Spending $1M+ to repurpose Massena’s shopping mall

MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – Massena’s St. Lawrence Centre Mall is a far cry from what it used to be. Down to a store or two, you might think there’s no hope for the property.

However, the owners disagree and are investing more than $1 million to make it an asset once again, just in a different way.

Its days as a mall are over. Only memories remain.

“We had a strong economy back then, you know. Alcoa, a lot more people working, General Motors, Reynolds, they were all open, and what it is 33 years later, 34 years later – a lot has changed,” said Massena Town Supervisor Sue Bellor.

The mall opened in the summer of 1990. 7 News there when Hills department store opened with 200 new jobs and plenty of customers.

Patrick McCaffrey helped do electrical work at mall stores like Hills.

“It had a lot of business. A lot of the Canadian trade came over and the people in the area here you know,” he said. “I remember when you walked through you’d bump into somebody, but today I think you could throw a baseball down there and you wouldn’t hit anybody.”

That empty space could become valuable as the mall becomes an industrial complex.

Owner Groupe Shapiro of Montreal is investing more than a million dollars in transforming the property with high ceilings, open space and loading docks.

“It took a lot of courage to do so. The owners are definitely very adamant on making this property work and giving it a new life. The reality is that retail is not coming back,” said Charles Moryoussef, Groupe Shapiro director of operations.

Those with the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency say self-storage is just one of the services the old mall has to offer. A mix of things are in the works for the property.

“For us having a facility that’s 600,000 square feet available for other uses, you know warehousing, manufacturing, light assembly, we think it presents a real opportunity in Massena,” said Patrick Kelly, SLCIDA CEO.

The first tenant, Columbia Frame Distribution, has signed up. More warehouse space is available.

The mall still has an anchor store, JCPenney’s.

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