Inside the last days of the Galleria: stacks of mannequins and empty storefronts
WHITE PLAINS − The 43-year-old Galleria mall is in its final days.
Its last day of business will be March 23, and all doors will be permanently closed on March 31.
As of March 3, only eight storefronts and three food vendors were still open.
Jasmin Ferrell, of Manhattan, was “shocked” to find the mall mostly empty. As a Westchester teenager, like so many other teens, she used to hang out at the Galleria with her friends.
“I feel sad to see it closing,” she said, as she told her company about the Galleria’s glory days. “We need a place for kids to come. That’s a good way to keep kids out of trouble.”
Ferrell said she hopes a redevelopment planned for the mall's location will create a place for people to gather.
The plan is to transform the 870,000-square-foot mall into a mixed-use commercial and residential site.
Opened in 1980, the mall takes up about 10 acres between the city’s mass-transit hub and the busy retail strip on Mamaroneck Avenue. It was designed to house 150 small shops, 22 restaurants and two movie theaters, according to media reports.
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'I still love this place'
Three weeks before the end of an era, the Galleria is deserted by all but a few tenants, food vendors and shoppers.
In most storefronts, gates were rolled down and lights were off. Boxes and mannequins were stacked on the floor, garbage left in some corners. The mall's long corridors − once jammed with packs of teens, parents pushing strollers, retired mall walkers, courthouse employees grabbing lunch − were quiet.
One hanging sign promoting a new store opening served as a reminder of the past.
The Galleria opened in August 1980 as a so-called mega block urban renewal project. Among the tenants unveiled then were stalwarts of the mall era like Herman’s Sporting Goods, Chess King Apparel, Radio Shack, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, a General Cinema movie theater and two banks.
The mall has seen many big-name retailers leave in recent years, and growing numbers of store vacancies, as mall shopping has declined in popularity across the nation, with online shopping booming.
Most tenants either closed or moved to another location at the end of February, since they received a 90-day notice of the mall's closing in November. Eight storefront tenants and three food vendors were open for business on Friday, including Luggage n’ More, LensCrafters, A 2 Z, Green Healing Center, Belleza Salon, Galleria Dental, Nail’s and More 88 and Westchester Toys Trains & Hobbies.
Some stores were having clearance sales as they prepare to move to a new location. Others are on waiting lists to join other malls.
Taj Singh, owner of Luggage n’ More and A 2 Z, preferred to remain at the Galleria until the end even though he has already has a new location at the Stamford Town Center. He said he has essentially given away about $10,000 worth merchandise in the past months.
“I’m not making money over here (in the final days). But my mind is not ready to move yet,” he said. “I have been here for 17 years. I still love this place.”
No proposal yet to replace mall
Although there is no formal proposal yet for what will replace the mall, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach has said the entire building is likely to be torn down.
The mall’s owner, Pacific Retail Capital Partners, a California-based real estate investment group, announced in November 2022 that they were taking a first step toward redeveloping the property by forming a joint partnership with SL Green Realty Corp. and the Cappelli Organization.
The Journal News/lohud's inquiries on the next steps of redevelopment were not returned as of Monday.
Some tenants are looking to start a new chapter elsewhere. Stores like Bernie’s Perfumes and Perfurissimo have moved to Stamford Town Center. Green Healing Center will open at the Westchester Mall in White Plains.
Singh's new store, under the name of A 2 Z, will open at the Stamford Town Center in April. The road to finding a new location was bumpy, but he feels optimistic that the new store will be better.
“I have confidence that everything will be ok,” he said.
Tell us your memories
Please share your memories of the Galleria. When and why did you shop there? How do you feel about the demise of "mall culture." Your submission below will go to Helu Wang, reporter for The Journal News/lohud, who may reach out to you for an article looking back at the Galleria's long run.
Helu Wang covers development and real estate for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach her at hwang@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Galleria mall in White Plains NY to close March 31
