Seneca Mall

Seneca Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in the Town of West Seneca, New York, south of Buffalo. It stood at the intersection of Ridge Road and Slade Avenue, immediately east of the New York State Thruway. The property was developed after the William Hengerer Company pursued a retail location at the site in the early 1960s. The resulting mall opened in 1969 and became one of the principal shopping destinations in Buffalo's Southtowns. At opening, Seneca Mall competed directly with Thruway Plaza and combined a large JCPenney department store with Sattler's, a regional retail chain. Its tenant mix also included specialty shops and restaurants typical of a mid-century enclosed mall. During the 1970s and much of the 1980s, the center was regarded as the leading mall serving the southern suburbs of Buffalo and the surrounding Southtowns. The property's competitive position weakened after the opening of McKinley Mall in Hamburg in 1985, less than three miles away. The opening of Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga in 1989 intensified the pressure by creating a much larger regional shopping destination. Following Walden Galleria's opening, Seneca Mall lost its anchor stores and most of its specialty retailers and restaurants. It continued operating in a severely reduced state until 1994, when it had effectively become a largely vacant location used mainly by mall walkers. In 1994, The Pyramid Company, which also owned Walden Galleria, chose to demolish the mall and redevelop the property as a power-center-style retail plaza. The replacement development was named The Shops at West Seneca. Tops Markets became the first tenant in May 1997, and Kmart joined the site in 2000. The broader redevelopment plans did not materialize as originally envisioned, leaving much of the former mall property undeveloped and subject to local debate over blight and land use. Kmart closed its location in 2019, leaving Tops Friendly Markets as the only reported tenant at the site. Seneca Mall therefore survives primarily as a former local retail landmark and as the predecessor to The Shops at West Seneca.

The history of Seneca Mall is tied to the growth of suburban retail in the Buffalo area. During the early 1960s, the William Hengerer Company sought to establish a retail location on land in the Town of West Seneca. That effort ultimately resulted in the development of an enclosed shopping mall at Ridge Road and Slade Avenue, beside the New York State Thruway. Seneca Mall opened in 1969 and entered the market in direct competition with Thruway Plaza. The new mall's principal attractions included a large JCPenney store and Sattler's, a regional department-store chain. Its enclosed format brought department stores, specialty shops, and restaurants together under one roof and made it a major retail destination for Buffalo's southern suburbs. From its opening through the 1980s, Seneca Mall was widely identified as the leading shopping center in the Southtowns. Its dominance began to erode as additional regional centers opened nearby. McKinley Mall opened in Hamburg in 1985, less than three miles from Seneca Mall, giving local shoppers another large enclosed-mall option. The opening of Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga in 1989 created an even larger regional competitor. After Walden Galleria opened, Seneca Mall's anchor tenants left, followed by most of its specialty retailers and restaurants. Although the building remained open, its commercial role had largely disappeared by the early 1990s. The mall continued operating until 1994, when its owners, The Pyramid Company, elected to demolish it. Pyramid also owned Walden Galleria and proposed replacing the former mall and its surrounding structures with a power-center-style development. The replacement was branded The Shops at West Seneca. Tops Markets opened there in May 1997, and Kmart became another tenant in 2000. However, most of the more extensive redevelopment proposals were not completed. The limited build-out left much of the former mall site undeveloped and prompted debate among West Seneca officials, some of whom described the property as a source of blight. Kmart closed its store at the site in 2019. Tops Friendly Markets was consequently left as the only reported tenant in the redevelopment. Seneca Mall is now a defunct retail brand and former shopping center rather than an operating mall, but its history reflects the rise, concentration, and decline of traditional suburban enclosed malls in the Buffalo metropolitan area.

• 2019

  Kmart closes

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  Kmart leaves the site, reportedly leaving Tops Friendly Markets as its only tenant.

• 2000

  Kmart joins the redevelopment

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  Kmart opens at The Shops at West Seneca.

• 1997

  The Shops at West Seneca begins operation

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  Tops Markets opens as the first reported tenant in the replacement retail development.

• 1994

  Mall demolished

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  The Pyramid Company demolishes the former enclosed mall to pursue a power-center redevelopment.

• 1989

  Walden Galleria opens

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  The opening of Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga accelerates tenant departures from Seneca Mall.

• 1985

  McKinley Mall opens nearby

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  A competing enclosed mall opens in Hamburg, less than three miles from Seneca Mall.

• 1969

  Seneca Mall opens

  [1]Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org

  The enclosed shopping mall opens in West Seneca at Ridge Road and Slade Avenue, with JCPenney and Sattler's among its major stores.

A regional enclosed shopping mall serving West Seneca and Buffalo's Southtowns, later superseded by larger nearby shopping centers and redeveloped as a smaller power-center-style retail site.

• Department store · 1969

  JCPenney

  JCPenney was one of Seneca Mall's principal anchor stores when the enclosed mall opened in 1969. Its presence provided a broad department-store assortment and helped establish the center as a major destination for shoppers in West Seneca and the Buffalo Southtowns.

• Department store · 1969

  Sattler's

  Sattler's, a regional retail chain, was another major store associated with Seneca Mall at opening. As an anchor-style department store, it contributed apparel, household, and general merchandise traffic to the center.

• Power-center redevelopment · 1997

  The Shops at West Seneca

  The Shops at West Seneca was the retail plaza created after the enclosed Seneca Mall was demolished. The planned replacement was intended to use a power-center format rather than recreate the former enclosed mall. Tops Markets opened in 1997 and Kmart followed in 2000, but the wider development remained only partially realized.

• 1994

  Replacement of the enclosed mall with a power-center developmentStrategy

  Background

  After nearby McKinley Mall and Walden Galleria weakened Seneca Mall's tenant base, The Pyramid Company faced a largely vacant property whose traditional enclosed-mall format was no longer competitive.

  Action taken

  Pyramid demolished Seneca Mall and proposed a new retail plaza, branded The Shops at West Seneca, on the former mall site.

  Aftermath

  Tops Markets opened in 1997 and Kmart in 2000, but much of the proposed redevelopment was not built. The property later lost Kmart in 2019 and was left with Tops as the only reported tenant.

  Source

1. 1Shops at West Senecaen.wikipedia.org