at 3.5 percent. And as they pay that back, that actually comes back to the Wheatfield LDC, and then we can use it over time for future economic growth projects that the LDC deems worthy."
The second part of the grant would be a deferred loan in the amount of $234,000, which the brewery would not have to pay back if it provides jobs for 54 employees.
Along with the brewery, Niagara International Sports and Entertainment Event Center proposed to build two metal buildings in the back of the mall, which would be used as a sports complex. The projected finish of that project is also for the fourth quarter of 2018.
WLDC President Bill Wagner said the hope is the sports facility traffic also brings traffic to the restaurant.
Wagner said the project is a huge renovation for the mall, which has been empty since 2009.
"It's a beautiful project, it's going to change the face of the Summit Mall, at least that section of it. I think it's going to be great for the town; it looked very positive and we hope for the best," Wagner said.
Wagner added that the brewery is planning to make the outside of the building more appealing by adding an outside patio bar, as well as beach volleyball courts, but for the most part the building would stay the same.
Former Town Supervisor and WLDC member Robert Cliffe said the company is talking about ordering the brewery equipment later on this month.
Wagner said, "I think at this point I wanna make sure that we get; I think the next course of action is we update the documents and get them back in front of their attorney and say, 'OK we've got the timeline, we've got all the information that we need and put the ball back in their court.'"
The next step requires putting "the ball back in their court," as the brewery and WLDC will need to come to some sort of finalization for the project to proceed as scheduled.

[bmd69]

Craphole

[JWRocks]

Once you get a Steve and Barry's, the mall is on it's way out

[JH6]

Originally Posted by JWRocks

Once you get a Steve and Barry's, the mall is on it's way out

Thanks for posting that, I was having a chat with a friend about that super cheap place for trashy logo Tshirts.

I didn't know they went under nationally. When we were kids we used to buy the ghetto leather jackets for 9 dollars, and wear them as Halloween costumes. Everything stunk like cheap chinese leather.

[Thundarr457]

Steve and Barry's closed in 2009