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| JCPenney has since left. |
As more people shop online and the economy can be uneasy it seems dead malls are becoming more common in the US and Canada. Shoppingtown in deWitt is a blatant example of such a lost cause. In my day it had almost everything but as the years went by society changed but the developers' mindsets didn't so it became a modern day Tumbleweed Connection! TGI Fridays and JCPenney (in the back above) have just closed shop. The library will go next year. Trying to fill it all up at this point would be fruitless so maybe once the row between the town council and Moonbeam is sorted perhaps the wrecking ball could swing like Miley and they could cut their losses. A lifestyle center like Township 5 across town in Camillus or Legacy Place in Boston suburb Dedham, MA could be the next step. Whole Foods, IKEA, Ross Stores, 99 Pub and Toppers Pizza just to name a few could take over returning the place to its roots as a plaza bringing it full circle. There are several other centers in CNY alone and across North America that make Pompeii look like Hong Kong but this could be part of the solution. I might look into Niagara Square in Niagara Falls, ONT next (also made a strip centre in recent years).
Kohan, the company that bought former sister mall Great Northern Mall could buy Shoppingtown as well as they know how to flip malls like that show on HGTV on the west coast can flip houses. However, Moonbeam insist that it's not for sale and that they shall reformat in the months to come. CarMax could go there (see later post). I now tend to call the mall Shoppingnowt!
