Where I live we have a lot of them sadly.

1. Friendly's- closed January 2015 and its still empty.

2. KMart Plaza- KMart closed in February 1998 and then the other stores went slowly along. The whole plaza has been empty for a long time.

3. Masonic Temple- Our organization closed April 2014 and the building has been empty since.

4. Pizza Hut- We still have ours, but they relocated somewhere about 2 years ago. The original building still sits empty.

5. Rent A Center- Sitting empty for about 5 or 6 years now.

6. empty clothing store on Main St.

7. empty recruiting office.

8. empty newspaper building. (They relocated to a smaller spot.)

9. Radio Shack- closed about 3 months ago-still empty.

10. empty insurance building.

11. empty building that used to house a night club.

I wonder if its this way in any other towns/cities across the USA?

Where I live we have a lot of them sadly.

1. Friendly's- closed January 2015 and its still empty.

2. KMart Plaza- KMart closed in February 1998 and then the other stores went slowly along. The whole plaza has been empty for a long time.

3. Masonic Temple- Our organization closed April 2014 and the building has been empty since.

4. Pizza Hut- We still have ours, but they relocated somewhere about 2 years ago. The original building still sits empty.

5. Rent A Center- Sitting empty for about 5 or 6 years now.

6. empty clothing store on Main St.

7. empty recruiting office.

8. empty newspaper building. (They relocated to a smaller spot.)

9. Radio Shack- closed about 3 months ago-still empty.

10. empty insurance building.

11. empty building that used to house a night club.

I wonder if its this way in any other towns/cities across the USA?

There is an empty convenience store building that was once called "Max Saver Food Mart" that is on Fairview Rd. in my area (going towards Simpsonville).

Our K-Mart closed about 20 years ago and the building remained vacant until a few weeks ago when Harbor Freight Tools moved in.

An empty Sears and an empty dollar store.

I have so many where I'm at (Cleveland), On the corner of Pearl and Broadview there used to be a bank now it's been vacant for years. There's also an abandoned YMCA on 25th Street. And then there's the old Aragan Ball Room which is now becoming a Party Center on 25th Street.

It would take forever to list all the empty buildings around here.
We got empty hotels,restaurants,department stores,shopping malls.
They even built an airport not too many years ago that pretty much remains empty. I guess after next year we will have an empty domed stadium downtown. They want to build a new one closer to the river and the knotheads haven't even finished paying off on the one we have. Here are some pictures of older buildings that have been empty for years, schools,banks,church,office buildings.

http://www.builtstlouis.net/arcade0.html

Nothing stays vacant for long where I am.

man - going from one end of town to the other it is almost all empty now;

there's Target (just closed 6 mo ago), K-Mart (couple yrs now, the Lowes beside it is still open), Elder Beerman's (must be 8 or 9 years now), Pier1 (its been gone for 7-8 yrs), Blockbuster, Country Buffet, Bob Evans, (there are a strip of stores in between here), Cub Foods (2 yrs, I believe the office Depot beside is still open), some sporting goods store gone for several years, Walmart (they moved 5 miles away 6 or 7 yrs ago, there's a strip of little stores open next to that including the KFC, Taco Bell, and a Walgreens, then Home Depot is still there), next to that is the empty Sears (closed 3 yrs ago), Best Buy closed around the same time (next to that the Big Lots is still open) I don't even know what used to be next to that, then there is a Dollar store filling half of the space that used to have Circuit City, and then there are a bunch more empty buildings or lots including an old Wendy's, car lot, Toy 'R Us, and some others.

we have a big car dealership across the street from us that's been empty for like 6 or 7 years now. They've been debating for the last 3 years whether or not to build a Wawa on the site.

When a store closes down around here, there's always another one waiting in the wings to take it over. When Borders Book Store closed, they remodeled the store and Dick's Sporting Goods took it's place. They're building so many new stores & restaurants that you can't keep up with all of them especially on our side of town. There were a few stores in the downtown area that closed but lawyers snapped those up for themselves.

Super Kmart -- enormous plaza, totally empty for several years now

Old Country Buffet storefront -- left practically as soon as Golden Corral came nearby

Fitness USA building

Room Place storefront -- former Media Play (and Builders Square before that)

We have a Walmart building that's vacant because they moved down the road when they built a new super center. The building is just sitting there. I wish something would move in but I doubt it will.

When a store closes down around here, there's always another one waiting in the wings to take it over. When Borders Book Store closed, they remodeled the store and Dick's Sporting Goods took it's place. They're building so many new stores & restaurants that you can't keep up with all of them especially on our side of town. There were a few stores in the downtown area that closed but lawyers snapped those up for themselves.
Sounds like you live in New York City. Foreigners the world over pay landlords a minimum of 5X the market value just to get a foothole in New York. Two things immediately happen: the foreigen company's stock DOUBLES and every company in that huge bulding is forced to leave within 60 -90 days. No exceptions and absolutely, positively NO legal recourse. EVERYBODY OUT!! It's all perfectly legal and happens daily throughout the five NYC counties.

Glanzman/S. Byrne: Fleeger's Ace Hardware and a bar. A Frisch's Big Boy closed a few years ago, and an empty lot fills the space where it once stood.

When a store closes down around here, there's always another one waiting in the wings to take it over. When Borders Book Store closed, they remodeled the store and Dick's Sporting Goods took it's place. They're building so many new stores & restaurants that you can't keep up with all of them especially on our side of town. There were a few stores in the downtown area that closed but lawyers snapped those up for themselves.


That is cool ! You are lucky that happens where you are ! ;)

It looks like cr*p and gets so slummy/ghetto poor and rundown looking when buildings stay vacant for a long time! :( Around what used to be a very good Sears store here before, now seems like it could almost be on Skid Row. It is so sad! :(

When I lived in the city Mom and I would always see empty store buildings and we would guess what store would open next in them but the city ten miles away would always lose stores and restaurants and always gained new places in their former buildings. Take for instance in the shopping center where my mom shops the original Kmart store was a popular store there but once a new Kmart was built the old Kmart store closed and the building remained empty for years until Albertson's moved in to that building and what's surprising about it is that when the original Kmart was opened Albertson's was already in that shopping center in a different building and when Albertson's moved the building that used to be Albertson's became Big Lots now and another grocery store is in the old Kmart building today. Another store that did this in my town is Walmart and when The Home Depot moved to a new shopping center the new Walmart took over the old Home Depot building and the other Walmart was closed for remodeling but reopened a month later with an expanded store and a Subway inside the store too and when the new Walmart opened it stole some of Target's customers. But I think when new stores and restaurants begin to open up in towns the previous stores begin to lose their novelty and go out of business soon like Arby's did in my town and when I had two Arby's it was my hangout and my mom and I would get sandwiches all the time but now we have no Arby's anymore and is now Subway but I think more stores would gain more popularity if they would be open a lot more to attract a bigger audience of shoppers
Bestie

In Ohio City near me, there's an abandoned Hollywood Video. It was gonna be a McDonald's but the neighborhood put the kibosh on that...if you want a fast-food place in an area like that, be more creative. Have it look like an old storefront!

I wish that becomes a laundromat or a new Fire Department building.

In St Louis, here the only empty buildings that i can think of...

- The Arby's at the Cross Keys Shopping area have been empty since this past January

- The Bridgeton At Home Store have been closed since this Past February

- Jamestown Mall has been closed entirely for 4-5 years

- Mobil at Florissant Valley Shopping Center have been close since early last month or a little before that

Fortunately, we don't have any empty buildings,where I live, and if a business closes, another is waiting to open.

There's a couple around my area. There's an abandoned building that's gone through multiple names over the years.

It used to be a Carvel when I was a kid and it became a Nathan's during the late 1990s - early 2000s. It became a deli called Bagel Barn around 2004 and closed around 2010 after they had a suspicious fire.

It looks awful and I wish someone would tear it down and start over.




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We also had a McDonald's that closed around 2015 and no one has taken it over yet.



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Several Payless shoe stores are closing down near me!

In Seabrook NH (not even close to where I live at all, but refuse to go into specifics as what town I live in), there's still an old empty Ames that's been there for years and has never even been torn down at all.

Glanzman/S. Byrne: Fleeger's Ace Hardware and a bar. A Frisch's Big Boy closed a few years ago, and an empty lot fills the space where it once stood.

A CVS drugstore was built where the Big Boy used to be. It opened in November of last year.

across the street from us there's an abandoned car dealership. Every once in a while there's talk of building a WAWA there but nothing ever happens.

And in my town that I live in, there’s now an empty Shaw’s supermarket.

I'm surprised I didn't think of this one earlier... and this is pretty rare for my area as most closed stores are usually snatched right up.

This is A to Z Video that was a mom-and-pop video store that closed around 1995. What's odd is that I don't recall ever seeing a "For Sale/Rent" sign at all on the property. I remember that the closing was sudden when it happened w/ no announcement or anything. People in the neighborhood found the shutters closed and it's been like that for over 20 years now.

I wonder if the store's old VHS movies and Nintendo games are still inside.



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It’s been quite awhile since Outback Steakhouse here in Florissant have been empty & i cant remember what date they closed it.

Ponderosa in Bridgeton have been empty since November 30th, 2015.

Sports Authority in Bridgeton & KMart in Bridgeton have been emptier respectively anytime since inbetween January 2016 & May 2017

In Seabrook NH (not even close to where I live at all, but refuse to go into specifics as what town I live in), there's still an old empty Ames that's been there for years and has never even been torn down at all.
I know the area for I live in Massachusetts. In my area we had a Sears Hometown store which sold lawnmowers, snow blowers, tools, big kitchen applicances, and the man paid rent of $5,000 a month. The place didn't sell that much. How many times a week can you by a snowblower. Anyway the owner raised the rent to $7,000 a month. Then a year so later up the rent went to $10,000. Store closed about 2 years ago and remains empty. Who can afford $10,000 a month rent. The store owners would rather have an empty building than charge a lower rent. Around here commercial buildings are all heading toward condos. Sad

There's an abandoned building that's gone through multiple names over the years.

It used to be a Carvel when I was a kid and it became a Nathan's during the late 1990s - early 2000s. It became a deli called Bagel Barn around 2004 and closed around 2010 after they had a suspicious fire.

It looks awful and I wish someone would tear it down and start over.




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This building was finally demolished during this past week. I don't know what's happening with the spot.

I know the area for I live in Massachusetts. In my area we had a Sears Hometown store which sold lawnmowers, snow blowers, tools, big kitchen applicances, and the man paid rent of $5,000 a month. The place didn't sell that much. How many times a week can you by a snowblower. Anyway the owner raised the rent to $7,000 a month. Then a year so later up the rent went to $10,000. Store closed about 2 years ago and remains empty. Who can afford $10,000 a month rent. The store owners would rather have an empty building than charge a lower rent. Around here commercial buildings are all heading toward condos. Sad

It is sad, yes.

This building was finally demolished during this past week. I don't know what's happening with the spot.

The word around the neighborhood is that a moving company will be using the spot. Whether they are building a garage or just using the empty lot is unknown at this time.

This costume / party supply store moved to a new location around 2012 and their original location is still abandoned.


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There used to be something called Zoots Cleaners (a local thing), but the whole company went bankrupt and all of the locations closed. The location close to my house is empty, but there is still some remnants left inside.

It’s unknown what is going in there.

There’s a Bob's Discount Furniture which got moved to where a supermarket used to be, and it’s again unknown what is going in the old location.

Word on the street is that a Planet Fitness may be going in the old Bob's Discount Furniture location.

That I can think of, we have:

Ingles (local supermarket--moved to new location)
Kmart (I miss this place so much!)
Circle K (convenience store)
Zaxby's (moved to new location)

I live in a small GA town.

That I can think of, we have:

Ingles (local supermarket--moved to new location)
Kmart (I miss this place so much!)
Circle K (convenience store)
Zaxby's (moved to new location)

I live in a small GA town.



I just found out about a week ago that our local KMART is closing down. I'm really upset!! Like you, I will miss it very much!! :(

Our Sears is closing down, but not Kmart.

Our Sears is closing down, but not Kmart.


Our Sears closed down many years ago!! I'm still sad about that!! :( I can't believe they will all be closed eventually !! It's un American, having no Sears or KMART anymore!!! IDK what this world is coming to!!! :(:confused:

Our Sears closed down many years ago!! I'm still sad about that!! :( I can't believe they will all be closed eventually !! It's un American, having no Sears or KMART anymore!!! IDK what this world is coming to!!! :(:confused:

One half of Sears at our mall eventually became a Dick's Sporting goods store, unknown about what the other half will be yet. There were also a couple of other empty places the last time I went including a now former CVS along with a nail place and spa.

I just found out about a week ago that our local KMART is closing down. I'm really upset!! Like you, I will miss it very much!! :(

I always liked Kmart lots more than Walmart. Walmart has gotten so robotic.

Our Sears closed down many years ago!! I'm still sad about that!! :( I can't believe they will all be closed eventually !! It's un American, having no Sears or KMART anymore!!! IDK what this world is coming to!!! :(:confused:

It's becoming something that I don't really care much about...it's so impersonal now and everything is changing for the worse.

There aren’t too many vacant buildings in Austin, Texas.

So there's a bit of news regarding places.

D'Angelo closed in my town a couple of months ago due to Papa Gino's going bankrupt and the stuff is still inside as well.

A used furniture place that used to be a local music store and Blockbuster before that is now closed down. It's completely empty.

Empty buildings are so depressing. Once an establishment goes out of business or moves to a new location it’s just weird not seeing it there anymore. I still really miss my Kmart. Walmart is horrible.

Sears along with the auto center in our mall closed down before the holiday season even began I think, but am not sure exactly when. Kmart is still in the plaza.

One half is now a Dick's Sporting Goods.

Word on the street is that a Planet Fitness May be going in the old Bob's Discount Furniture location.

And turns out that it is indeed a Planet Fitness.

Not that it will be vacant for long but Versace just announced they are leaving their flagship 5th Ave store near Rockefeller Center. Most of the tony shops are in the East 60's and 70's anyway.

A La Salsa restaurant and Performance Eyewear both closed at a nearby strip mall.

The La Salsa was really a shock because it was there over 20 years!!

A La Salsa restaurant and Performance Eyewear both closed at a nearby strip mall.

The La Salsa was really a shock because it was there over 20 years!!

Over the past month, Shop n Save at Flower Valley Plaza in Florrisant has been vacant since many other of its locations are recently replaced by Schnucks. The K-Mart(at Flower Valley Plaza) has just closed down as i noticed earlier this week.

Since Late last month, I see the Bridgeton & Florissant locations of Lowe's being vacant

Other Buildings That Were Closed during The Last Month:

- A&W/Long John Silvers in Bridgeton

- Johnny Macs in Florissant

- Payless in Florissant/Hazelwood

- Steak n Shake in Hazelwood & Florissant

Babies R Us is still vacant, but Toys R Us has been replaced by Ocean State Job Lot.

A Shop 'n Save recently closed in Kirkwood which had been open since 1991! 27 years! It closed at the end of last year. It's a grocery store.

Kirkwood is a suburb of St.Louis, MO, USA!

In the mall where Sears used to be, there's going to be a Cinemark Movies that is going to be near the parking lot of Dick's Sporting Goods, and it's expected to be open on November 1 of this year.

It's sad to see the total demise of Sears. I hope JCPenny doesn't follow suit! The good thing about JCPenny is it's not carrying huge amounts of debt like Sears did.

The Buick-GMC lot in Hazelwood is also been vacant

A ton of them. Commercial rents are SKY HIGH in NYC. A Gourmet Garage and a GNC closed in my vicinity.

Two more empty buildings in my area are a tattoo place and a gun store. D'Angelo had everything just removed recently, and either a bank or another restaurant might go in there.

Two more empty buildings in my area are a tattoo place and a gun store. D'Angelo had everything just removed recently, and either a bank or another restaurant might go in there.

What an indictment of Western society in 2019. I have also noticed a proliferation of vaping stores and betting shops. Can we blame Amazon for the demise of the town centre? Why isn't there a sales tax on any transaction made through these internet companies?

What an indictment of Western society in 2019. I have also noticed a proliferation of vaping stores and betting shops. Can we blame Amazon for the demise of the town centre? Why isn't there a sales tax on any transaction made through these internet companies?

We have a lot of vaping stores here as well.

We have a lot of vaping stores here as well.
Yes and don't forget those women beauty centres flogging wigs and false nails.

Yes and don't forget those women beauty centres flogging wigs and false nails.

Surprisingly, there aren't that many of those around here.

Surprisingly, there aren't that many of those around here.
I have never crossed the threshold of one of these premises fortunately, the shop windows being enough to put me off, with obese women entering, seemingly having enough time for a manicure but not for a modicum of physical exercise.

I haven't seen any empty buildings/stores in my area but then again businesses tend to well in my town (especially restaurants).

The Little Caesars at North Highway 67 in Florissant, Missouri unexpectedly closed down as i just checked yesterday

I haven't seen any empty buildings/stores in my area but then again businesses tend to well in my town (especially restaurants).

What town is that?

The Little Caesars at North Highway 67 in Florissant, Missouri unexpectedly closed down as i just checked yesterday

That's what happened with our local Burger King just recently.

The 1-800 Flowers Flowerama shop in Florissant has recently closed its doors because their lease just expired as I checked this morning.

Philips 66 in Hazelwood, MO has just closed down as I first saw it when I was heading home from work

This is my favourite street in England and its most iconic store is in trouble. Eagle-eyed viewers will see my habitual haunt Waterstone's in the background. https://youtu.be/xqzRQxqD72s

Dunkin' Donuts is the latest storefront to be empty, and it just closed yesterday. The reason is that it cost more money to renew the lease and it was too much, so the lease was not renewed.

This small building inside a parking lot used to be a gourmet coffee bar. I never went there, but I passed by it on the way to school. I think it was called "Cafe Cafe" when it was open and it closed around 2006-07.

It still stands today and it's become a spot for graffiti and people posting flyers/ads.


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Here's Mona Lisa that closed around 2015. Their original location is still open, but the expansion business folded.

The expansion took over 3 storefronts and they had a dessert restaurant, pizzeria, ice cream parlor, and a spot for live music.




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The latest building to close down in my area is Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. It is going to be replaced by a tattoo shop.

Circles Cafe closed around July 2019 after being open since 1976. The last time I ate there was late 2017.

I heard that the building's owners raised the rent and they had to move. They opened up a 2nd location (I never got to eat there) not far from where they were and closed after less than a year. I heard that the head chef died unexpectedly and they then closed for good.

The original location is still abandoned and the second spot is now becoming a cafe.

My city lost it's Kmart and now the building is abandoned and also Big Lots has moved from the crime area of my town and into the mall where Toys "R" Us was and then my mall lost it's Hometown Buffet but turning it into a Golden Corral this fall. It seems that in cities the malls are welcoming the old places into them to save money on rent and other things
Bestie

Kmart in my town just closed a few weeks ago.

The Men’s Warehouse at Cross Keys Shopping Mall have been closed down

This Nathan's Famous closed around Jan. 2019 and nobody took it over yet.

Babies R Us closed a long time ago and it’s still vacant.

Late Last Month, Save a Lot in Bridgeton close its doors

Portland Glass closed its doors, and they moved to somewhere in Massachusetts.

An art supply store a block from me.

For years (it seems) the city of Lynnwood has been trying to build light rail going from Lynnwood to Seattle (and maybe further), and by the park and ride there used to be a cluster of restaurants and businesses like large furniture stores, etc. A few years back, they closed all of that b/c they were eventually going to tear them all down to build the light rail station. Since I'm no longer employed, I don't go to the park and ride, but I noticed that a lot more of the stores are gone. I don't know if they're planning on expanding the stations across the street for the light rail or if the two are even related, but it's weird to see all of those businesses gone. Even the gas station that was so convenient to the park and ride is gone.

L'Amour (The Rock Capital of Brooklyn) was a music venue that operated from 1981-2004. Many bands played there before and after they were famous like Metallica, KISS, Iron Maiden, Cannibal Corpse, Ramones, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot.

I don't know if he was the final show, but King Diamond was one of the last acts to perform there.



Throughout the 2000s, the club had different names and worked mainly as a hip-hop/dance club. I remember some of the other clubs - Evolution and Panache.

The last club in the spot was Red Wolf and I think it closed around 2016 or 2017. I don't know if they closed directly because of this, but a rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting not long after performing at the place. The place got a bad rep on the crowd it was attracting.

As far as I know, nobody took over the spot.

Here is an article on that: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/rapper-chinx-shot-dead-drove-porsche-queens-article-1.2225400

The Pizza Hut at N Hwy 67 in Florissant have recently closed down

The notorious Prince Hotel in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn goes back to the Prohibition era. The four story building was built in 1918 and the owners unveiled it as a upper-class gathering place called The Spofford Hotel & Restaurant.

It officially opened in 1919 and hosted many weddings and fancy dinners for NYC's elite. Around the Prohibition, a new "Spanish Room" was built inside and it was reported to be a speakeasy.




I'm not sure when, but the spot eventually became a cheap hotel/flophouse called Prince Hotel that officially closed in 2015. They charged $90.00 a night around when it closed and it was a hot-spot for drugs, prostitution, and fights for decades.

An adjacent lounge, 93 Lounge, closed a few years prior in 2013.

The property has stood abandoned since it closed. The hotel was a temporary shelter for the homeless during the early days of the pandemic.

"Rustbelt" archaeology is one of my favorite hobbies. Especially old factories that have been completely abandoned, walking though them and finding evidence that homeless people have been squatting there is particularly interesting to me.

Of course with some of the more high profile buildings, there is always some push to preserve history, repurpose the property, and there always seems to be a flock of vulture capitalists lurking willing to use taxpayer dollars coupled with tax incentive and abatement to "reinvigorate the community's self image"
what a bunch of crooks!

We have a local fiasco here called "Electric Works" that is a former General Electric campus. Several 5-6 story factory buildings, that sat vacant ever since GE decided that supporting the middle class American dream was no longer part of their DNA.

The promise was to use tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, coupled with extensive property tax abatement AND New Markets tax credits via the Federal income tax credits for revitalizing derelict infrastructure....to create a dynamic "innovation center" that will draw new businesses into the area and create NEW jobs.

The public took the bait, and now it has been revealed that the primary tenant is a company that has already been here for 35 years, and they were ready to move any way.
SO, we are supposed to be content that all this incentive has been expended TO PREVENT THEM FROM potentially moving to another city/state.

No significant creation of new jobs, major building being left vacant when they leave their former location. All the taxpayers contribution has accomplished is to allow one wealthy landlord to raid the pantry of another landlord.
And this is what they call "progress"?


https://fortwayneelectricworks.com/

In Brownsburg IN a Kroger was at one end of a strip center, and a KMart at the other end. The KMart closed, and was knocked down, with a new Kroger constructed and replacing it.

Now the original Kroger is closed and vacant. Certainly makes a lot of sense.

My great tourist town, that MANY made it their destination holiday, is about a ghost town, wonderful beautiful, overbuilt I believe, hotels are about empty. Restaurants closed, and can thank all this to our stupid governor. Beyond sad.

Here in Fort Wayne we also had a 1950s era shopping center called Quimby Village, that at the time it was built was really something...but as the years came and went, it became run down, rents dwindled, and the only businesses that stayed were the ones who owned their own buildings A local landmark drive in restaurant named Halls among those. Had been there since 1953 I believe.

Part of the property was an old derelict movie theater called the "Clyde", sat there disused and under used for decades.

Then along comes a developer with high hopes (and an eye on taxpayer contributions) announcing plans to build a live music venue.

A spark of life to reinvigorate a dying shopping center, etc. Supposed to be a huge success.

The City was so excited they even created a special (property) Tax Increment Finance district, to help pay for surrounding improvements. Theory being that with the renewed activity, the property increases in value and everybody having a stake in it prospers, and oh what a wonderful world.

Of course, the centerpiece has a special agreement to get tax abatement for several years, so the net effect is usually that the surrounding property owners carry the weight for ten years while the centerpiece enjoys immunity to increased costs that it is the cause of.

In this case several of the adjoining businesses decided they were not willing to have their pockets picked. The beauty college next door shuttered, the adjacent dollar store sold out to the developer and escaped a perennial money loser, they tore down the 32 lane bowling alley to create parking, the dog grooming salon disappeared in the middle of the night. AND JUST recently, the above mentioned landmark restaurant decided to close. Leaving an auto parts store, a Salvation Army Thrift store, and a lot of unfulfilled dreams.....and oh yeah, raised property taxes to support all the prosperity that never materialized.

But, I understand the concerts are really nice.

https://msktd.com/project/the-clyde-theatre/

Tax Increment Finance districts are larcenous instruments designed to pick people's pockets, and should be outlawed.

Here in Fort Wayne we also had a 1950s era shopping center called Quimby Village, that at the time it was built was really something...but as the years came and went, it became run down, rents dwindled, and the only businesses that stayed were the ones who owned their own buildings A local landmark drive in restaurant named Halls among those. Had been there since 1953 I believe.

Part of the property was an old derelict movie theater called the "Clyde", sat there disused and under used for decades.

Then along comes a developer with high hopes (and an eye on taxpayer contributions) announcing plans to build a live music venue.

A spark of life to reinvigorate a dying shopping center, etc. Supposed to be a huge success.

The City was so excited they even created a special (property) Tax Increment Finance district, to help pay for surrounding improvements. Theory being that with the renewed activity, the property increases in value and everybody having a stake in it prospers, and oh what a wonderful world.

Of course, the centerpiece has a special agreement to get tax abatement for several years, so the net effect is usually that the surrounding property owners carry the weight for ten years while the centerpiece enjoys immunity to increased costs that it is the cause of.

In this case several of the adjoining businesses decided they were not willing to have their pockets picked. The beauty college next door shuttered, the adjacent dollar store sold out to the developer and escaped a perennial money loser, they tore down the 32 lane bowling alley to create parking, the dog grooming salon disappeared in the middle of the night. An independent salvage/discount store called it quits,.. AND JUST recently, the above mentioned landmark restaurant decided to close. Leaving an auto parts store, a Salvation Army Thrift store, a mexican restaurant that was doing just fine prior to the re-invigoration, and a lot of unfulfilled dreams.....and oh yeah, raised property taxes to support all the prosperity that never materialized.

But, I understand the concerts are really nice.

https://msktd.com/project/the-clyde-theatre/

Tax Increment Finance districts are larcenous instruments designed to pick people's pockets, and should be outlawed.

Notice all the "prosperity": Empty parking lots are the antithesis of prosperity for shopping centers.

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Reading thru some of this thread, we had a great Borders book store, that was like a place for everyone to go to and read and buy books. And also some other wonderful bookstores, all closed.

I guess we can thank Bezos for so many closures and the hugeness of Amazon, and I do all I can to avoid buying from Amazon. I support ebay vs amazon.

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A new building was never built where the former deli was. A moving company parked their trucks in the empty lot for a few months after the building was demolished.

Then a car leasing company used the spot and had their offices in shipping containers (box cars). Now it's a drive-thru Covid testing area.

Always a good read: http://deadmalls.com/index.html

Bus Loop Burgers in Florissant haven’t been open it’s doors quiet yet

A Caffè Bene near me was one of the casualties of the shutdown as it never reopened. It was the only location in my area. I liked it more than Starbucks.

It remains closed today.



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Italian restaurant Colandrea New Corner, that opened in 1936, was another place that never reopened after the shutdown. They announced in October 2020 that they were closing for good.

The inside was relatively kept the same since it opened and many movie and TV productions filmed scenes there. Some that I know of are the HBO series "The Deuce", the Netflix film The Irishman, and another film The Kitchen.

Nobody took over the spot yet. I last ate there during December 2019.

The Babies 'R' Us in my town that closed down when Toys 'R' Us went out of business is now a trampoline park.

I wanted to go back to this to see what's become of the places I mentioned:


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The building was demolished and it was a temporary COVID testing site.

Spot is empty.









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This vacant spot for almost a decade, where a McDonald's used to be, recently became a Chinese restaurant.









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Remains closed









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Party Fair was torn down and became Fortune Palace, a Dim-Sum restaurant.









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Remains closed









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Mona Lisa became a Chinese bakery.









https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=250662&stc=1&d=1583530777

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Circles Cafe became a School of Rock music school.









https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=251132&stc=1&d=1584496208

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A school was built where this former Nathan's was.









https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=259222&stc=1&d=1605412328

Club Red Wolf became an Asian-American senior center, though the Red Wolf sign is still there.

https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=271146&stc=1&d=1641343668

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This place got renovated and is now The Bay Ridge Hotel.









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This spot is now a Chinese grocery store.









https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=271444&stc=1&d=1641853787

New Corner's became an Asian-American senior center.

Century 21 department store filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores in September 2020. Its Bay Ridge location on 86th St. remains closed, except for being a temp. COVID testing site during the pandemic.

There were plans around 2023 in turning the location into an urban retail hub with shops, restaurants and more... said to be completed by the end of 2024 that never wound up happening.

The flagship store on 22 Cortlandt Street reopened in May 2023.

I like exploring abandoned/vacant places :)

A Caffè Bene near me was one of the casualties of the shutdown as it never reopened. It was the only location in my area. I liked it more than Starbucks.

It remains closed today.Yup.... The Dems will not ever admit thier stupid worthless lockdowns have caused so much damage..... Nor will they apologise either :(


Always a good read: http://deadmalls.com/index.htmlThank you I like that site Jimmy!

Century 21 department store filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores in September 2020. Its Bay Ridge location on 86th St. remains closed, except for being a temp. COVID testing site during the pandemic.

There were plans around 2023 in turning the location into an urban retail hub with shops, restaurants and more... said to be completed by the end of 2024 that never wound up happening.

The flagship store on 22 Cortlandt Street reopened in May 2023.


Latest is that the building is set to be demolished for a new two-story retail complex called Century Marketplace.

https://www.brownstoner.com/development/bay-ridge-century-21-building-demolition-grocery-retail/

I would love to go in and explore be4 they do!!