It's what we all need- more retail space in a crowded retail area... here's a clip from the Southern Tier Economic Growth:
http://www.steg.com/recent_headlines_ne ... enter.html
Shopping center planned at A&P site
Owners say they want retail space in place of Horseheads warehouse.
By JEFF MURRAY
Star-Gazette
August 26, 2003
HORSEHEADS – The men who own the sprawling former A&P plant in Horseheads said they plan to tear most of it down and build a shopping center there instead.
Los Angeles-area industrial developers Brad Cohen and Jeffrey Stern spent millions renovating the 1.5- million-square-foot building after buying it in 2000, but say the market just isn’t there for industrial use.
On the other hand, Cohen said he has fielded numerous inquiries about retail space use.
“We continue to explore options with the county to enhance the value of the property into a better and higher use that should result in more tax revenue for the county,” Cohen said. “I would say we’re currently exploring the demolition of most of the facility and converting it to retail space. There’s just not enough demand for warehouse space in that area.”
Talks have been ongoing with Wal-Mart and several other retailers, but Cohen said there are no signed tenants yet. A Wal-Mart spokesperson didn’t return a phone message Monday.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. built the structure in 1965 and it was once the world’s largest food-processing plant, employing about 2,400 people. Efforts to sell and redevelop the plant since it closed in 1982 were largely unsuccessful until the current owners came along and renamed it the Chemung County Commerce Center.
The owners said they plan to demolish everything but 300,000 square feet of warehousing space currently leased by Toshiba Display Devices of Horseheads. A parking lot just to the east of the complex was already targeted for potential retail space.
If Wal-Mart relocates from down the road at Consumer Square in Big Flats, where it is the anchor tenant, that will be bad news for that shopping complex, said Horseheads Town Supervisor Bob Chapman. But he said ii will be good to finally see signs of new activity at the A&P site, which is in the town of Horseheads.
“There was quite a lull going there. I though maybe they’ve dropped it, forgotten about it,” Chapman said. “It’s still on the burner. It’s a major change for the town of Horseheads, I’ll tell you that. I’ve seen the plans and they look just great to me. I’m real excited about it.”
But other major retailers in the area are viewing the new developments cautiously.
“This is going to happen. There’s not much you can do about it,” said Benjamin Riggs, president of Arnot Realty Corp., which owns the Arnot Mall. “The question is how much will the bottle hold. There are only so many retail dollars in a small market.”
On the other hand, the new direction is embraced by local government and economic development officials, who believe it will result in a boost in sales tax revenues and jobs for the area.
“For the county, it’s an opportunity to enhance our property tax base if a major retail center comes to fruition,” said Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli. “It will enhance our retail base. Those two things for the county are very important. If this project comes to fruition, it just makes us even a larger shopping mecca for five counties.”
There is always a fear of over-saturation of retail businesses, Santulli said, but he believes the area can support another major retail center because many consumers come from outside the area to shop here.
“One-third of the sales tax generated comes from outside the county. Most of it is attributed to retail,” Santulli said.
George Miner, president of Southern Tier Economic Growth, said there’s no reason the property has to be limited to just retail.
“It’s a great site for really any kind of use. The problem has always been the building and its reuse. It’s never been the land,” Miner said. “It makes a lot of sense to look at different commercial uses out there. It’s right in the heart of where everybody wants to be. Lots of businesses will be interested – retail, hotels, banks, probably some industrial, too.”
same idea here too (pdf newsletter file):
http://www.steg.com/newsletterpdf3Q_03.html
