DEADMALLS.COM FEATURE:
HUDSON VALLEY MALL: KINGSTON, NY
Jack Thomas' Commentary:
Posted July 2, 2003, Revised February 16, 2005
This mall was opened in 1981 with Kmart, JCPenney, and Hess's.
It's not really that close to dead, but I think at one time it was.
The mall was expanded in 1986 with about 20 more stores including Sears and
a food court. In this new wing, there was a food court entrance and
two others almost 30 feet apart from each other. The northern entrance
was removed when Old Navy moved in in 1997. The theater was also expanded
from 6 to 12 screens. An entrance to the movies was built to add accesibility
to the food court. Before, you had to walk down a hallway to the lobby.
This hallway is now used as a service hallway.
In 1995 both Hess's and Kmart closed. Kmart moved to there own building
down the road. Filenes quickly took the Hess's space and expanded the
store. Nothing moved into the Kmart space until 1999. They built a hallway
going right through the middle of the old store which looks nothing like the
rest of the mall. It has exposed pipes and lights that are a style that you
would find in a Home Depot or something. Best Buy sealed up half of the
old Kmart in 1999. In March 2001, Target opened a brand new store at the
northern end of the mall. In October of 2001, Dick's Sporting
Goods sealed up the other half of the old Kmart.
Also that same month, H&M moved into the mall.
Recently, the mall has not seen many changes, except for a new Sprint kiosk in the mall's
food court,a slight change in the logo on the outer signs, and the relocation of the Mr. Smoothie store, but, a new hotel is being built next to
the property, and could possibly bring more stores, but we shall see what happens in the
future. I don't see how there is anymore room to build retail in Kingston. Everything is crammed
into a small space between the split between Ulster Avenue and Route 9W, and the exit with Route 209 on 9W,
a distance of only a quarter of a mile. Only time will tell how developers plan to handle this situation.
On Sunday, February 13th, 2005, a guy walked into Best Buy, and starting shooting an assault rifle. He also walked out
into the main hallway, and proceeded down to the center court area, where he ran out of ammunition, and was
tackled by two mall employees. He injured two people and sent many shoppers, including me and my mother, running for the exits.
Usually, crime means a drop in shoppers and sales, but, since this mall is the only one within a 30 mile radius to the south, and a
50 mile radius to the north, and this has been the first major act of violence in the mall, it is likely that the mall will
survive the outcome.
Pete Blackbird's Commentary:
I visited HVM back in 1999, and predicted that it would be the next mall to fail in the region. Boy was I wrong! Hudson Valley Mall battled it's new Big Box neighbors with an agressive campain of renovation and additions to the mall. Filenes, Best Buy and Target all call the mall home now. The interior has been freshened up, and there is hardly any remnants of the 1970's to be found. Existing storefronts have been updated, and the empty K-mart has vanished from sight. The mall looks like they're planning on adding even more stores, and the new Hoyts theater has helped draw customers to the mall. The management of the Hudson Valley Mall should be praised, they jumped into action when others would have sat still. Other mall managment companies should follow thier lead. Strong counteractive measures such as these are imparitive. You can't expect to build an enclosed mall and collect profits indefinantly, to remain competitive you've got to provide a clean and modern atmosphere with stores and restauraunts that will draw shoppers away from the powercenters and big boxes. Just one suggestion to the Managment of the Hudson Valley Mall... get a new logo! Please!
