BOULEVARD MALL

Niagara Falls Boulevard / US 62 and Maple Road

Erie County (Town of Amherst), New York

Greater Buffalo's first fully-enclosed shopping center was developed by Greater Cleveland's Forest City Enterprises and designed by New York City's Lathrop Douglass. The 12 million dollar complex originally occupied 44.7 acres of a 55.8-acre parcel. This was located 11 miles northeast of downtown Buffalo, in a section of Erie County known as Town of Amherst.

The name BOULEVARD MALL was derived from the mall's location along Niagara Falls Boulevard. Ground was broken on September 13, 1961. Six stores debuted on November 6, 1962. These were a 2-level (220,000 square foot), Buffalo-based "Sattler's 998," 2-level (80,000 square foot), Amherst-based Jenss, (13,500 square foot) Acme Market, (28,800 square foot) Kleinhans men's, The Sample Casual Shops and Morrisons. 

The November 1962 dedication was highlighted by the release of several colored balloons. The festivities included a TV broadcast greeting by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (R), speeches by Edward R. Rath (Erie County Executive), Herbert C. Weinberg (Forest City Enterprises Project Coordinator) and Harry R. Jones (Town of Amherst Supervisor). Music was provided by the Sweet Home Central High School Band.

A mall-wide dedication was held on March 13, 1963. The high point of this celebration was a public, trans-oceanic phone call to to the office of the mayor of Buffalo's sister city, Kanazawa, Japan. Demonstrations were given at a small figure skating ice rink in the mall's Center Court. The Sweet Home Central High School Band, who had performed at the November 1962 dedication, provided music.

Charter inline stores included Thom McAn Shoes, Baker's Qualicraft Shoes, Reed's Jewelers, Bond Clothes, Gray Drug, Fanny Farmer Candies, and (24,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge. On the south end of the property was the freestanding Suburban Lanes Bowling Center. A pad northeast of the mall proper was developed as the General Cinema Corporation Boulevard Mall Cinema I & II. This venue opened for business on February 16, 1966. It was reconfigured as the Boulevard Mall Cinema I-II-III in October 1973 and as the Boulevard Mall 1-4, in June 1980.

The first expansion of the mall had been announced in February 1969. A 3-level (214,600 square foot) J.C. Penney and freestanding Auto Center were added to the northeast corner. These opened for business on February 25, 1971. 

Competing shopping hubs in Buffalo's "Northtowns" area included NORTHTOWN PLAZA (1951) {.3 mile south, in Erie County (Town of Amherst)} and EASTERN HILLS MALL (1971) {6.3 miles southeast, in Erie County (Town of Clarence)}. Also in the vicinity were THRUWAY PLAZA (1952) {5.7 miles southeast, in Erie County (Town of Cheektowaga)} and WALDEN GALLERIA (1989) {5.6 miles southeast, also in Erie County  (Town of Cheektowaga)}.

A second mall expansion was announced on February 5, 1977 and approved, by the Amherst Planning Board, on February 17th. This project, extending the south end of the mall, added 80,000 square feet and thirty-three stores. A recently shuttered Acme supermarket was fitted with retail spaces and the interior and exterior of the mall given face lifts. This brought new skylights, tropical foliage and an underwater-lit fountain. 

Fifteen new stores were dedicated on November 9, 1978. Among these were Casual Corner, Foxmoor Casuals, Kinney Shoes and J. Rigging's. The renovation was officially dedicated in March 1979. BOULEVARD MALL now covered approximately 786,700 leasable square feet, with a tenant list eighty-three stores and services. 

In the following year, the BOULEVARD MALL Sattler's was remodeled. The 2 million dollar project was carried out between July and November 1980. It added two restaurants and a Professional Services Center. This included a beauty salon, dental clinic, legal services office, insurance agency and travel bureau. The store was also downsized to 206,000 square feet. 

Sattler's BOULEVARD MALL store was shuttered in January 1983 and re-opened, as a Rochester-based Sibley's, on October 10, 1983. The store was rebranded again when Sibley's merged with another May Department Stores division, Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's. This process got underway on February 4, 1990, when the store officially became Sibley's-Kaufmann's. In March, it was marketed as Kaufmann's-Sibley's. Finally, on April 1, 1990, it received a Kaufmann's nameplate.

A third expansion of BOULEVARD MALL had been announced in March 1990. The outparcel bowling alley would be razed and a South Wing extension constructed. This would house the 12-bay Picnic Place. This food facility opened on March 31, 1994. Original vendors were A Lotta Chiladas, Arby's, Cousin's Dog House, Kostas Souvlaki, Leon's Pizza, The Great Steak & Potato Company and the Everything's Yogurt & Salad Cafe.

A freestanding Bob's Store was also built adjacent to the south end of the mall. The (60,000 square foot) apparel retailer held its grand opening on April 10, 1994. To make the existing mall consistent with the expansion area, a 4 million dollar face lift commenced in July 1996. This project included the installation of new lighting, ceilings, skylights, landscaping and porcelain tile flooring. Two entrances were also rebuilt. A grand re-opening commenced on May 30, 1997.

Jenss was shuttered on September 15, 2000. The chain downsized from a full-line department store into a specialty retailer, dealing in high-end gifts and home decor. A new location opened one block from the mall. The first level of the old Jenss re-opened, as the very first Kaufmann's Men's Store, on May 16, 2001.

Meanwhile, the South Wing had been enlarged with four new stores. A 2-level (122,000 square foot) Sears held its grand opening on August 19, 2000. A (30,200 square foot) CompUSA and (30,000 square foot) Michaels were built adjacent to the existing Boulevard Athletic Club. BOULEVARD MALL now encompassed approximately 1,148,900 leasable square feet, with a tenant roster of 106 stores and services.

The mall's two Kaufmann's locations were "Macy-ated" on February 1, 2006. This transition was accompanied by a renovation of the mall that was done between August and December 2006. Three new sit-down restaurants opened in existing mall space; Bonefish Grill, Johnny Rockets and Grand Buffet. Likewise, the mall's exterior was updated with new entrances, signage and landscaping.

Picnic Place closed in early 2015. The facility was demolished and replaced by a (55,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which opened for business on November 7 of the same year. Rated, at the time, as the number two mall in Greater Buffalo, the shopping center soon encountered several hurdles. Inline stores, such as The Limited, Foot Locker and Regis Hairstylists moved out. Sears, a mall tenant for over 16 years, went dark on March 28, 2017, followed by Macy's Men's & Home, which shut down on October 13th.

The Forest City Realty Trust put the shopping hub on the open market in July 2016. There were no buyers. In December of the same year, it was turned over to the lender; New York City's LNR Partners. LNR flipped the property. Washington, DC-based Douglas Development acquired the struggling shopping center in June 2019. A redevelopment plan was envisaged, whereby the complex would be partially demolished and reconfigured as BOULEVARD PLACE, a mixed-use town center.

Sources:

The Buffalo News

The Courier Express (Buffalo, New York)

The Spectrum (Buffalo, New York)

http://www.fultonhistory.com / Old Fulton NY Post Cards By Tom Tryniski

http://www.boulevard-mall.com

http://movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest

Erie County, New York Tax Assessor website

http://www.wkbw.com

https://www.wivb.com

"Boulevard Mall" article on Wikipedia