Walden Galleria

The Walden Galleria is an enclosed shopping mall located in the Buffalo, New York suburb of Cheektowaga, adjacent to Exit 52 of the New York State Thruway. The largest mall in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area,^[1] Walden Galleria comprises more than 1,600,000 square feet (148,644.9 m²) of retail space, with 150 stores on two levels. Anchor stores include Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW Shoe Warehouse, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Old Navy, Sears, and the first Steve & Barry's University Sportswear in the state of New York. The mall is owned and managed by The Pyramid Companies of Syracuse, New York. Currently, Walden Galleria is undergoing a $60 million renovation to add a new movie theater and retail space.^[2] The mall has undergone a series of expansions and changes since its 1989 opening; these changes are highlighted in the timeline below.

Timeline

• 1989: Walden Galleria opens. At the time, the mall features five anchor stores: Bonwit Teller, JCPenney, and Sears, as well as Buffalo-based chains Sibley's, L. L. Berger, and The Sample.^[3] An additional anchor space, originally built for B. Altman and Company, remains vacant as the chain decides not to open a store at Walden Galleria.^[4] At the time, the two-story mall also features more than 150 stores, as well as a theater owned by Hoyts Cinemas.
• 1990: Sibley's is acquired and renamed by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Kaufmann's. Also, local chain AM&A's (Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Company) opens in the space originally planned for B. Altman, replacing an AM&A's at the nearby Thruway Mall.^[5] The owner of the Thruway Mall later sues the AM&A's chain, claiming breach of contract;^[6] the chain is later declared liable for damages to the Thruway Mall.^[7] Hoyts sells the mall's theater complex to General Cinemas.^[8]
• January 1991: L. L. Berger declares bankruptcy, closing all stores.^[9]
• 1991: Three more anchor stores are added to the mall: Lechmere, Loehmann's, and Lord & Taylor.^[10] The Sample closes and is replaced with Linens & Wares, a household goods-based retailer.^[11] Also, Filene's Basement opens in the former L. L. Berger space.
• 1994: Filene's Basement and Loehmann's close.^[12][13] Loehmann's is eventually converted to smaller mall shops.
• 1995: York, Pennsylvania-based department store chain The Bon-Ton acquires the AM&A's chain, converting all outlets to The Bon-Ton.
• December 1995: 17-year-old Cynthia Wiggins of Buffalo was killed by a dump truck while trying to get to her first day of work in the mall's food court from a NFTA Metro bus stop on Walden Avenue. The incident sparked allegations from Buffalo's African-American community that Pyramid did not want people from Buffalo proper to have easy access to the mall. The bus stop was soon moved to a point inside the mall.^[14]
• July 1996: Bonwit Teller closes off its upper level as part of the chain's restructuring. The former upper level is later converted to Old Navy.^[15]
• September 1996: Sporting apparel retailer Finish Line opens one of its largest stores in the space vacated by Filene's Basement two years previous.^[16]
• December 1996: Bonwit Teller closes its lower level.^[17]
• May 1997: Bed Bath & Beyond opens its first Buffalo-area store in the lower level of the former Bonwit Teller.^[18]
• 1997: Montgomery Ward, which acquired the Lechmere chain in 1994, closes the last of the Lechmere stores nationwide as part of a corporate restructuring.^[19] Linens & Wares is also closed at this point.
• October 1998: Half of the former Lechmere space is converted to JCPenney Home Store.^[20]
• October 1999: DSW Shoe Warehouse opens in the other half of the former Lechmere space.^[21]
• November 1999: Kaufmann's moves its furniture department into the former Linens & Wares space.^[22]
• 2000: Galyan's Trading Company, a sporting goods retailer, is added.

One of the mall's current anchors, Dick's Sporting Goods, which replaced Galyan's Trading Company.

• December 2000: Plans are announced to add a new, three-story wing with an eighteen-screen movie theater complex, as well as several new upscale tenants. Under this proposal, the existing Sears store is to be converted to mall space, and a new Sears is to be added.^[23] These plans, however, are later scrapped.
• early 2002: JCPenney closes its Home Store at the mall, consolidating all of its merchandise to the main store, which remains open. Also, General Cinemas sells the mall's theater complex to AMC Theatres.^[8]
• January 2003: Pyramid attempts to evict the mall's movie theater and replace it with a Best Buy store. The eviction fails, and the mall's theaters remain open.^[8][24]
• July 2003: New York's first Steve & Barry's University Sportswear opens in the former JCPenney Home Store.^[25]
• 2004: Galyan's Trading Company stores are acquired and re-named by Dick's Sporting Goods.
• November 2005: AMC closes the mall's theaters. Only four days after closing, the cinema is acquired and reopened by Regal Cinemas.^[8]
• January 2006: The Bon-Ton closes its Walden Galleria location.^[26]
• July 2006: Plans are again announced to expand the mall. Under these new plans, 250,000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) of new retail space will be added, including a new upscale food court and restaurants. The mall's existing theater complex is also closed for a future Barnes & Noble bookstore, with a newer theater slated to open in the former Bon-Ton space.^[1][2] A Lucky Strike bowling alley and other restaurants will also be added to the mall.^[2]
• September 2006: Best Buy, originally planned as an anchor in 2003, opens on the mall's lower level next to Sears.^[27] Also Macy's acquires May Co., parent company of Kaufmann's and several other chains. The Kaufmann's at Walden Galleria is converted to Macy's, while the Kaufmann's Furniture Gallery is shuttered.
• 2007: Bed Bath & Beyond relocates outside the mall.

2006-2007 Expansion

The costs of this expansion will total $60 million with work beginning on June 1, 2006. Currently, it has been confirmed that the expansion will include the following:^[1][2]

• The former Bon-Ton will be converted to a sixteen-screen Regal Cinemas movie complex on the upper level. The new cinema will seat 3000 people.
• To add some more upscale store chains such as bebe, and Coach
• More new restaurants. Bravo! Cucina Italiana and The Cheesecake Factory have opened on the lower level near the food court. The Melting Pot Restaurant opened on the lower level in December.
• A multi-level parking ramp near the Bon-Ton store will be demolished to make way for a boulevard-like design along the mall's western edge. Also to be constructed is a five-story, 1,200-vehicle parking ramp to replace the spaces affected by the expansion.
• Plans are in the works for the mall to house a comedy club chain, and Lucky Strike, a combination bowling alley/restaurant.
• Barnes & Noble will also open at the former Regal Cinemas site.
• Ruehl No.925, a concept by Abercrombie & Fitch, plans to open a store at Walden Galleria in 2008.

References

External links

• Walden Galleria homepage
• Pyramid Companies page