Shopping Centers and Central Business Districts Suffolk County, New York July 2001 Suffolk County Department of Planning Suffolk County # New York Shopping Centers and Central Business Districts Suffolk County, New York July 2001 Suffolk County Department of Planning H. Lee Dennison Building - 4th Floor 100 Veterans Memorial Highway P.O. Box 6100 Hauppauge, New York 11788 This publication is on the WEB at: http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/planning Suffolk County Planning Commission Donald Eversoll - At Large CHAIRMAN Robert Martin - Town of Smithtown VICE CHAIRMAN Louis Dietz - Town of Babylon SECRETARY Edward J. Rosavitch - Town of Brookhaven Thomas M. Thorsen - Town of East Hampton Michael J. Macco - Town of Huntington Frank A. Tantone - Town of Islip Richard M. O’Dea - Town of Riverhead George J. Dickerson - Town of Shelter Island David Casciotti - Town of Southampton William Cremers - Town of Southold Laure C. Nolan - Village over 5,000 population Richard London - Village under 5,000 population Ronald Parr - At Large Linda B. Petersen - At Large Suffolk County Department of Planning Thomas A. Isles, AICP DIRECTOR OF PLANNING REPORT PREPARATION Peter K. Lambert RESEARCH DIVISION Roy Fedelem Carol Walsh CARTOGRAPHY DIVISION Suffolk County Department of Planning Hauppauge, New York July 2001 Contents Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................5 DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC TRENDS ..........................................................9 Population Trends .............................................................................10 Income Trends ...............................................................................10 Retail Sales Trends ............................................................................11 1997 Census of Retail Trade .....................................................................12 RETAIL CENTER DEFINITIONS ....................................................................13 General Retail Center Definitions ................................................................14 Types of Central Business Districts and Shopping Centers .............................................14 SHOPPING CENTER AND CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT INVENTORY ...............................17 Overview ....................................................................................18 Shopping Centers .............................................................................18 Central Business Districts .......................................................................20 SHOPPING CENTER SPACE BY YEAR CONSTRUCTED ..............................................25 Shopping Center and CBD Square Footage Per Capita ................................................27 PROPOSED SHOPPING CENTERS ..................................................................31 VACANT STORES IN SHOPPING CENTERS AND DOWNTOWNS ......................................33 Central Business District Vacancies ...............................................................34 Shopping Center Vacancies .....................................................................36 Vacancy Rates in Shopping Centers by Town .......................................................37 Vacancy Rates by Type of Shopping Center ........................................................38 Vacancy Rates in Shopping Centers by Community ..................................................39 Vacancy Rates in Specific Large Shopping Centers ..................................................43 Successes and Turnarounds .....................................................................44 Vacant Anchor Stores ..........................................................................44 RETAIL VS. NON-RETAIL USES ....................................................................45 CHANGES IN THE RETAIL MARKET ...............................................................47 New Stores ..................................................................................48 Big Box Retailers .............................................................................49 Larger Stores .................................................................................49 Outlet Centers ................................................................................50 Internet Shopping .............................................................................51 Business Improvement Districts and Downtown Revitalization .........................................51 RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................53 Overview ....................................................................................54 Strip Commercial .............................................................................54 Central Business Districts .......................................................................54 Shopping Centers .............................................................................59 Aesthetics and Pedestrian Safety .................................................................63 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................67 APPENDIX ........................................................................................69 Table I. NAICS Census of Retail Trade Categories Instituted in 1997 to Replace SIC Code Categories. .......70 Table II. Establishments Defined as Non-retail by the Suffolk County Planning Department. ................71 Table III. Shopping Centers Larger Than 100,000 Square Feet in Size, Suffolk County, New York, 2001 .......72 Table IV. Summary Data on Shopping Centers and Central Business Districts, 2001,Suffolk Co., NY. .........74 Table V. Proposed Shopping Centers, 2001, Suffolk County, New York. ................................75 Table VI. Inventory of Shopping Centers and Central Business Districts, Suffolk County, 2001. ..............76 Table VII. Retail Center Survey Results by Community, 2000, Suffolk County, New York. ...................94 Suffolk County Department of Planning / Shopping Centers and Central Business Districts, Suffolk County, New York i Contents Page APPENDIX Continued Table VIII.Ranking of CBDs by Highest Vacancy Rate, 2000, Suffolk County, New York. ................... 97 Table IX. Ranking of Communities by Highest Vacancy Rate in Shopping Centers,2000, Suffolk County, New York. ........................................................... 98 Table X. Percent of Occupied Storefronts Used For Retail Purposes, 2000, Suffolk County, New York. ........ 99 TABLES 1. Retail Sales Data, Nassau-Suffolk, New York ..................................................... 12 2. 1997 Retail Establishments and Sales by Major Retail Category, Suffolk County ......................... 12 3. Number of Shopping Centers by Type, in Order of Largest Number of Total Shopping Centers by Town, Suffolk County, 2001 ............................................................................... 19 4. Square Footage in Shopping Centers by Largest Amount of Total Square Footage by Town, Suffolk County, 2001 ........................................................................ 19 5. Number of Central Business Districts by Largest Number of Total CBDs by Town, Suffolk Co., 2001 ......... 20 6. Existing Shopping Center Square Footage by Date of Construction, Suffolk County ....................... 26 7. Shopping Center Square Footage Per Capita ...................................................... 27 8. Shopping Center and CBD Square Footage Per Capita .............................................. 28 9. Square Footage of Proposed Shopping Centers, Suffolk County, 2001 .................................. 32 10. Proposed Shopping Centers Over 100,000 Square Feet, Suffolk County, 2001 ............................ 32 11. Vacancy Rates in CBDs by Town, Suffolk County ................................................. 35 12. Vacancy Rates in Suffolk County’s Largest Downtown Areas: 1978, 1982, 1989, 1996, and 2000 ........... 35 13. CBDs with the Highest Vacancy Rates, Suffolk County, 2000 ........................................ 36 14. Vacancy Rates in Shopping Centers, by Town, Suffolk County ........................................ 37 15. Vacancy Rates by Type of Shopping Center, by Town, 2000 ......................................... 38 16. Communities with the Highest 2000 Shopping Center Vacancy Rates .................................. 40 17. Vacancy Rates in Shopping Centers Over 200,000 Square Feet, in Size Order: 1978, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1996, 2000 ............................................................. 43 FIGURES 1. Per Capita Income in Actual Dollars and Constant Dollars, Suffolk County, 1986 to 1999 ................. 11 2. Retail Sales, Nassau-Suffolk in Actual and Constant Dollars, 1986 to 1997 ............................. 11 3. Typical central business district in Suffolk County, Babylon Village. .................................. 14 4. Interior of the Walt Whitman Mall in South Huntington, a regional shopping center. ...................... 14 5. Airport Plaza, a community shopping center in East Farmingdale. .................................... 15 6. A neighborhood shopping center in Hampton Bays. ................................................ 15 7. Deer Park Plaza, a strip shopping center. ........................................................ 15 8. Square Footage in Shopping