Champlain Centre Mall: Is It a Dead Mall? Hard to Say... Plattsburgh, New York.

Join me as I take a look at Champlain Centre Mall in Plattsburgh, New York. Is it a dead mall? Let me know what you think in the comments!
This video was filmed in November 2023 around 10:30am on a Wednesday.
If you liked this video, please give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel! Thanks!
Source of information:
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www.pressrepublican.com/news/...
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www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...
www.yelp.com/biz/champlain-ce...
#deadmall #deadmalls #mall #newyork #shoppingmall #shoppingmalls #retail #plattsburgh #upstateny #upstatenewyork #nostalgia #fleabittenadventures

[@seameology]

That gizmo thing at the entrance had balls that were constantly moving. Ramps, bridges etc. You could watch it for hours. It was awesome

[@mikegallant811]

Please keep making your Mall videos, Tom. You make em, we'll quite happily watch them. 😊

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the encouragement! I've got a lot more coming!

[@lindagoreham2238]

This mall looks clean and has character rather than other malls. Keep up the good work Tom! 😂

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Character? It has the exact same stores as every other mall.

[@bikenraider99]

I lived in Plattsburgh when that mall opened. It is a lot more sleepy now than what I remember. Thanks for sharing.

[@charliecoccia8875]

This mall is very similar to another mall that Pyramid also owns called The Salmon Run Mall in Watertown NY. It has almost the same design and layout of this mall. You should visit that mall in the future.

[@headydad7446]

I grew up in Plattsburgh and visited there last summer. I brought my daughter and was very disappointed in how not busy it was. The food court was a ghost town.... zero custys as well as 1 or 2 vendor still operating. There were people using Target shopping carts as walkers as well as a janitor using one to house his cleaning tools. The decay of this type of facility is not exclusive to Plattsburgh but how it is still standing from what I saw is perplexing.

[@seameology]

Canadians used to shop there. If you'll notice, street signs are in English and French, due to the heavy traffic from French speaing Quebec.

[@RaveSacks]

My family used to go to the Adirondacks (Plattsburgh area) for a week at least once a year in the 80s into the 90s so I think I remember going to the Hills(later Ames) a couple times back in those days.

[@blankadams3120]

That hall at 2:50...? The left side used to be a Borders, and then, when that shut down, it became an RC racetrack, and then... several other stores, I believe? On the right side used to be... I want to say it was a nail salon for a while? The chinese place in the food court is one of the top two chinese restaurants in Plattsburgh. Swear to you, first day of the mall being open again after the Lockdowns? There was a line stretching from their counter to the arcade across the court.

[@ValexTheGobbo]

I was almost in that line, and the guy who runs it with his parents was *pissed* because the governor said one thing about opening up, so he stocked up on food to open with, and then the opening got delayed and wouldn't reimburse anyone for the wasted costs.

[@joshuajerrythereviwer]

Thanks for doing this video this is my local mall

[@weirdo808hi]

its gotta be doing ok, not a lot of empty storefronts but food court being more than half empty seems odd

[@ERA_Productions]

Great video! From the appearance of what I was able to see in this video, this mall does appear like it’s not doing too bad. It seems like a nice regional mall that serves the community well! Also appears to have good ownership behind it that appeared to be doing their best to keep it alive!

[@Tanner-db3ff]

Just got bought by the bank the other day. So hopefully there is some updates to it.

[@JoshYT1]

As a Canadian, I think this mall still benefits from Canadian shoppers if they're looking for the more American brands like the Jcpenney, Kohls and Target. Ironically I go to this malls sister mall Salmon Run Mall in Watertown, NY and I'd love for you to visit it someday if you get the chance to get that far up North. Can't wait for the next mall/retail video!

[@charliecoccia8875]

That mall is also owned by pyramid. And it is very similar in design and layout as Champlain centre mall. It also used to have a borders bookstore that is now an arcade and escape room place.

[@dead2ritesCrosshairs]

5:13 There's the car that drove through the door...

[@fleabittenadventures]

Ha ha! I wonder if a car did drive through the door though. I couldn't find any news articles on it though.

[@rachelrivera91]

Great video!! As always. Finally subscribed to your channel after viewing them since beginning of 2024. What stands about the way you present your videos is that you have your mom accompany you on most of your tours. And I love how you sample candies from the candy machines at most malls your explore. Also I love that you drive around the mall/outlet buildings in the end of each video. Thank you Tom and everyone who are preserving and archiving some of the things we once cherish in our country. The malls are a huge part of America at a time when most of us viewers were younger. I still love mall shopping versus online shopping. I love trying on clothes, shoes, sampling food, smelling perfume scents, looking at DVDs, games, cds, and physical copies of books. And last but not least, eating inside a building with people around. I love people watching and observing people socialize. These days it might be considered weird to people watch. Keep up the good work. Your video contents on dead malls are among my top 5. I love how you keep entertaining us. I always get excited for the next video. 😊

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thank you! I appreciate it!

[@brad3042]

Definitely remember this mall. I had it confused with another mall in the same town.

[@abbielebrun9380]

On the right side of that empty hallway, there was a Boarders Books in the early 2000’s, then a furniture store. It sat empty for a while, then the play place moved in. The right side was reconfigured when the Kohls renovation happened, so that space hasn’t existed as it is for very long. At one point a fee years ago, I believe there was an RC car racing track, but that’s been out of business for several years. Other than that, no store has been the storefront next to Kohl’s. As for the entrance that looks like a car went through it, they installed sliding automatic glass doors, with are in now and look great!

[@garrettwatson2737]

Yes, the RC car track was interesting. It was a general hobby store I believe.

[@user-tu4fe2ut8m]

I’m from Québec and I remember crossing the border to Plattsburgh in the 90’s with my family to go shopping at this mall. Travelling was very expensive and only rich people could afford plane tickets so normal people were driving upstate New York to experience something different for a few hours, new restaurants and stores and also practicing their English skill. We could see license plates from QC everywhere in the parking lot but now even though we still love our American neighbours, with online shopping, Amazon, express shipping, low cost airlines, Plattsburgh is no longer an attraction for us unfortunately 😢

[@lupsarttime3615]

My paternal grandparents lived in Plattsburgh and whenever we visited and went to the mall, my favorite thing was the sculpture around the 15 min mark. It used be mechanized, with colorful balls that ran all through it. They'd go up little elevators and run down a xylophone and travel all along the sculpture, and as a kid I just wanted to sit there and watch it and not be dragged through boring clothing stores! 😅 I was bummed to see it silent in this video! (as for the rest of the mall, I have not been there in ages)

[@BGRJ5041]

I've lived here all my life and I and my friends used to go there multiple times a week sometimes to just walk around to go to the mall as kids. And the food court was absolutely packed with people the time, had plenty to choose from also a lot better stores like you had mentioned in this video that other people had acknowledged. But to be honest I can't even remember the last time I walked into the actual mall, maybe I've gone into Target but that's about it. Unfortunately from what I hear the rent is just way too high for stores to be successful here.

[@vunguy3n]

I miss Service Merchandise and Radio Shack

[@fleabittenadventures]

Me too!

[@Glitteringmoonstone2022]

I love your mall videos there is Mall about 30 min. away from the Monmouth Mall in NJ. The Freehold race way mall is in a bit of limbo right now. It has been through a couple of additions, it lost a few anchor stores but it has some life it

[@fleabittenadventures]

I'll try to take a look at it later this year.

[@abbielebrun9380]

Plattsburgh local here! You can’t really tell because it’s mall walkers hour, but this mall gets really busy, especially in the evening. Its popularity and overall success has ebbed and flowed over the years, but because there isn’t a lot to do in town, it’s a staple for locals to come and walk around. Also, I feel like the food court isn’t an indicator for the health of this mall. I remember when I was little, there was a BK and a subway, but really nothing else of note has been in there. The Chinese food restaurant and its owner are beloved by locals, and the Subaro has been there forever. With the movie theatre food court and Starbucks in Target right there, the food court gets overlooked. However, during peak times, it can be tough to find a table with the number of people that sit and hang out!

[@garrettwatson2737]

My memory of the food court is quite different. In the early 2000s, the volume of people and the number of options was quite a bit higher. Even the number of available tables has dropped a bit since then. I think the many closures (BK, Taco Bell, Little Tokyo, a few others) reflect that, though somehow Sbarro lives on (it's been there since at least 2001, perhaps well before that).

[@plinger1]

If memory serves me right TRU was over by sears. It was that glass front you passed. I don’t think it initially closed it combined with babies r us. It was a doomed concept from the start. It was the first store to be under 20k Sqft. They never built smaller than 30k. The store itself couldn’t justify the cost.

[@maryq2571]

If memory serves, there were no stores along that long hall. I think there might have been some kiosks and displays though. Also I just saw where Pyramid mall defaulted and Deutsche Bank, which held the loan, just bought it. There are few stores that seem to do a lot of business, like Target, Old Navy and a couple of others. There are a lot of empty spaces. There used to be lot more stores and there are only a couple food outlets left in the food court. Who knows if it will survive? I sure hope so.

[@Tanner-db3ff]

I remember it had windows when border book store was there.

[@ValexTheGobbo]

The mall has been falling for about 20 years, honestly. A lot of it has to do with the rent. The spaces are just absurdly high priced for what you get, which is why so many restaurants that have other locations locally have left. That gyro place was a Burger King, across from the arcade was a really good pizza spot next to the Chinese place (which has always been a chinese place, just renamed a few times) Next to the gyro place was a bunch of random stuff over the years including a separate chinese place. between China Cafe and Sbarro's was a Taco Bell for the longest time, then it briefly became a Subway before closing entirely. Sbarro's has been a couple of things too, but I can't remember. There also used to be a really nice little candy spot by that pillar near Lunimomo. We had a Borders near the Kohl's spot for the longest time and that's where the Toys R Us was. Some stores are still there from when I was a kid but a lot has changed. Gamestop used to be a Babbages after all. I miss when the Gizmo had a *lot* more balls going at once. It's old and falling apart now.

[@madmerlot841]

Except for the food court it looks somewhat alive. I wonder if they get cross border traffic. I It looks in a lot better shape than malls that are semi-dead and a lot better than Simon malls.

[@joshuajerrythereviwer]

The food court used to be better it had Taco Bell, Burger King, Subway, Quiznos etc now it has the china cafe,sbarro pizza and a gyro place Auntie Anne's is down the hallway

[@rachelrivera91]

👍

[@sinisterisrandom8537]

I'd say this isn't necessarily a dead mall. Nor is it struggling. It is in a rough shape, that's for sure. However, it does seem like their somewhat figuring things out. But i agree, we need to make quarters and other coins an option to the card.

[@AEvans36977]

It's not a dead mall but if Target and/or JCP closes out, it'll be pretty much done for, or at least in full struggle mode.

[@BrandonLongwell-mw9iy]

Yes! Can you do please Radio Shack and Sears.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I wish I could do a walk through of a Radio Shack!

[@mikefreeman9251]

I took a bus trip from Montreal to nyc and loved to watch the scenery out the window in up state new york. I'm from the deserts in the west so all the green scenery is beautiful to me.

[@ruby055]

The trend of out facing the stores in many malls to entry from outside only is becoming the norm. It's now a common practice and actually increases retail foot traffic in many areas and reduces rent. Expect new cluster retail to be made in external/outside access only shopping. Think Legacy Place Dedham MA as a example of what the future of retail holds. Most lenders today will not issue a construction loan for a all interior mall

[@joshuajerrythereviwer]

ToysRus closed in 2002 Borders books came in after that Wendells furniture replaced borders It became a RC track then whete you were the hallway where you thought their was stores thats where ToysRus was Rex appliance was actually we're five below is now the best buy wing was added Their used to be a RC Car Cafe where the front entrance is now

[@seameology]

35 miles south of the Canadian border. I lived in Rouses Point.

[@andysorensen1737]

Nice shot of the eclipse info ahead of it on Monday! I’m going to call this an okay mall. I imagine the early hour didn’t help things, but I like the character and I’ve certainly seen a lot worse. And yeah, Gander Mountain and Outdoors were essentially the same thing, just different owners if I remember right.

[@yvesisevil]

The toys r Us / borders was located near where the Kohl's is. The stone columns.. Borders started in 2002.

[@brucesumter4327]

wow so cool malls happy Belate mERRY CHRISTMAS

[@fleabittenadventures]

Merry Belated Christmas to you too!

[@brucesumter4327]

@@fleabittenadventures keep up the Good work be waiting more video have a good weekend

[@SHADOSTRYKR]

Gander outdoors (at least the one near me) seems very focused on RV equipment, and marina stuff. I’m not sure why they would try that in a Gander Mtn location that didn’t do well but that is the main difference I’ve observed between the two

[@BastianBeltazarBucks]

Well I live in Plattsburgh, NY and it's more between doing just fine and a dying mall. The arcade in the regal cinema is coin operated.The restaurants that closed were taco bell, subway, burger king. I knew Ames was over where Texas Roadhouse is today. Where the willow store was originally Yankee candle.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thanks for the info!

[@landonleclair733]

I grew up with this mall it’s seen generations of my family shopping and eating and having a blast sad to see it was just bought out and put to rest💔

[@blankadams3120]

Ah, right... the reason the food court and most of the stores are leaving is because the parent company massively overcharges rent to their tenants. Just, absolutely ridiculous cost to keep a store open. And it only got worse after the Lockdown. The Hobby Lobby isn't attached to the mall because the mall has a stipulation in the contract that, if the mall is open, the store has to be open, and Hobby Lobby is shut on Sundays.

[@seameology]

I used to go there a lot in the 90's. It was busy then.

[@ronhoover5516]

Seems OK! A few rough spots but overall not bad. I like these less glitzy malls for what they are.

[@rachelrivera91]

Same here. I like the less glitzy and the more vintage look. I don’t like how most malls owned by Simon Development today have this bright, white, sterile, look to it. It’s like this hospital like sterile environment rather than a mall. But what do I know?

[@joshuajerrythereviwer]

Their used to be a rue 21 and a toysrus that later became a wendells furniture, then a rc track then it was spilt into a hallway The mall has done some small renovations those skylights weren't originally their

[@BastianBeltazarBucks]

@fleabitten adventures Would you do a walk tour of the Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream Meadow lands in East Rutherford, New Jersey?

[@fleabittenadventures]

Already did American Dream Mall a few months ago. I'll definitely do Mall of American if I'm ever in Minnesota! Thanks for watching!

[@joshuajerrythereviwer]

Theirs an abandoned mall in Champlain New York that used to be called miromar factory outlet that was the most northern mall in New York this mall is about 30 miles north of plattsburgh

[@TrevorG-nk7zt]

Can you do a re visit to the south shore plaza in Braintree mass?

[@fleabittenadventures]

Already did, about a year ago or so.

[@justinhendrickson3774]

there is to other malls that have them garden state plazza in jersy and wood berry comions in NY has the exchange as well

[@abbielebrun9380]

I’m too young to remember, but by the way you describe the location, it seems like the Toys R Us would have been in what is now to bounce castle center.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Could be. I was thinking it would have been in an anchor spot. The Toys R Us I remember were always pretty big.

[@Feaster1026Productions]

Fleabitten Adventures, can you please do a video at the Dover Mall in Delaware?

[@seameology]

That's CHRISTMAS? I was there Christmas shopping in the late 90's. Standing room only and all those spaces had stores.

[@ReallifeBambiDeerattheFarm1]

It looks healthy to me. Perhaps when they do renovate they could put in some water features? That would be nice.

[@fleabittenadventures]

I wish. Sadly, I think the fountains cost too much to maintain and are too much of a liability for most malls to have them anymore.

[@larryk731]

I'd say just over the edge into the healthy category over dying. It seems to be well suited to the region - high end luxury stores probably wouldn't do well in that part of New York. It looks to be the right size for the area - I don't thin a 1 million sf mall would fill up in this area.

[@mark3464]

That drive around the mall is depressing

[@fleabittenadventures]

It was kind of desolate looking....

[@kevingamble8861]

This mall at least seems safe and clean. The major indoor mall in my area isn't very safe. No one likes to go through a guantlet of teenagers with nothing to do just to get into a store. Then worry about being robbed in the parking lot. Most newer malls are outdoor malls. Not as convenient, but safer.

[@themovietheatre]

A new mall is opening this summer an hour away, Royalmount.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Really? Where? Is it an indoor mall? Thanks

[@themovietheatre]

@@fleabittenadventures Town of Mt. Royal on Decarie below the Met in Montreal, Metro De La Savane.

[@garrettwatson2737]

I grew up just north of this mall and visited frequently in the early 2000s. The Champlain Centre definitely feels more desolate when I visit town. The food court in particular has gone from 6-8 different options to only a couple. Here's a video from December 2001 that shows how the mall has changed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i17Nfoipdt91mZY

[@garrettwatson2737]

Also, the Toys R Us I am fairly sure closed in 2002. I visited the Borders that replaced it in the early 2000s, before 2005. They were located next to where Sears was (now Kohls).

[@timothyryan7234]

Hi Tom, love your videos I just was watching the Champlain Center mall and I know you mentioned the pyramid company owning them why I also believe they owned destiny USA I don’t know if you get a chance it’s in Syracuse New York if you could do a video on that maybe that’s aI would say the mall is doing pretty good. Please let me know if you can do that. I am only 30 miles south I live in Cortland been there many times seen businesses come and go. Thank you again.

[@fleabittenadventures]

It's on my list. Maybe later this year. Thanks.

[@timothyryan7234]

@@fleabittenadventures all right Tom, thank you appreciate it. I’ll be looking forward to it.

[@plinger1]

I built the now defunct Toys R Us there. That mall has been declining for a while. That sculpture has been steadily malfunctioning over the past decade. I don’t think it works anymore and can be repaired.

[@Foxonian]

The Pyramid corp. built both the Hampshire Mall and the Holyoke Mall and still own them to this day.

[@fleabittenadventures]

Oh OK. I didn't know that. Thanks for watching!

[@chm9935]

Borders, waldenbooks and b.dalton all gone. Hollister had a ton of store closures

[@jimanddianemolina540]

look at the shorthills mall plz

[@fleabittenadventures]

Where's that?

[@americafirst2159]

Ball machine hasn’t worked in years lol …

[@fleabittenadventures]

Thought not.

[@user-dp3xc2ut3s]

Toys r us was in part of that hallway

[@user-dp3xc2ut3s]

Kids zone to kohls was toys r us

[@Tanner-db3ff]

I would say it a dead mall especially after gander left the first time. And our food selection has been bad since the Burger King and subway closed. Now we just have the Chinese pizza and the gayro place.

[@isabelbeckerman9226]

I'm sorry to say that this is pretty much a dead mall😔. Hardly anyone attends these once-thriving retail complexes, and it won't be long before Champlain Mall will be demolished along with the others, thanks to the affluent online shopping webs. Even the arcade is empty without the sounds of children playing electric games after school and over the weekends. What's even sadder is this upload took place during the holiday season. Imagine, years ago, the hundreds of joyous shoppers wearing off the stone floor throughout their shopping sprees inside this mall. It's a shame another of our favorite pastimes will only be a distant memory in the not-so-distant future. 😢

[@BastianBeltazarBucks]

When you went near where Kohls is today that the Toys R US was right on the right side of the and there was a Ed and Mikes where best buy was and where 5 below is today. I found a video that shows all the restraunts that were there in 1996 during the Christmas holiday. Heres a link to the video. kzbin.info?search_query=1996+christmas+at++the+champlain+center+mall

[@Madness832]

Could you cross the border and check out a mall in Quebec?🤔

[@fleabittenadventures]

As soon as I get a passport

[@cr-qo3ov]

Well one thing I know is I'm going to support an American Mall and the local economy before a Canadian Mall

[@mark3464]

I do the opposite

[@TheRedDevil_NC]

just need to add some squatters and then it wont be dead.

[@chm9935]

Lol!!!

[@chm9935]

Echelon mall aka voorhees town center perfect for squatters

[@user-ge9yc5vz7w]

I think this is a dying mall. Makes me sad I lived in P'Burgh NY for 45 years..

[@monkeymanstones1]

Kohls sore

[@monkeymanstones1]

Or is that A Kohls STORE?

[@lescobrandon3047]

Does Trump have an alibi?

[@fleabittenadventures]

The world may never know.

[@jimjobes5187]

There all dead malls anymore there a thing of the past just another thing the internet has ruined

[@BastianBeltazarBucks]

@fleabitten adventures Would you do a walk tour of the Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream Meadow lands in East Rutherford, New Jersey?

[@fleabittenadventures]

Yes