Camillus Mall had all the right anchors too. Inside there was a JCPenny, Sears, K-Mart, Silo, and Bon-Ton. There was also a Hills Department store in the nearby plaza (but it closed during the Ames Acquisition due to the large pre-existing Ames store in the nearby Fairmount Fair). With a lineup like that, the Camillus Mall was able to stay afloat for quite some time, but the mall never really received a facelift. Silo left in the late 80's or early 90's; JCPenny closed its store in the mid 90's, as did K-Mart. Smaller stores trickled out while others renovated, and the Camillus Mall became a mish-mash of healthy spots and dead spots. With only a two-screen movie theater, the mall sought to attract more traffic via the construction of a eight-screen Hoyts Cinemas in the old Silo space. It must be losing money daily, because I never see a soul there.
Sears remained open until some point in 2000. I came back to the mall to visit, and the mall was in the process of being totally demolished. I have pictures. I'm not sure if the Sears closed, and then demoliton happened, or if Sears lease was simply not renewed. In any case, there were a lot of small stores still in business in that portion of the mall, but mall management must have been dazzled by the idea of making a big-box center, like Fairmount Fair, before the mall started showing losses. The last time I was there most of the smaller tenants had seen the writing on the wall, because the open portion of the mall was either vacant or contained secondary stores. My favorite Burger King on the planet (it received that title for the best based on taste, and the cute chicks working there) pulled out, as well as the Afterthougts, Lane Bryant, Charney's, Pet Shoppe, St. Claire's, and Radio Shack, which were in the demolished portion of the mall.
Soldiering on through the demolition are the Hoyts 8, Fannie Farmer, and Bon-Ton.
I would say that the most predictable plan for this property would be a Wal-Mart supercenter, or another big-box, due to the mall's suburban location. Neighboring Farmount Fair has had fantastic success with this route. At one point it was an enclosed mall (I missed that), but it was converted into a large Ames, P&C, Dicks Sporting Goods, and a small Wal-Mart (located in the former Caldor building, which I can verify with a picture). Apparently the local government strong-armed Wal-Mart into using this space. I'm sure Wally-world is eyeing the Camillus property for a new locaton, so I would suggest you see the Camillus Mall before it's butchered any further.