Boulevard Mall (Amherst, New York)

Boulevard Mall was a one-level shopping mall 14.6 miles (23.5 km) northeast of downtown Buffalo, New York, between Niagara Falls Boulevard, Alberta Drive, Almeda Avenue and Interstate 290 in Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo. The mall has four open anchors which are JCPenney, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Gabe's.
== Mall History ==
In 1962, Boulevard Mall opened to the public with two anchor tenants, Jenss and Sattler's. The mall also had 30 store spaces originally. In 1970, JCPenney opened a three-level anchor store across from Jenss, making it the mall's third anchor. In 1978, the mall was extended on the south end adding approximately 30 more stores. In 1981, Sattler's was converted into Sibley's. In 1990, Sibley's was converted into Kaufmann's. In 1994, the mall underwent a major overhaul as three restaurants, Bonefish Grill, TGI Fridays and Honey's opened along with the construction of a 9-bay food court on the mall's east side which featured a carousel, a 1990s mall staple. During this makeover, the mall lured many upscale stores such as The Disney Store and Abercrombie & Fitch. Following the opening of the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga in 1989, Boulevard Mall underwent the overhaul to firmly establish itself as the number two mall in Western New York. In 1997, the mall again underwent a redesign, this time cosmetically, which saw the implementation of modern skylights, marble floors, columns, and other features aimed at modernizing the complex. In October 1998, Jenss closed down, the store was then quickly converted into a Kaufmann's Men's Store the same year. In 2000, the mall was expanded once again, this time adding a new wing connected to a two-level Sears, making the store the mall's fourth anchor. In September 2006, Kaufmann's and Kaufmann's Men's Store were converted into Macy's and Macy's Men's Store. In October 2015, the food court was demolished for a new Dick's Sporting Goods, making the store the mall's fifth anchor. Other food retailers in the mall closed such as Subway and Taste of China.
== Decline ==
In 2019, after changing ownership, the beginning of what was to become an exodus of stores leaving the mall occured when Gap, after over 40 years in the mall, closed its doors, followed by nearby tenants Aeropostale, Hollister, Pacific Sunwear, Regis, 5-7-9, Crazy 8, Mrs. Fields and The Children's Place. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the 2019 announcement of Station Twelve, a small regional lifestyle mall planned for Amherst, has caused several long time tenants to leave the 60 year old mall. With the mall already, quickly losing steam, by 2021, other stores such as Aerie, Gymboree, New York & Company, Banana Republic, Charlotte Russe, GNC, Foot Locker, Littman Jewelers, Yankee Candle, MasterCuts, Francesca's, Justice, GameStop and several more eateries and stores all have closed down. In 2021, Douglas Jemal purchased the mall and the nearby Wegmans for $30 million. New plans envision a state of art property called Boulevard Place. Under these plans the aging shopping concurse will become refreshed and feature the addition of an urban boulevard concept with office and residental elements.
The interior of the mall closed on April 30, 2024.
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Malls in New York
Category:Buffalo Area Malls
Category:Erie County, New York
Category:Malls that opened in 1962
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Former Kaufmann's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Jenss-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sattler's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Sibley's-anchored Malls