Albany's Latham Corners Center



The original logo of the Capital District's mid-century shopping plaza.
Graphic from Maxwell, Cummings & Sons / Latham Enterprises

A 2-page newspaper spread, dated October 23, 1957, announces the official grand opening of thirty-five stores and services "tomorrow."
Advert from Maxwell, Cummings & Sons / Latham Enterprises

A vintage postcard shows the original 10 million dollar shopping complex.
Drawing from http://www.flickriver.com / "Flickriver PhotoStream" / William Bird

Anchoring LATHAM CORNERS CENTER was a unit of the Boston Store, a New York State branch of Interstate Stores. The largest retail structure in the Capital Region, it featured the area's first escalator. 
Graphic and drawing from Interstate Department Stores

One of the junior anchors at LATHAM CORNERS CENTER was a Grand Union grocery. It provided the very latest in ultra-modern shopping convenience. Features included an all-glass storefront, "Food-O-Mat" gravity feed display and dispensing units and a refrigerated meat conveyor.

In 1957, LATHAM CORNERS CENTER encompassed around 325,000 leasable square feet on a main retail level. There was also a partial second story of office spaces. This area was situated over the wing extending between Woolworth's and The Boston Store. The mall's parking area could accommodate 2,600 autos at one time.

LATHAM CORNERS CENTER TENANTS 1957:

THE BOSTON STORE (with Beauty Salon and Budget Shop) / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / J.C. PENNEY / W.T GRANT / GRAND UNION supermarket / Barnet's Toys / Beck Fifth Avenue Shoes / Beneficial Finance Corporation / Circle Camera & Card Shop / Dan A. Donahue men's & boy's wear / David's ladies' wear / Dixie's Sample Hat Shop / Erlanger's Fashion Store / Fanny Farmer Candies / G.R. Kinney Shoes / Howard Johnson's restaurant / Jay Ann Shops ladies' wear / Kay's Newport / Latham Beauty Center / Latham Music Bar / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Mack Drug Company (with luncheonette) / Miles Shoes / Mill End Shop / National Shirt Shops / One Hour Cleaners / Rudolph's Dependable Jewelers / Smith Electric Company, Incorporated / The Cotton Shop ladies' wear / The Linen Chest / The National Bank of Troy / Western Auto / White Eagle Bakery Company / Wonder Shop of Latham 

The open-air strip plaza was rebuilt into an enclosed shopping center in the late 1970s. The venue, now known as LATHAM CIRCLE MALL, retained The Boston Store and J.C. Penney as anchors. The former was incorporated into the covered and air-conditioned shopping concourse. The entrances to Penney's and Grand Union remained on the outside.

A Caldor discount mart was added to the south end of LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in 1983. Between 1988 and 1990, the mall was given a thorough makeover. Penney's built a larger store on the north end, a Food Court was installed in existing space and a 9-screen multiplex added on a new upper level.

An exterior view of the mall's second J.C. Penney store. It opened for business in late 1988.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"

The Caldor on the south end of the complex closed in 1999. The building was eventually bulldozed. A Lowe's home improvement center was built, which was dedicated in early 2004. The store did not have a connection into the adjacent mall.
Photo from https://www.flickr.com / "SnappyJack"

By the turn of the 21st century, LATHAM CIRCLE MALL is in a downward spiral. In 2004, the complex is lingering in the final stages of decline. There are more vacant store spaces than leased ones. Burlington Coat Factory's days are also numbered. The store would shut down in mid-2012.

In a circa-2012 redevelopment plan, a new SHOPPES AT LATHAM CIRCLE power center would be created. The bulk of the moribund mall would be bulldozed, leaving the north (J.C. Penney and cinema) section intact.
Drawing from www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group

The moribund mall was given a wrecking ball renovation in early 2013. Lowe's was left standing, along with the north mall section. Stores in the new & improved SHOPPES AT LATHAM CIRCLE began opening in mid-2015. Burlington (Coat Factory), who had operated in the mall between 1993 and 2012, did an encore.
Photo from www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group

The shuttering of J.C. Penney, in early 2014, caused the redevelopment plan to be changed. The vacant store and adjacent cinema were knocked down. An east-facing store strip (in light gray) was built. A final segment (in dark gray) is in the planning stages.
Original drawing from www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group

LATHAM CORNERS CENTER

Loudon Road / US 9 and Troy-Schenectady Road
Albany 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. 

 

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. 

 

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 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.cinematreasures.org
https://www.grossmanre.com / Grossman Development Group

 "Latham Circle Mall" article on Wikipedia

Albany's Colonie Center

The COLONIE CENTER complex was the fifth shopping hub constructed by Chicago's Homart Development, which was a mall-building division of Sears, Roebuck & Company.
Graphic from Homart Development

A newspaper ad announcing a preview showing of stores at COLONIE CENTER, the "IN" INclosed shopping mall. This event was held on October 26, 1966. The mall's official grand opening would take place on November 1st.
Advert from Homart Development

The New York division of R.H. Macy opened a Capital Region unit in March 1966. Macy's Colonie was the first operational store in the new COLONIE CENTER mall. 

Drawing from R. H. Macy & Company Annual Report 1964

Graphic from R. H. Macy & Company

 

Greater Albany's first mall-type shopping center encompassed around 830,000 leasable square feet, contained sixty-two stores and services and provided free parking for 6,000 autos. This site plan, dating to 1969, shows the basic layout of the 3-year-old facility. The drawing includes the locations of two freestanding movie theaters which have recently opened for business in the mall's periphery.

COLONIE CENTER TENANTS 1969:

MACY'S (with Beauty Salon, Pharmacy, Big Top Restaurant, Community Room and freestanding Auto Center) / SEARS (with Coffee House, Beauty Salon and freestanding Auto Center) / S.H. KRESS 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / Albany Savings Bank / Albert Hosiery / Ames Shoes / B.F. Goodrich Tire & Auto / Baker's Shoes / Barnsider Restaurant / Castro Convertibles / Colonie Cafeteria / Colonie Manufacturing Jewelers & Diamond Setters / Corbat's Shoes / Dan A. Donahue men's wear / David Rosenfield Barber Shop / David's ladies' wear / Dixie Hats / Fabric Tree / Fanny Farmer Candies / Flah's ladies' wear / Florsheim Shoes / Fox Colonie Theatre (outparcel) / Friendly's Ice Cream / Golden Krust Bakery / Hardy Shoes / Hellman Cinema Center (outparcel) / Howard Clothes for Men / Kennedy's family apparel / King & Queen Cleaners / Kinney Shoes / Little Folks Shop / M. Solomon ladies' wear / Mack Drug (with luncheonette) / Melody Manor Organs & TV / Miles Shoes / Mother-To-Be Shop / National Shirt Shops / Ormond Shop / Radio Shack / Richman Brothers / Richman Hallmark / Rudolph Brothers Jewelers / Schatz Stationery / Schertle Galleries / Scot Ties / Signal Finance / Singer Sewing Center / Spencer Gifts / State Bank of Albany / State Opticians / Suburban Gal ladies' wear / Susan Ives ladies' wear / Thom McAn Shoes / Town Hall Community Room / Waldenbooks / Yarn Shop / Zales Jewelers

COLONIE CENTER was given its first large-scale renovation in the early 1990s. Macy's built a new store, with the original building reconfigured as 2 levels of inline stores. A third mall anchor, New Jersey-based Steinbach, opened in October 1991. 

The next major renovation of COLONIE CENTER commenced in November 2005, with a lifestyle-like Streetscape built onto the north-facing facade. The Cheesecake Factory welcomed first diners in August 2006. Barnes & Noble Booksellers opened in November. The Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13 made its debut in May 2008.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Flyer84"

As the exterior Streetscape was being built, the mall's interior was also refurbished. In a circa-2008 view of the COLONIE CENTER concourse, we see a newly-installed 2-story fireplace.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Flyer84"

With all construction dust settled, the revitalized COLONIE CENTER mall encompassed 1,340,600 leasable square feet and housed 120 stores and services. There was now free parking for more than 5,200 autos.

In October 2016, COLONIE CENTER commemorated its golden anniversary. At this time, some of the major inline tenants were Christmas Tree Shops, Nordstrom Rack, Francesca's Collections, Ulta Beauty and L.L. Bean.
Graphic from https://shopatcoloniecenter.com 

 

As part of Sears' retail retreat, the COLONIE CENTER store was -at first- downsized. Whole Foods Market leased a corner of the Lower Level and opened for business in June 2014. 3 years later, Sears closed for good, leaving a sizable vacancy in the South Wing of the mall. Lower Level space was leased by Floor & Decor and Sierra.

COLONIE CENTER
Central Avenue and Wolf Road
Albany County (Town of Colonie), New York

The first mall-type shopping center in New York's Capital Region was built on a 96-acre plot. This was located 4.9 miles northwest of the New York State House, in a section of Albany County known as Town of Colonie. The site had been occupied by the Colonie Country Club between 1915 and 1963 and was adjacent to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) and Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87) highways.

COLONIE CENTER was designed by Los Angeles-based Victor Gruen Associates. It was the fifth mall built by Homart Development, a subsidiary of Sears & Roebuck. Ground was broken for the project on October 16, 1964. The first operational store, a 2-level (180,000 square foot) Macy's, opened for business March 24, 1966. The debut of a 2-level (210,000 square foot) Sears came in August.

A preview showing took place October 26, 1966, with the official mall dedication held on November 1st. At this time, COLONIE CENTER encompassed approximately 830,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-two stores and services.

Charter tenants included Zales Jewelers, Suburban Gal, the Barnsider Restaurant, Howard Clothes for Men and the Colonie Cafeteria. The major inline stores were an (18,000 square foot) Flah's apparel, (17,000 square foot) Kennedy's apparel, (12,000 square foot) Mack Drug and (16,000 square foot) S.H. Kress 5 & 10.

Two movie theaters operated in the vicinity of the original mall. The National General Corporation Fox Colonie Theatre was located across Wolf Road from the complex. It showed its first feature on January 8, 1969. The Hellman Cinema Center Theater, another single-screen venue, was a southeastern outparcel of the mall. It made its debut in April 1969.

There were several commercial competitors for COLONIE CENTER. NORTHWAY MALL {.1 mile southwest, in Albany County} was completed in 1970. MOHAWK MALL {5.7 miles northwest, in Schenectady County} also opened in 1970. CLIFTON COUNTRY MALL {10.2 miles northeast, in Saratoga County} was dedicated in 1976. LATHAM CORNERS CENTER {3.4 miles northeast, in Albany County} was a strip complex that was renovated into the fully-enclosed LATHAM CIRCLE MALL in 1977.

In the mid-1980s, COLONIE CENTER came up against its most formidable rival. CROSSGATES MALL {1.6 miles southwest, in Albany County} was dedicated in 1984. As a competitive measure, the owners of COLONIE CENTER announced a renovation and expansion of their 18-year-old shopping center. However, the project never got off the ground.

In May 1989, a revised renovation got underway. This was done in three phases. The first consisted of the construction of a 3-level (305,000 square foot) Macy's, which was dedicated on October 3, 1990. During Phase Two, the original Macy's was gutted and rebuilt as sixty inline stores, including a 10-bay Food Court.

Phase Three of the remodeling added a 2-level (86,000 square foot), Asbury Park, New Jersey-based Steinbach. This store made its debut on October 17, 1991. The 68 million dollar mall renovation concluded with a $75-per-person, black-tie charity gala. The event, held on November 1, 1991, was hosted by singer-actress Diahann Carroll.

COLONIE CENTER now encompassed around 1,177,800 leasable square feet and had surpassed the 875,000 square foot CROSSGATES MALL in size. The retail roster had grown from ninety stores and services to 150, making COLONIE CENTER the largest shopping mall in the Capital Region. 

The next mall enlargement involved the expansion of two existing spaces. A 30,000 square foot store on the upper level, which had been occupied by Flah's and (then) Herman's World of Sporting Goods, was enlarged by 20,000 square feet. Christmas Tree Shops opened here in September 1998. Steinbach had shuttered their store in August 1995. At first, a multiplex cinema was considered as its replacement. However, the store was eventually enlarged into a 2-level (240,000 square foot), Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's, which was dedicated on October 30, 1998.

Great Neck, New York-based Feldman Mall Properties acquired COLONIE CENTER in February 2005 and embarked on a 110 million dollar makeover in the following November. 123,000 square feet of interior space was remodeled. New lighting and flooring were installed and a 2-story fireplace became a fixture of Center Court. This first phase face lift was completed in July 2006.

Next, the north-facing front of the complex was extended with an open-air Streetscape. This utilized previously-existing and newly-built space. In all, 105,000 square feet were added. The Cheesecake Factory was dedicated on August 29, 2006. L.L. Bean began business September 14, 2007. P.F. Chang's China Bistro welcomed first diners on October 8, 2007. Barnes & Noble opened November 13 of the same year.

The third -and final- phase of the COLONIE CENTER makeover involved construction of the Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13 multiplex. Built on a third level on top of the mall's Main Entrance, the new movie house premiered on May 16, 2008. With its latest reinvention, COLONIE CENTER had cemented its position as the preeminent shopping center in Greater Albany. Its gross leasable area now measured 1,340,600 square feet. 

Feldman Mall Properties, who ran short on cash during the mall's extensive renovation, brought in Chicago-based Heitman Value Partners, as co-owner, in 2006. In June 2009, Heitman bought out Feldman and established 100-percent ownership of the property. The center was sold again in April 2013. The new owner was a joint venture of New York City-based KKR (Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts Company) and El Segundo, California's Pacific Retail Capital Partners.

Sears reduced the size of their COLONIE CENTER store in the 2010s. A (32,000 square foot) space on the lower level was sectioned off and rebuilt as a Whole Foods Market. This specialty grocer opened for business on June 18, 2014. The downsized Sears closed for good on September 17, 2017. The remainder of the Sears lower level was divided two ways. A (57,200 square foot) Floor & Decor made its debut on October 12, 2023. A (19,000 square foot) Sierra outdoor goods store welcomed first shoppers on August 10, 2024.

Sources:

The Schenectady Gazette
The Post-Star (Glen Falls, New York)

The Times-Union ( New York)
https://www.labelscar.com
http://www.bizjournals.com
http://projectmoviehouse.blogspot.com
http://www.regmovies.com
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.seritage.com / Seritage Growth Properties
https://shopatcoloniecenter.com
"Colonie Center" article on Wikipedia