Roosevelt Field Mall Getting $100 Million Makeover
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City is getting a $100 million makeover.
The redevelopment project includes a luxury wing with up to 20 new high-end retailers, a 100,000-square-foot, two-level Neiman Marcus store, more parking and a new dining district that will feature al fresco dining and more sit-down restaurants.
Roosevelt Field Mall Getting $100 Million Makeover
Francis Scire, vice president of leasing at Simon Property Group, which operates the mall, told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera that the goal is to have Neiman Marcus open mid-February 2016. It will be the first Neiman Marcus location on Long Island.
Additional parking is expected to be available by the upcoming holiday season; the dining district is scheduled to open in January 2015; and interior and exterior renovations are expected to be completed by the 2015 holiday season, according to mall officials.
The project is expected to create 2,800 construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions.
The mall will hold a jobs fair Sept. 26-27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nancy Gilbert, Roosevelt Field's marketing director, said jobs available range from "management positions within these retailers to sales associates."
"So there's something for everyone -- full-time permanent and part-time," she told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan.
Shoppers have mixed feelings about the makeover.
"Bringing in more high-end stores that I'm not going to be able afford, that's for sure," one shopper said.
"I can't wait," another shopper said.
At a time when brick-and-mortar retailers are closing at an alarming rate, 22 million shoppers a year visit Roosevelt Field.
"Roosevelt Field is an iconic American shopping center," Scire told McLogan. "I only see that momentum continuing. There's no fear of any kind of failure."
Roosevelt Field is the heart of Nassau County's hub, surrounded on all sides by more than a dozen smaller malls, which can create a traffic nightmare. On many weekends, the Meadowbrook Parkway comes to a stand-still.
Some worry about what the expansion will bring.
"The good news is they are decking the parking, which will allow safer access directly into the mall," said Vision Long Island's Eric Alexander, a specialist in "smart growth."
"But the big challenge is accessing the mall from outside the mall itself on Old Country Road and Stewart Avenue, where the bus stops are," said Alexander, adding it can be dangerous for pedestrians to reach the shopping center.
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