| Location | Greece, New York |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1967 |
| Developer | Wilmorite Properties |
| Management | Wilmorite Management Group |
| No. of stores and services | 140 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (some anchors: 2) |
| Website | http://www.themallatgreeceridge.com/ |
The Mall at Greece Ridge is located in Greece, a suburb of Rochester, New York, and managed by Wilmorite Management Group LLC. It contains 140 stores and restaurants in the main complex, with 10 big box retailers including Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, Michaels, Burlington Coat Factory, Old Navy, Macy's Home, and a free-standing Target.
The mall is near the center of a long line of plazas, chain hotels, restaurants, and car dealerships which continues for several miles in each direction on West Ridge Road (New York State Route 104).
The mall began as 2 shopping malls: Greece Towne Mall, which opened on May 1, 1967 and Long Ridge Mall, which opened in 1969. Long Ridge Mall had five anchors: Sears, Woolworth, J. B. Hunter (later J. C. Penney), McCurdy's (later Kaufmann's, now Macy's), and B. Forman (later Kaufmann's Home Store, now Macy's Home Store --*Kaufmann's took over Sibley's, and Macy's took over Kaufmann's). The Greece Towne Mall had a Sibley's (later Kaufmann's, now The Bon-Ton) and a Gold Circle (later Hills, then Caldor). The Gold Circle building was razed and replaced by Hoyts Cinemas, now Regal Theaters). Both malls competed against each other until March 15, 1994 when the malls merged to form The Mall at Greece Ridge Center, forming the second-largest mall in the eastern United States.
At the time of the merger, JC Penney moved to a marquee space in the new wing that connected the two malls, across from the food court. The former Penney's was converted into a Burlington Coat Factory (top floor) and a Lechmere (now closed). Shortly after the mall redevelopment, Kaufmann's (which had absorbed Sibley's in 1990) acquired McCurdy's as well, selling its original store to Bon-Ton. Thus, of the anchor stores, only Sears has retained both its location and name since 1969.
Other big box retailers have been added since the merger, often taking over what used to be several storefronts. These stores are smaller than the big department stores that normally serve as anchors, and are usually found in strip malls rather than indoor shopping malls. Many of them have separate outdoor entrances in addition to their indoor mall entrances. Michaels, Marshalls, and Bed Bath & Beyond opened in existing space in the Greece Towne wing. In the Long Ridge wing, in addition to Burlington taking over the former Penney's space, existing space has been converted to Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, and Old Navy.
In 2005, Burlington Coat Factory relocated downstairs in the former Lechmere space, leaving the upper level vacant. In 2006, the Kaufmann's name was retired and all existing stores were sold to Macy's. The furniture department on the upper level of the Macy's Home Store became storage and offices for the store. The mall's name was also changed in September 2006 to "The Mall at Greece Ridge" (dropping "Center").
A parental escort policy became effective on March 28, 2008 after fights and crime were becoming more frequent within the mall. The policy remains in effect today every Friday and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Anyone under the age of 19 is not permitted in the shopping center unless escorted by a legal guardian, parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent. The Mall at Greece Ridge is the only area mall with the parental escort policy.
The mall also features a Tom Wahl's restaurant.