Samanea New York Market

Samanea New York Market is a planned mixed-use development center located in Westbury, New York, on Old Country Road and Merchants Concourse (Ellison Avenue), currently managed and owned by Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. The center is being built inside the mostly unoccupied Mall At The Source, which was named for its former anchor store Fortunoff (which used the phrase "The Source" in advertising), which the mall was built around and which closed in June 2009.

Samanea New York Market
LocationWestbury, New York
Coordinates
Opening dateSeptember 5, 1997[1]
DeveloperSimon Property Group, Fortunoff
ManagementLesso Mall Development Long Island Inc.
OwnerLesso Mall Development Long Island Inc.
No. of anchor tenants1
No. of floors2

With the closure of Fortunoff, Steve and Barry's (which closed in early 2009), and Circuit City (which closed in March 2009), three large anchor stores have become vacant. The drop of foot traffic by the loss of the anchors has caused other stores – the three aforementioned subanchor chains, plus Saks Off 5th, & Forever 21 – and the entire food court – including McDonald's, Starbucks, Ranch 1 – to pull out from the mall. Simon Property Group and unnamed co-owners of the Mall at the Source defaulted on a $124 million balloon interest-only mortgage in March 2009.[2] It was purchased by a European pension fund in August 2012 and auctioned.[3] In November 2016, it was announced that the Mall at the Source will be sold and could be demolished to make way for a new mixed use development.[4]

In May 2017, Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. (a subsidiary of the Hong Kong listed LESSO Group) purchased the mall for $92 million.[5] On October 21, 2017, it was announced that the Mall At The Source would be redeveloped into a decoration hub for Lesso Home, which was originally scheduled to open in the fall of 2018, but has been delayed. A few retailers, The Cheesecake Factory, P. F. Chang's China Bistro, Dave & Buster's, and a Fortunoff outdoor furniture and jewelry store will remain open during renovations.[6]

History

Proposal and construction (1964–1997)

The site of The Mall at the Source was originally Roosevelt Field airport, with Charles Lindbergh taking off on his epic trans-Atlantic flight near the site of the mall's parking garage. Roosevelt Raceway bought the property when it expanded the harness-racing track in the 1940s for additional parking. In the early 1960s, Ohrbach's constructed a department store on leased land at north-east corner of the raceway's property. Fortunoff built its store several years later in 1964, as they followed their customers east from the original Fortunoff location in Brooklyn. Alan Fortunoff bought the entire property north of the current boundary of Transverse Drive from Roosevelt Raceway in the early 1980s.

In the late 1980s, Alan Fortunoff planned to construct the Long Island Galleria shopping mall, one comparable to the size of the massive Roosevelt Field Mall a few miles away but with different stores. It was to be built by the Westfield Group and include Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom as anchor stores. Community pressure over congestion concerns forced Fortunoff to scale back the size and scope of the mall. Roughly half of the property was sold to Price Club (now Costco), which developed their portion to include a Kmart (now Walmart). The mall was instead built by Simon Property Group, and they continued to manage and co-own the mall until August 2012.

The Mall At The Source (1997–2017)

The mall was also the first on Long Island to house clothing chains H&M, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, and Saks Off 5th. It was also the first to house restaurants including The Cheesecake Factory, Dave & Buster's, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, and Rainforest Cafe (closed on October 19, 2000).[7] The Mall at The Source is also adjacent to many other shopping complexes and restaurants.[8]

Many of the mall's tenants left after the closure of the anchor stores.

2009 saw the shuttering of all three anchor stores — Fortunoff, Steve & Barry's, and Circuit City — crippling foot traffic and resulting in a steady abandonment by its remaining tenants (outside of its restaurants, which maintained their standalone customers). On August 9, 2012, it was announced that the property was to go up for auction by the end of the month; by then, the mall was under 50% occupancy. The opening of the nearby Gallery at Westbury Plaza in late 2012 prompted Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, and Saks Off 5th to move away, leaving the future of the mall uncertain.[3] On August 28, an auction was held, but was unsuccessful in attracting buyers.[9] Lenders then took ownership of the mall, and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank was hired for management.[10]

In 2013, a Lord & Taylor outlet store and the Jewelry Emporium and Mall opened in the former Nordstrom Rack and Off 5th, respectively.[11] However, these stores failed to increase foot traffic at the mall, and the vacancy rate continued to increase.

In 2014, Dick's Sporting Goods closed a substantial portion of its Golf Galaxy stores,[12] including its store in the Mall at the Source. David's Bridal moved to the nearby Roosevelt Raceway Shopping Center in June 2015, leaving the Fortunoff court almost completely vacant.

Lesso Home New York Market (2018–present)

In May 2017, Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc. (a subsidiary of the Hong Kong listed LESSO Group) purchased the mall for $92 million.[5] On October 21, 2017, it was announced that the Mall At The Source would be redeveloped into a Decor Hub for Lesso Home; redevelopment had been originally scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2018, but has since been delayed. It will include showrooms for many manufactures for home furnishings, decor, walkable markets, etc. The format will be much similar to the Italy-based Eataly.[6] LESSO Group now owns Samanea Group, a Singapore-based company that invests in, develops, and operates large-scale trade centers. Samanea Group has been made the landlord for Samanea New York Mall. [13]

Former layout
The Off 5th Saks Court.

The Mall at the Source had two floors and is shaped like an L. Because of this, the mall had separate "courts", named after the stores that anchor it (except for Center Court). Each anchor store had its own public entrance but not all have mall entrances; these stores tend to stay open later than the interior stores.

Center Court

The Center Court is the main entrance and includes a carousel and train. Some of the stores in the Center Court include, P. F. Chang's China Bistro and the former Lord & Taylor Outlet. The center court is also where the former Steve and Barry's was; in its place is a Fortunoff Backyard Store. Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th relocated to the neighboring Gallery at Westbury Plaza. The carousel has since been removed.

Off 5th Saks Court

The Off 5th Saks court is the upper tip of the L, a long hall that includes the Food Court and the former Saks Off 5th. The 1st floor has a Dave & Buster's, the only tenant left in the court. It also contained the former Circuit City.

Fortunoff Court

Like the Off 5th Saks Court, the Fortunoff Court is a long hall, ending with the former Fortunoff. It also has the 2nd floor entrance to the former Ayhan's Shish Kebab and The Cheesecake Factory. The court also used to contain Gymboree Play & Music, Famous Footwear, Golf Galaxy, and Men's Wearhouse & Tux.

References
  1. "Simon DeBartolo Group Celebrates Two Mall Openings in as Many Weeks - PR Newswire | HighBeam Research: Online Press Releases". May 16, 2011. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011.
  2. "Mall partly owned by Simon Property defaults on payment". March 31, 2009 – via uk.reuters.com.
  3. Winzelberg, David (August 9, 2012). "Mall at the Source in Westbury to be auctioned".
  4. "Agent: LI mall to be sold, could be demolished". Newsday.
  5. "Source Mall to get $25 million renovation". Newsday.
  6. Timothy Bolger (October 20, 2017). "Lesso Home Turning Source Mall Into Decor Hub". Long Island Press. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  8. "Franchising Insight". Entrepreneur. November 25, 2004.
  9. "Long Island Business news, events, promotions and more". Newsday.
  10. "News and Insights". www.nasdaq.com.
  11. Morris, Keiko (May 6, 2013). "Source mall adds Lord & Taylor, Jewelry Emporium". Newsday. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  12. Lahtinen, John. "Dick's Sporting Goods may close many of its Golf Galaxy stores".
  13. "Signs of progress at Westbury mall". Newsday. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
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