DEADMALLS.COM FEATURE:
FAYETTEVILLE MALL: DEWITT, NY
Anonymous's Commentary:
Posted May 11, 2005 (user submitted)
Just to fill in a few gaps where the history left off, after Caldor left, Stickley Furniture from Manlius staked out the place. They used it as an informal showroom as much of the rest of the old mall was demolished. During demolition there was a small fire, but nothing serious. Stickley then moved over to the remaining anchor store that I think used to be Kauffmann's. Anyway, the area was redeveloped into a Town Center that is something like a larger form of a strip mall. Stickley is still there, there is a P&C, Joann Fabrics moved over to the main complex from across the parking lot, the Peter's that was there is gone and was demolished and replaced by a Kohl's. There is also a Target and the one remaining store that survived from the old mall, T.J. Maxx. There are also a number of restaurants that have sprung up and it's good to see the place alive again.
Pete Blackbird's Commentary:
The Fayetteville Mall was constructed in 1974, to provide an enclosed mall
for the DeWitt and other southern Syracuse suburbs. The mall originally
was anchored by a Sears and another large store, which later was
replaced by a Burlington Coat factory. At some point in 1991 or 1992, a
substantial additon (which almost doubled the size of the mall, and
included a large Carousel and Foodcourt) was added, anchored by the
Cohoes departments store and a new Caldor. I don't know much about the
history of this mall, but I do know that nearby Shoppingtown Mall became
an enclosed mall at some point, and luered Sears away from Fayetteville.
After Sears left, the older wing of the mall started to clear out,
according to locals I've talked to. Cohoes apparently was a shortlived
entitiy in the mall. I estimate that it closed in 1994 or 1995,
leaving a shaky Caldor as the lone anchor of the mall. Caldor eventually
pulled all of it's Central New York stores, and the smaller stores in
the mall quickly vacated. The Sears building was leased to P&C foodstores
to be used as a warehouse. When I found the mall, they were in the process
of selling any fixturing and lighting that was in the mall, before they
sealed off the Cohoes and Sears wings.
I got to tour each and every one of the vacated stores, picking through
looking for mall memorabilia. Some more notable stores that were in the
mall were Burger King, Eckerd, Ormonds, Anderson-Little, Ritz Camera,
Champs, and many other things. This is a very large mall, and the only
stores that currently occupy it are an extremely feeble attempt at an
arcade (literally, it has Ms. Pac-Man in it), TJMaxx, The Avenue,
and the 99 Cent Card Outlet. Security is still in full effect, with
thier office located in the former Kay Jeweler storefront, they've
got pictures and a model of the mall when it was in it's prime. I believe
that this is or was a Wilmorite owned mall. I don't beleive that this mall
has any future as a shopping center, and if i were to redevelop it, I would
go for more of a office/healthcare type of building, and lease the
anchor spaces to a car dealer or something of that sort. The mall is just
too close to the hugely successfull Shoppingtown Mall. This mall is still
open, and I highly recommend a visit, before it's just another
concrete slab.
