Sunrise Highway and North Bedford Avenue
Suffolk County (Town of Islip), New York
The fifth shopping mall on Long Island, the last of its newly-built, open air centers, was located on an 85 acre tract, 46.6 miles east of Times Square, in Suffolk County's Town of Islip / Bay Shore hamlet.
SOUTH SHORE MALL CENTER was developed by New York City-based R.H. Macy, who anchored their shopping venue with a 3-level (318,800 square foot) operation. This location, the eighth in the New York-based Macy's chain, held its grand opening August 30, 1963.
The original, seventy store center also included Bond's Clothes, F.W. Woolworth, Record Town, Lerner Shops and Captree Corners, a bizarre-type -mall within a mall- area occupying the northwest corner of the complex.
The first phase of the retail hub was complete by 1967...when its 3-level (202,100 square foot) J.C. Penney [the first "New Look" store on Long Island] came inline. This was soon followed by the dedication of the outparcel Bay Shore Loews South Shore Mall Theatre.
Mall-type competitors for the SOUTH SHORE center included WALT WHITMAN MALL (1962) {9.9 milers northwest, in Suffolk County}, SMITH HAVEN MALL (1969) {10.3 miles northeast, also in Suffolk County} and SUNRISE MALL (1973) {10.4 miles southwest, in Nassau County}.
To compete effectively with these -and other- shopping centers, SOUTH SHORE MALL CENTER was fully-enclosed in 1975. The next major renovation began in 1996, 10 years after the mall had been acquired by Australia-based Westfield Holdings (today's Westfield Group).
The northern end of the center was gutted. 40,000 square feet of retail area was added, along with a newly-built, 3-level (216,300 square foot) Sears, which opened in September 17, 1997. A 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord and Taylor was dedicated in late 1998. Around this time, the official name of the retail hub became WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN SOUTH SHORE...truncated to WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE in mid-2005.
Presently, WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE houses 1,165,000 leasable square feet, with over one hundred and twenty-five stores and services. However, this square footage figure will be changing over the next few years. The existing Macy's closed for good March 4, 2012, with demolition commencing in August.
The original, seventy store center also included Bond's Clothes, F.W. Woolworth, Record Town, Lerner Shops and Captree Corners, a bizarre-type -mall within a mall- area occupying the northwest corner of the complex.
The first phase of the retail hub was complete by 1967...when its 3-level (202,100 square foot) J.C. Penney [the first "New Look" store on Long Island] came inline. This was soon followed by the dedication of the outparcel Bay Shore Loews South Shore Mall Theatre.
Mall-type competitors for the SOUTH SHORE center included WALT WHITMAN MALL (1962) {9.9 milers northwest, in Suffolk County}, SMITH HAVEN MALL (1969) {10.3 miles northeast, also in Suffolk County} and SUNRISE MALL (1973) {10.4 miles southwest, in Nassau County}.
To compete effectively with these -and other- shopping centers, SOUTH SHORE MALL CENTER was fully-enclosed in 1975. The next major renovation began in 1996, 10 years after the mall had been acquired by Australia-based Westfield Holdings (today's Westfield Group).
The northern end of the center was gutted. 40,000 square feet of retail area was added, along with a newly-built, 3-level (216,300 square foot) Sears, which opened in September 17, 1997. A 2-level (120,000 square foot) Lord and Taylor was dedicated in late 1998. Around this time, the official name of the retail hub became WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN SOUTH SHORE...truncated to WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE in mid-2005.
Presently, WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE houses 1,165,000 leasable square feet, with over one hundred and twenty-five stores and services. However, this square footage figure will be changing over the next few years. The existing Macy's closed for good March 4, 2012, with demolition commencing in August.
The 3-level (318,000 square foot) structure is being replaced by a 2-level (200,000 square foot) Macy's, which is scheduled to open for business in the fall of 2013. Upon its completion, WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE will encompass 1,047,000 leasable square feet.
Sources:
http://www.westfield.com/
Suffolk County, New York tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.com/
A full article for Greater New York City's PALISADES CENTER may be found on the SHOPPING MALL MUSEUM site.
Sources:
http://www.westfield.com/
Suffolk County, New York tax assessor website
http://www.cinematreasures.com/
A full article for Greater New York City's PALISADES CENTER may be found on the SHOPPING MALL MUSEUM site.
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