CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. (WCAX) – A long-vacant mall in Champlain, New York, may finally be put to rest after languishing for decades. Town officials are working on a plan to raze the former Miromar Outlets and eventually hope to repurpose the land for housing and commercial real estate.
Every day, numerous travelers coming from Canada drive past what remains of the Miromar Outlets. The “dead mall” has been an eyesore since it closed in the early 2000s.
“The amount that it would take to even secure it is insane, so it really needs to be dismantled,” said Champlain Town Supervisor Thomas Trombly. He says he’s hoping the town will receive a roughly $2 million Restore New York Grant, which would help the owners tear it down.
The mall off I-87 is a relic of a bygone era that was once a shopping hub in the early ‘90s. Trombly says that since its closure, vandals and Mother Nature have taken a toll. “Unfortunately, at some point, the owners walked away from it and didn’t maintain it anymore — that’s the sad part,” he said.
Trombly says they are now exploring how to breathe new life into the 20-acre property, as well as 20 acres of adjacent empty land. He says the current owners or future developers could build a restaurant, hotel, at least two apartment buildings, and roughly 18 single-family homes on the adjacent lot.
It’s a plan that local realtor Matt Boire says the area sorely needs. “Whether it be single-family homes at a starter level or even a mid-level, the demand is there,” he said. Boire says the former mall land could be repurposed to draw more tourists off the highway and in the doors of local businesses. “Being the gateway into the U.S., there are so many travelers that drive through that port of entry and that is one of their first sites, so I think it would be good for Champlain, I think it would be good for the region.”
Trombly says the town and the property owners are waiting on the outcome of the grant application, which he says should be announced this summer. “Let us get it cleaned up. From there on, it is just going to help develop economically because we are going to build something here,” he said.