Kmart, Riverhead, NY
The Big Kmart of Riverhead was built and opened in the East End Commons Shopping Center in 1995. The 108,000 sq. ft. Kmart shares the shopping center with BJ's Wholesale Club.
The late 80's and 90's were a big time of growth for Kmart in the New York Metro area due to the immense growth of the discount department store segment in the US, and also to the failure of many large discounters in the area during that time.
By 1990 many large New York discounters like Time Square Stores (TSS), Seedman's, J.W. May's, Orbach's, Valley Fair and Alexander's had all gone under. This not only left suburban shoppers looking for discount options, but it also created a glut of large-scale, reasonably-priced real state available on Long Island and in New Jersey. Kmart and Caldor were the primary beneficiaries on Long Island as they took over stores from existing retailers in older, established suburbs and built stores from the ground-up in newer suburbs.
Despite being 75 miles from midtown Manhattan, Riverhead is still considered a suburb of New York City. It is located in the last retail cluster on the North shore of Long Island in an area which has traditionally been a farming area, but where many suburban developments have been built over the last 20 years.
The area was hard-hit by the mortgage crisis, and with younger families wanting to live closer to urban areas, it has struggled to recover. The area's many strip shopping centers, mostly built during the 90's, are pockmarked with vacancies.
Kmart, Riverhead, NY
The Big Kmart of Riverhead was built and opened in the East End Commons Shopping Center in 1995. The 108,000 sq. ft. Kmart shares the shopping center with BJ's Wholesale Club.
The late 80's and 90's were a big time of growth for Kmart in the New York Metro area due to the immense growth of the discount department store segment in the US, and also to the failure of many large discounters in the area during that time.
By 1990 many large New York discounters like Time Square Stores (TSS), Seedman's, J.W. May's, Orbach's, Valley Fair and Alexander's had all gone under. This not only left suburban shoppers looking for discount options, but it also created a glut of large-scale, reasonably-priced real state available on Long Island and in New Jersey. Kmart and Caldor were the primary beneficiaries on Long Island as they took over stores from existing retailers in older, established suburbs and built stores from the ground-up in newer suburbs.
Despite being 75 miles from midtown Manhattan, Riverhead is still considered a suburb of New York City. It is located in the last retail cluster on the North shore of Long Island in an area which has traditionally been a farming area, but where many suburban developments have been built over the last 20 years.
The area was hard-hit by the mortgage crisis, and with younger families wanting to live closer to urban areas, it has struggled to recover. The area's many strip shopping centers, mostly built during the 90's, are pockmarked with vacancies.