Rotterdam Square Mall Macy’s to close

The Rotterdam Square Macy’s is closing this spring, leaving town Supervisor Harry Buffardi concerned about the mall’s future and the impact on the local tax base.

The Rotterdam store employs 98 and occupies about 120,000 square feet. Mall owner Mike Kohan said the company informed him Wednesday that the store would shut its doors “in a couple of months.”

“It’s unfortunate to lose such a store,” he said. “We’re now going to start looking for some replacement, obviously. I already put some moves in motion to see what could be the best fit. Macy’s said their sales just weren’t there.”

Macys Inc. plans to close a total of 14 stores nationwide as part of a series of initiatives to evolve its business model and invest in continued growth opportunities as consumers change the way they shop, the company said.

Buffardi was surprised by the news Thursday evening. He said based on national trends, he would have expected a decision to close by Kmart or Sears, the mall’s other two anchor tenants. “I wasn’t thinking Macy’s,” he said.

“Unless the mall replaces Macy’s as a significant anchor store it will be a huge visibility issue,” he said. “The front store has always been an anchor store that faces Campbell Road. There will be financial loss, less sales tax revenue and property assessment issues, not to mention the effect on employees.”

The announcement marks the second major tenant to leave since Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased the mall last year. TJ Maxx moved out of the mall in March.

Kohan said he doesn’t believe Macy’s leaving will be a big blow to the mall, which he said houses about 50 or 60 stores. Kohan believes he will find a replacement in the near future because “we have a great location.”

“I don’t think Macy’s brought a lot of traffic into the mall because it had its own entrance and exit,” he said. “We have everything in place here and I think we’re positioned well with a casino coming to Schenectady.”

Buffardi questioned how the mall would recover from the loss of Macy’s. The company owns its 120,000-square-foot store and the seven acres of land on which it sits.

The town supervisor is also concerned about a decrease in property value and less tax revenue going to the Schalmont Central School District, as well as the town of Rotterdam and Schenectady County.

“Two-thirds of the taxes coming from the mall go to the school district,” he said. “They would have the largest impact on the school district should those taxes drastically reduce. It would also have an impact on the town, county and local fire districts.”

Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased the mall last January from then-owner Macerich Co. for $8.5 million, less than a third of the mall’s assessed value. Since the sale, Buffardi said he hasn’t had much communication with Kohan.

“I think Macy’s did attract a lot of people with that store as an anchor,” he said. “It was a higher-end store for people willing to spend money. I don’t know what the plans for the mall are. I haven’t had any contact with this company.”

Buffardi said the town has been working to get involved since the mall was sold and would like to discuss possible ways to rehabilitate the property with Kohan. “We would love to do that,” he said.

When Macerich owned the mall, Buffardi said, they discussed many different options, such as opening a food market there and locating some of the town government offices on the property.

“I considered locating some of the town government there at one time because the value of the property was reducing so much, and I thought about tearing down part of it,” he said. “We could have sold our properties and rented space at a lower expense.”

Final clearance sales for the 14 Macy’s stores set to close will begin Jan. 12 and run for eight to 12 weeks. The only other Macy’s to shut down in New York is located at ShoppingTown Mall in DeWitt, near Syracuse.

The same day the company announced the store closings, Macys Inc., which operates the Macy’s and Bloomingdales brands, also announced two new stores planned in California.

The new stores and store closings would result in annual savings of roughly $140 million, the company said. It’s also contemplating an off-price business similar to TJ Maxx. Macys Inc. said the restructuring effort is to “facilitate growth, increase productivity and improve efficiency.”

The company’s overall workforce is expected to remain at about 175,000, as it lays off about 2,200 workers nationwide but hires staff in other areas. The Cincinnati company operates more than 800 stores. Its stock slid more than 3 percent in after-hours trading Thursday.

“Our business is rapidly evolving in response to changes in the way customers are shopping across stores, desktops, tablets and smartphones,” Terry Lundgren, Macys Inc. chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “We must continue to invest in our business to focus on where the customer is headed to prepare for what’s next.”

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