LATHAM CORNERS CENTER
Loudon Road / US 9 and Troy-Schenectady RoadAlbany County (Town of Colonie), New York
Ground was broken on October 17, 1956 for one of the earliest regional shopping centers in New York's Capital Region. LATHAM CORNERS CENTER was built on 32 acres, located 6.5 miles north of the Empire State State House. The site was in Albany County's Town of Colonie-Latham hamlet.
The open-air, strip-type complex was named for its proximity to the Latham Traffic Circle, where Loudon and Troy-Schenectady Roads intersect. Developed by Montreal's Maxwell, Cummings & Sons, under the auspices of Latham Enterprises, the shopping venue was designed by the W.O. Biernack and Poray & Associates firms.
In its original state, LATHAM CORNERS CENTER encompassed approximately 325,000 leasable square feet. It was comprised of a main retail level and upper floor of office suites. Anchoring the complex was a 2-level (81,000 square foot) Boston Store, a division of New York City-based Interstate Department Stores. The Boston Store debuted on October 24, 1957. Its dedication was accompanied by dedications of thirty-five inline stores.
An inauguration ceremony was attended by Jack L. Cummings (vice president of Latham Enterprises), Maxwell Cummings (of Maxwell Cummings & Sons), William K. Sanford (Town of Colonie supervisor), Gil MacDougald (of the MLB New York Yankees), Frank Torre (of the MLB Milwaukee Braves) and Miss Virginia Bird "Queen of Latham Corners Center." A ceremonial ribbon was cut as part of the festivities.
Charter LATHAM CIRCLE CENTER tenants included Western Auto, Dan A. Donahue Men's & Boy's, Latham Music Bar, Lerner Shops, Dixie's Hat Shop, a 2-level (39,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, 2-level (21,000 square foot) W.T. Grant, 2-level (17,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth and (32,200 square foot) Grand Union supermarket.
Regional-class rivals were eventually developed. First was COLONIE CENTER (1966) {3.4 miles southwest, in Albany County}, followed by MOHAWK MALL (1970) {6.6 miles northwest, in Schenectady County} and CLIFTON COUNTRY MALL (1976) {7.4 miles north, in Saratoga County}.
As a keeping up measure, Eugene Weiss, owner of LATHAM CORNERS CENTER, announced a renovation project in January 1974. Enclosed shopping concourses would be attached the north and northeast storefronts. Thirty-five tenant spaces, and 120,000 leasable square feet, would be added.
Construction was underway by March 1977. The name of the complex was changed to LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in May 1977. The addition was completed by November of the same year. It increased the gross leasable area of the shopping hub to approximately 450,000 square feet. New stores included GNC, Pyramid Jewelry, Sterling Optical, Fanny Farmer Candies, Pioneer Savings Bank, J.P.'s Porterhouse Too Steakhouse, Hickory Farms of Ohio and Athletic Attic.
The completion of CROSSGATES MALL (1981) {5.3 miles southwest, in Albany County} probably prompted two further expansions of LATHAM CIRCLE MALL during the 1980s. The first project, completed in 1982, relocated the Grand Union grocery into a freestanding building at the south end of the mall site. Grand Union's original location was demolished. A 1-level (86,000 square foot) Norwalk, Connecticut-based Caldor discount mart was built, which anchored a new South Wing. The LATHAM CIRCLE Caldor, 81st store in the chain, held its grand opening on March 24, 1983.
A 20 million dollar mall expansion was approved by the local government in November 1987. A 1-level (60,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was built at the north end. This store's dedication took place on November 2, 1988. The original Penney's building was reconfigured with new inline stores. A 2-level parking garage and Hoyts Latham Circle Cinema 9 were built. The motion picture venue showed first features on December 22, 1989. The movie megaplex would eventually be renamed as the Regal Latham Circle Mall 10.
As a part of the late '80s renovation, interior spaces were updated. A Food Court was created in a vacant Denby's store (previously a W.T Grant). New tenants were signed, such as Limited Express, Foot Locker and County Seat. When the makeover was completed in early 1990, LATHAM CIRCLE MALL encompassed approximately 725,000 leasable square feet.
A shipping and receiving area in The Boston Store caught fire in October 1989. This same section had burned in April 1978. The sales floors were not affected by the blaze, but experienced water and smoke damage. The store closed and re-opened briefly, before being shuttered in February 1991. Its space was taken by a Burlington Coat Factory, who dedicated their store on March 24, 1993.
Woolworth became the next major tenant to shut down, in January 1994. Half of its space re-opened, as a Klein's All Sports, in September of the same year. This store relocated within the mall 4 years later. The entire Woolworth space was -then- retenanted. A Jacksonville, Florida-based Stein Mart was dedicated on October 15, 1998.
Caldor was shuttered in early 1999. Its space was never retenanted. By this time, LATHAM CIRCLE MALL was in a downward spiral. Tenants pulled out, leaving empty store spaces that were never filled. Stein Mart closed on March 27, 2001, followed by Klein's All Sports (2004), CVS Drug (2004) and Gold's Gym (2005).
A vacant Caldor was demolished and replaced by a 1-level (143,000 square foot) Lowe's. The store was technically a "shadow anchor." It did not connect with the enclosed shopping concourse. Lowe's grand opening was held in April 2004.
A 12 million dollar mall renovation, announced in June 2006, never panned out. The facility, operating in the red for some time, was foreclosed on in January 2009. Its new owner was Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Realty Financial Partners.
A 12 million dollar mall renovation, announced in June 2006, never panned out. The facility, operating in the red for some time, was foreclosed on in January 2009. Its new owner was Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Realty Financial Partners.
The beleaguered shopping hub was dealt another blow in May 2012, when Burlington Coat Factory closed. The bitter end came with the shuttering of the Regal multiplex, in February 2013. A new revitalization plan for LATHAM CIRCLE had been announced in August 2012. This project, a joint venture of Realty Financial Partners and the Boston-based Grossman Development Group, had an estimated price tag of 40 to 60 million dollars.
Approval for the project was granted in October 2012, with mall demolition commencing on March 12, 2013. The middle mall section was knocked down, leaving J.C. Penney, a part of the North Wing and Lowe's standing. A new power center, known as SHOPPES AT LATHAM CIRCLE, would encompass around 567,200 leasable square feet and house eighteen stores and services. Unfortunately, J.C. Penney would not be among these. The LATHAM location was shuttered in January 2014.
An official groundbreaking was held on June 11, 2014. The first new store, a l-level (188,000 square foot) WalMart SuperCenter, opened its doors on July 15, 2015. The original power center plan would have retained a portion of the aforementioned North Wing. With the shuttering of J.C. Penney, this plan was scrapped.
Approval for the project was granted in October 2012, with mall demolition commencing on March 12, 2013. The middle mall section was knocked down, leaving J.C. Penney, a part of the North Wing and Lowe's standing. A new power center, known as SHOPPES AT LATHAM CIRCLE, would encompass around 567,200 leasable square feet and house eighteen stores and services. Unfortunately, J.C. Penney would not be among these. The LATHAM location was shuttered in January 2014.
An official groundbreaking was held on June 11, 2014. The first new store, a l-level (188,000 square foot) WalMart SuperCenter, opened its doors on July 15, 2015. The original power center plan would have retained a portion of the aforementioned North Wing. With the shuttering of J.C. Penney, this plan was scrapped.
Penney's, and the remaining North Wing section, were demolished in March 2015. 178,000 square feet of new store space would be completed in stages. Burlington (Coat Factory) had backed out of the dying LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in 2012. However, they opened a (55,000 square foot) store, in the new power center, on April 15, 2016.
Sources:
The Schenectady Gazette
The Schenectady Gazette
The Troy Record (Troy, New York)
The Times Herald-Record (Middletown, New York)
The Altamont Enterprise (Altamont, New York)
https://www.labelscar.com
https://www.nuizer.com
https://www.labelscar.com
https://www.nuizer.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group
https://www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group
"Latham Circle Mall" article on Wikipedia
