Development in and Around Syracuse Discussion

[shandeezy7]

Eastview has remained a really good mall. I assume due to higher end stores in an area with a lot of money.

I'll never understand why malls die in upstate. you'd think they'd thrive in areas with shitty weather.

Yeah I really don't care for strip malls. The parking is usually a disaster and you either have to lug your bags around outdoors from store to store or drive your car from place to place in the parking lot like a lunatic. That being said, I'm not the target demo for any of this, as I barely go shopping. Like 3-4 times/year.

 

[DMDMD]

I barely go shopping. Like 3-4 times/year

So you killed the malls! And Amazon.

 

[shandeezy7]

So you killed the malls! And Amazon.

For as much as I don't shop, my wife more than makes up for it.

Although funny enough, she's a notorious online shopper and I think she's getting fed up with it. Just the other day, she mentioned about how she thinks there's going to be a shift eventually, as you get more and more products shipped from online vendors that you have no idea where they are coming from and the quality varies wildly. She's seeing the value again in being able to hold a product in your hands before deciding to purchase it.

 

[upperdeck]

At some point the free return thing will go the other way and people will realize after the local stores are gone I guess.

Online is great for when you know what you want but not so good when you dont.

 

[shandeezy7]

"Blighted" downtown Syracuse parking garage set to become mixed-use apartment building

The owners of the Clinton Street Garage in Syracuse's Armory Square are proposing the property be turned into a mixed-use apartment complex.

cnycentral.com

 

[DMDMD]

For as much as I don't shop, my wife more than makes up for it.

Although funny enough, she's a notorious online shopper and I think she's getting fed up with it. Just the other day, she mentioned about how she thinks there's going to be a shift eventually, as you get more and more products shipped from online vendors that you have no idea where they are coming from and the quality varies wildly. She's seeing the value again in being able to hold a product in your hands before deciding to purchase it.

My wife too. Especially clothes.

For me, it’s big purchases. No way I’m dropping a couple grand on something without seeing it. I may go back and buy online if it has the best price, which obviously I’m doing from the computer, and not my phone or iPad. Gotta pull out the big machine for big purchases.

 

[KellySyracuse]

Malls opened in the 70's and the city shopping died because people didn't want to walk outside to multiple stores, and that was only a couple of city blocks. Everyone buys stuff online, I honestly don't see how any mall survives with only retail though. I go to the outlets in Waterloo once in a while and get my steps in because that place is huge, there is no way to walk to all the stores with a handful of bags without moving the car.

 

[two3zone]

Yeah I really don't care for strip malls. The parking is usually a disaster and you either have to lug your bags around outdoors from store to store or drive your car from place to place in the parking lot like a lunatic. That being said, I'm not the target demo for any of this, as I barely go shopping. Like 3-4 times/year.

If I can't get it on Amazon I do the pickup option at Target. Same with groceries, instacart and pull up and pull away.

I hate wasting my time navigating around people lolligagging in a store when I'm going in for one thing that is always in the back only to get up front trying to figure out what line I'm supposed to be in while someone's brat one stop running around my legs usually screaming while their parent is on their phone.

 

[IthacaMatt]

At some point the free return thing will go the other way and people will realize after the local stores are gone I guess.

Online is great for when you know what you want but not so good when you dont.

Amazon is already trying to cut down on returns. I bought a 4K camcorder for my daughter from one of those no-name Chinese companies with the made-up name that Amazon uses for its contract manufacturers. The audio didn't work on the first use, and they tried to deny a refund, saying they were "only the shipper". I lost about $80 on the purchase, but I posted a bunch of negative reviews everywhere I could.

 

[SWC75]

I miss the Penn Can Mall. It was OUR mall, in North Syracuse.

 

[Trueblue25]

If I can't get it on Amazon I do the pickup option at Target. Same with groceries, instacart and pull up and pull away.

I hate wasting my time navigating around people lolligagging in a store when I'm going in for one thing that is always in the back only to get up front trying to figure out what line I'm supposed to be in while someone's brat one stop running around my legs usually screaming while their parent is on their phone.

Instacart’s where my lines drawn. I have to walk into Wegmans with a budget of $100 and walk out having paid twice that. It’s a CNY pastime that I won’t turn my back on.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

Cant wait for the book store that opens back up this week. Loved the old Borders location.

Congel should be publicly flogged for ruining that mall, and especially for destroying that Borders location. When I was a kid I would go with my mom on her hours-long shopping trips to just sit on the balcony at the window and nurse what would eventually become a coffee addiction. In the 90s, there wasn't a lot of info out there online about plants, so I went through the entire book holdings at Borders that were conveniently right near my favorite seat!

One fall weekend in 2001, I was hanging out there when the store was abuzz with folks getting radio updates on the Cuse at Virginia Tech game.

Thanks for reminding me of this. Pleasant thoughts on a Thursday morning

 

[shandeezy7]

 

[NKR1978]

What mall is doing well where "people prefer a place where they can physically experience goods before they buy them"? I go to a mall about once per 2 years so it is not me. Is the mall in Ithaca doing well? The old Pyramid Mall?

High end malls are doing great. Westfarms in Connecticut is thriving, and they've never had a food court. If the mall has a Louis Vuitton, it's probably doing fine.

 

[two3zone]

Instacart’s where my lines drawn. I have to walk into Wegmans with a budget of $100 and walk out having paid twice that. It’s a CNY pastime that I won’t turn my back on.

Another excellent reason i use it. No unnecessary crap and save money!

 

[IthacaMatt]

R.I.P. to Joe Rinaldo, the former owner of Sutter's Mill up on the hill. I cooked there one summer in college, when I lived on the corner of Euclid and Comstock with my high school teammate and friend Dave Davis. We were told to give free food to football and basketball recruits - "But not the steaks", Joe used to say. Great Reubens, amazing Chef's Salad (1 inch cubes of Boar's Head turkey, ham and swiss), and really great French Onion Soup. Then they would move out the tables after dinner to open up a dance floor.

Today's obituary: Joseph Rinaldo, 72, owned several CNY restaurants and bars, including Syracuse's Sutter's Mill

“His venues became beloved gathering spots known for their atmosphere and his personal touch,” Joseph Rinaldo's obituary said.

www.syracuse.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Eastview has remained a really good mall. I assume due to higher end stores in an area with a lot of money.

I'll never understand why malls die in upstate. you'd think they'd thrive in areas with shitty weather.

Eastview was purchased by my first boss at Pyramid. He left the company after completing a refinancing of Destiny with a huge bonus check (his second refi of one of the malls that year ...).

When he left, they lost a great deal maker and I lost a mentor.

Those who followed him as the big dog transactional attorney were much more concerned with their leverage over tenants, and didn't care if a deal took 9 months to close, so long as it was on "our" terms.

That was not my style, and not how I was taught. An empty space pays no rent.

The leasing guys loved me, but the new head leasing attorney (and his top lieutenant) and I did not mix. I joined Hiscock & Barclay within a year of my first boss leaving.

Not at all surprised to hear that his mall is doing well, while Pyramid teeters towards default.

 

[two3zone]

My wife too. Especially clothes.

For me, it’s big purchases. No way I’m dropping a couple grand on something without seeing it. I may go back and buy online if it has the best price, which obviously I’m doing from the computer, and not my phone or iPad. Gotta pull out the big machine for big purchases.

Returning something to Amazon is sooooooooooo much easier than returning anything to any other retailer in my experience. I'd prefer to buy more expensive stuff from them, I know they won't screw around.

 

[OttoMets]

Eastview was purchased by my first boss at Pyramid. He left the company after completing a refinancing of Destiny with a huge bonus check (his second refi of one of the malls that year ...).

When he left, they lost a great deal maker and I lost a mentor.
...

Marc Malfitano?

 

[Marty McFly]

I thought Eastview was owned by Macerich, maybe they sold off that as an asset a while ago.

 

[xc84]

R.I.P. to Joe Rinaldo, the former owner of Sutter's Mill up on the hill. I cooked there one summer in college, when I lived on the corner of Euclid and Comstock with my high school teammate and friend Dave Davis. We were told to give free food to football and basketball recruits - "But not the steaks", Joe used to say. Great Reubens, amazing Chef's Salad (1 inch cubes of Boar's Head turkey, ham and swiss), and really great French Onion Soup. Then they would move out the tables after dinner to open up a dance floor.

Today's obituary: Joseph Rinaldo, 72, owned several CNY restaurants and bars, including Syracuse's Sutter's Mill

“His venues became beloved gathering spots known for their atmosphere and his personal touch,” Joseph Rinaldo's obituary said.

www.syracuse.com

Great place. Went there a lot from '80-'86'

 

[IthacaMatt]

Marc Malfitano?

No, Adam Bersin. Marc was working on stuff directly with Bob in those days, government relations stuff, mostly (tax breaks and really, succession planning, along with George Young).

Adam was replaced by a guy who I won't name, who unfortunately passed away from a heart attack at age 47, just a couple years after I left. His lieutenant is now working for Simon. Thought he was a decent guy, but he was kind of a dick.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I thought Eastview was owned by Macerich, maybe they sold off that as an asset a while ago.

Well, my old boss bought it in around 2006, so he probably sold it in between.

 

[sutomcat]

Major apartment complex coming to Fayetteville. I think we will see a bunch more of these scatted throughout the county as zoning rules are changed to allow more dense housing.

The area needs this to grow.

Major apartment complex in Syracuse suburb gets green light

Construction is expected to start in spring 2025.

www.syracuse.com

 

[maxxyz]

Major apartment complex coming to Fayetteville. I think we will see a bunch more of these scatted throughout the county as zoning rules are changed to allow more dense housing.

The area needs this to grow.

Major apartment complex in Syracuse suburb gets green light

Construction is expected to start in spring 2025.

www.syracuse.com

I’m not sure that Fayetteville needs a mega apartment complex or needs to one to grow. There will be a hard pushback on this project.