SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Last week, the ShoppingTown Mall in DeWitt asked its remaining tenants to leave the mall before the end of October. Since the announcement of the closure of the ShoppingTown Mall, many Central New York residents have expressed concern whether local malls will continue to operate.
Syracuse University History Professor Andrew Cohen, who also has a background in law, crime, and economics, shared his thoughts on if he believes the closing of ShoppingTown is indicative of other malls in Central New York. Cohen said he thinks not all malls in Central New York will follow in the footsteps of ShoppingTown.
“If you go just a few just a few miles from ShoppingTown, you have a mall, two malls, that are exploding within a short distance,” Cohen said.
Destiny USA is the largest mall in Central New York and one of the largest shopping malls in the entire country. Cohen said he thinks it’s difficult to predict the future success of Destiny USA because of a few factors.
“Destiny, I couldn’t predict because so much of their profit depends upon people who are traveling through from Canada and other locations,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he believes in the future people will continue to be reluctant to drive long distances to shopping malls, which could hurt malls that are not located in booming urban areas. Cohen also said he cannot help but note outdoor malls are thriving across the United States.
