Oakdale Commons

Oakdale Commons, formerly known as Oakdale Mall, is an enclosed super-regional shopping and mixed-use complex in Johnson City, New York. It serves the Binghamton metropolitan area and functions as one of the region's principal concentrations of retail, dining, entertainment, medical, fitness, and community services. The property opened in 1975 after being developed by Interstate Properties and has approximately 963,475 square feet of gross leasable area. The complex was originally organized around large department-store anchors and a broad enclosed retail concourse. Over time, changes in American department-store retailing led to the closure of several traditional anchors, requiring the property to adopt a more diversified operating model. Macy's closed its store in 2017, Sears also left in 2017, and The Bon-Ton ceased operations after its parent chain went out of business in 2018. Rather than leaving all of these large spaces vacant, the property and its partners pursued substantial adaptive reuse. The former Macy's location was redeveloped for Dick's House of Sport, a larger experiential concept operated by Dick's Sporting Goods that opened in 2023. The former Sears building was reconstructed for Factory by Beer Tree, a restaurant and hospitality venue offering indoor and outdoor dining, together with a health and fitness facility originally associated with Lourdes and later the Guthrie system. The former Bon-Ton building was demolished and replaced with a BJ's Wholesale Club, which opened in January 2024. These changes illustrate the complex's shift from a conventional department-store mall toward a mixed-use destination anchored by specialty retail, food and beverage, health services, fitness, and wholesale retail. Other major occupants and facilities include JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Beer Tree, Guthrie Health & Fitness, Guthrie Broome Orthopedic & Spine Surgery Center, Guthrie medical offices, Broome County KinderCare, Broome-Tioga Workforce New York, and BJ's Wholesale Club. Burlington announced plans in 2022 to leave the property and relocate to Town Square Mall in Vestal, creating another opportunity for redevelopment. In October 2022, plans were reported for an approximately $117 million program to further develop the property and reposition it under the Oakdale Commons name. The program has included work on retail and medical facilities, parking and drainage infrastructure, new shops and restaurants, and plans for a multistory apartment complex at the northern end of the site. Construction and redevelopment continued through 2025 and into 2026, including projects involving Marshalls, Chick-fil-A, Guthrie medical services, and a proposed Broome County childcare center. The redevelopment strategy seeks to make the property less dependent on traditional department stores and more relevant as a regional service, lifestyle, and community destination.

Oakdale Commons began operating in 1975 as Oakdale Mall, an enclosed regional shopping center in Johnson City, New York. Interstate Properties developed the project to serve the growing retail needs of the Binghamton metropolitan area. Its original format followed the conventional late twentieth-century mall model: an enclosed concourse supported by major department-store anchors and a broad selection of specialty retailers. For much of its history, the mall's commercial identity was closely tied to department stores. JCPenney, Macy's, Sears, and The Bon-Ton were among the prominent anchor users associated with the property. The long-term decline and restructuring of the American department-store sector significantly altered this model. Macy's and Sears both closed their Oakdale locations in 2017. The Bon-Ton anchor closed in 2018 after the chain was liquidated. Burlington later announced that it would leave the complex and relocate to Town Square Mall in Vestal. The property responded through adaptive reuse and tenant diversification. The former Macy's space was transformed into Dick's House of Sport, an experiential sporting-goods format that opened in 2023. The former Sears building was reconstructed for Factory by Beer Tree, a restaurant concept with indoor and outdoor dining, and a substantial health and fitness operation with pools, a steam room, sauna, and fitness areas. The former Bon-Ton structure was demolished and replaced with a new BJ's Wholesale Club, which opened in January 2024. This redevelopment broadened the complex beyond traditional shopping. Current and planned uses have included sporting goods, wholesale retail, restaurants, entertainment, medical offices, orthopedic and spine services, fitness, childcare, and workforce-development services. Guthrie became an important institutional presence through medical offices, a health and fitness facility, and the Guthrie Broome Orthopedic & Spine Surgery Center. Broome County KinderCare and Broome-Tioga Workforce New York further expanded the range of non-retail services located at the site. In 2022, the property presented a wider redevelopment vision reported at approximately $117 million and increasingly adopted the Oakdale Commons identity. The plans contemplated improvements to the enclosed concourse and the surrounding site, including additional retail and dining, medical facilities, parking and drainage work, and residential development. Through 2025 and into 2026, construction and redevelopment continued in several areas, including the former Burlington space, the west-side parking lot, and the northern portion of the property where a multistory apartment complex has been planned. Additional projects mentioned during this period included Marshalls, Chick-fil-A, Guthrie services, and a proposed county-operated childcare center. Oakdale Commons therefore represents a continuing transition from a department-store-centered mall into a more mixed-use regional destination. Its strategy relies on replacing or repurposing vacant anchors, adding experiential and service-oriented tenants, and integrating medical, fitness, dining, entertainment, childcare, and possible residential uses with conventional retail.

• 2024

  BJ's Wholesale Club opens

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  A new BJ's Wholesale Club opens in January on the site of the former Bon-Ton building.

• 2023

  Dick's House of Sport opens

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  The former Macy's building reopens as an experiential Dick's Sporting Goods concept.

• 2022

  Oakdale Commons redevelopment plan is reported

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  A broad redevelopment program reported at approximately $117 million is associated with the Oakdale Commons name.

• 2018

  The Bon-Ton anchor closes

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  The Bon-Ton store closes following the chain's liquidation.

• 2017

  Macy's and Sears anchors close

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  Both department-store anchors leave the property, initiating a major period of anchor-space redevelopment.

• 1975

  Oakdale Mall opens

  [1]Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org

  Interstate Properties opens the enclosed regional shopping mall in Johnson City, New York.

A regional shopping and mixed-use destination repositioning itself around experiential retail, dining, entertainment, medical care, fitness, childcare, and other community-oriented services.

• Shopping mall · 1975

  Enclosed retail concourse

  The core Oakdale Commons offering is an enclosed regional shopping environment serving the Binghamton metropolitan area. It combines specialty retail with food, services, and access to large-format anchor users. The concourse is being updated as the property shifts from a traditional department-store mall toward a broader mixed-use destination.

• Experiential sporting-goods retail · 2023

  Dick's House of Sport

  Dick's House of Sport occupies the former Macy's anchor building. The format is larger and more experience-oriented than a conventional sporting-goods store, combining merchandise with activity and demonstration elements. Its opening in 2023 supplied Oakdale Commons with a major replacement anchor after Macy's departure.

• Wholesale retail · 2024

  BJ's Wholesale Club

  BJ's Wholesale Club replaced the former Bon-Ton anchor after that building was demolished. The club adds a large-format membership wholesale operation to the property and opened in January 2024, reinforcing Oakdale Commons's move toward a diversified anchor mix.

• Restaurant and hospitality

  Factory by Beer Tree

  Factory by Beer Tree is a restaurant concept developed in the former Sears building. It provides two levels of indoor and outdoor dining and forms part of the property's effort to replace a departed department-store anchor with food, beverage, and experiential uses.

• Health, fitness, and medical services

  Guthrie health and medical facilities

  Guthrie-related facilities at Oakdale Commons include health and fitness services, medical offices, and the Guthrie Broome Orthopedic & Spine Surgery Center. These uses extend the complex's role beyond retail and make healthcare a significant component of its evolving tenant mix.

• 2024

  Replace the former Bon-Ton anchor with BJ's Wholesale ClubM&A

  Background

  The Bon-Ton building closed in 2018 after the chain went out of business.

  Action taken

  The former anchor was demolished and replaced by a new BJ's Wholesale Club, which opened in January 2024.

  Aftermath

  The property gained a large-format wholesale anchor and continued diversifying beyond department-store retail.

  Source

• 2023

  Convert the former Macy's anchor to Dick's House of SportGeneration change

  Background

  Macy's closed its Oakdale store in 2017, leaving a large anchor building requiring a new use.

  Action taken

  The building was renovated for Dick's House of Sport, an experiential sporting-goods format that opened in 2023.

  Aftermath

  The redevelopment restored a major anchor function while adding an activity-oriented retail concept to the property's tenant mix.

  Source

• 2023

  Redevelop the former Sears buildingOther

  Background

  Sears closed its anchor store in 2017, leaving another large-format vacancy.

  Action taken

  The building was reconstructed for Factory by Beer Tree and a substantial health and fitness facility with dining, pools, steam-room and sauna amenities, and fitness space.

  Aftermath

  The former department-store anchor was converted into a mixed restaurant, hospitality, and wellness destination.

  Source

• 2022

  Reposition the mall as Oakdale CommonsStrategy

  Background

  The property faced the long-term loss of several traditional department-store anchors and needed a broader commercial model.

  Action taken

  Management and development partners advanced a reported approximately $117 million redevelopment vision involving retail, dining, medical, infrastructure, and potential residential uses under the Oakdale Commons identity.

  Aftermath

  Redevelopment continued through 2025 and into 2026, with new and expanded retail, medical, restaurant, parking, drainage, childcare, and residential projects reported or under construction.

  Reported redevelopment investment. $117 million planned program (2022)

  Source

1. 1Oakdale Commonsen.wikipedia.org