Westgate Plaza is a large strip mall in the city of Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, located on Central Avenue. Westgate is considered the first mall in the Albany area

Capital District

New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...

, and opened in 1957.

Tenants

Over the years, tenants have included:

Tenant Name	Date Opened
JCPenney	1957 (closed in 1984, moving to Crossgates Mall Crossgates Mall Crossgates Mall is a shopping mall located in Albany, New York, United States, not far from Schenectady. The mall opened on March 4, 1984, and in October 1994 underwent a large expansion that nearly doubled its size. It now has a gross leasable area of with two floors including 250 shops and... )
Barbizon Fashion Shops	1960s (closed during redevelopment, then reopened) (closed permanently after May 9, 1997)
W.T. Grant	1974 or earlier
Albany Public Market	unknown
Land of Fabrics	unknown
Traditions Antiques	unknown
National Savings Bank	before October 24, 1986
Big Dom's	before August 26, 1988
Westgate Piano & Organ	unknown
Stylish Women Limited	unknown
Card Time	unknown
Albany Window Design	before July 8, 1990
MSS Limited	before December, 1990 (planned to relocate to Builders Square Plaza in Colonie by January, 1991)
Grand Union Grand Union (stores) Grand Union is a supermarket chain operated by C&S Wholesale Grocers of Brattleboro, Vermont. Originally based in Elmwood Park, New Jersey , the company operated mostly in the northeastern United States but at times its reach extended into the Midwest, Southeast, and the Caribbean...	before March 6, 1991 closed before February 23, 1993
Woolworth's F. W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...	unknown, closed before February 23, 1993
Wheels	April 23, 1992
Paper Cutter	before February 23, 1993
Rose Dental Associates	unknown, moved before March 7, 1997
Harold L. Joyce headquarters (political campaign office)	before September 15, 1993
Champion Factory Outlet	before April 13, 1994 (closed 2004))
Price Chopper	Spring, 1995 (left Colvin Central Plaza Colvin Central Plaza Colvin Central Plaza was a large strip mall in Albany, NY along Central Avenue, a major business and shopping area of the New York State Capital Region. For this area, it was significant as it was over and was initially opened in 1981. It survived in this form for two decades.It was located near... ) (renovation around 2000)
Fay's Drug	before Spring, 1995 (left Colvin Central Plaza Colvin Central Plaza Colvin Central Plaza was a large strip mall in Albany, NY along Central Avenue, a major business and shopping area of the New York State Capital Region. For this area, it was significant as it was over and was initially opened in 1981. It survived in this form for two decades.It was located near... )
Westgate Barber Shop	before April 22, 1995
Cohoes Savings Bank (branch inside Price Chopper)	May 15, 1995
J.B.'s Theatre	before June 18, 1995
Duane's Toyland	before December 21, 1995
Empire Cellular	before January 28, 1996
The Party Experience	June, 1997 company took over Paper Cutter in 1996 (liquidation in May, 1998)
New Music Center	before July 25, 1998
Mini Mall Theater	before February 13, 1999
Capital District Equal Opportunity Center	before July 12, 1999
Key Bank Key Bank KeyBank is a regional bank headquartered in Key Tower within Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square. , it is the 19th largest bank in the United States based on total deposits...	before July 17, 1999
American Institute of Japanese Karate	before July 12, 2000
Mailboxes Etc.	before November 18, 2000
Call to Pray Ministry	before September 12, 2002
Mr. Subb	before March 17, 2003
One Price Clothing Store	before February, 2004 (closed by end of March, 2004)
Payless Shoes	before October 25, 2004
Fashion Bug	before June 18, 2005
Dean's Incredible Edibles	before November 16, 2005
UPS Store	before December 27, 2005
PCX Corp.	after June 12, 2007
Horizons Management Associates LLC	after June 12, 2007
A.J. Wright	October 16, 2008 (24,000 sq ft.)
BEST Fitness	Unknown

Redevelopment

Plans were submitted to the city of Albany before February 23, 1993 for redevelopment of parts of the plaza. This would include demolishing the section that included the closed Grand Union and Woolworth's stores, as well as the still open Wheels and Paper Cutter stores, with plans to relocate the latter stores. A new section would be built on space occupied by the section to be demolished.

By October 26, 1993, the redevelopment plans had been approved by the city of Albany.

Ownership/Property Management

As of February 23, 1993, the plaza was owned by Russell Road Associates of Boston. On that date, the plaza was only 40% full and the owners were bankrupt.

Nigro Cos. was managing the shopping center in October, 1993.

Price Chopper purchased 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) from owner Russell Road Associates in 1993 at a cost of $3 million. This purchase allowed Russell Road Associates, bankrupt at the time, to jumpstart their reorganization. Price Chopper built an 82500 square feet (7,664.5 m²) store on the land for approximately $4 million. The building was sold to Mesirow-Heller and Price Chopper leases the building. In early 1997, Ruskin Investors of Northbrook, Illinois

Northbrook, Illinois

Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....

 purchased the building from Mesirow-Heller for $9 million. Lease terms did not change as a result of the purchase.

Boston Development Associates of Westwood, Massachusetts

Westwood, Massachusetts

Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,618 at the 2010 census. In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. Boston Magazine listed Gay Street in Westwood on its...

, became the manager of the plaza property in January, 1997.

Historic Sign

The sign for Westgate Plaza is unofficially considered a landmark for the downtown Central Avenue area. There have been concerns about damage or renovation of the sign as removing a piece of history for the area.

Miscellaneous Notes

By 1994, it was noted that Crossgates Mall

Crossgates Mall

Crossgates Mall is a shopping mall located in Albany, New York, United States, not far from Schenectady. The mall opened on March 4, 1984, and in October 1994 underwent a large expansion that nearly doubled its size. It now has a gross leasable area of with two floors including 250 shops and...

, which had been open for ten years by that time, had had a negative effect on older city shopping plazas such as Westgate.