2 stores to help fill up 9 Mall Borders, Babies 'R' Us planned

July 24, 2003
By Tammy Cilione

The 9 Mall in the Town of Poughkeepsie is one step closer to being fully occupied.

The leases with Borders, a national book and record chain, and Babies 'R' Us have been signed, so it's full steam ahead to get the doors open by year's end.

''I anticipate it will be completed well before Christmas,'' said David Livshin, president and chief executive officer of the Dagar Group, the mall's managing and leasing agent.

The former ShopRite Supermarket site in the mall is being split into a 30,500-square-foot area for Babies 'R' Us and 21,000-square-feet for Borders, which will have an in-house coffee shop. The store site has been vacant since July 2002.

Although it was originally anticipated that the stores would open in mid-2003, Livshin said putting together the leases for two major anchor stores and the many details of planning for the renovations of an existing building contributed to the delay.

The two retailers will be a good mix because they are not represented elsewhere in the area, Livshin said. ''They will also make good co-tenants with Kohl's (department store),'' he said.

Current mall tenants include Van Vlack Cleaners, Mailboxes Etc., Sossi Formals, H&R Block, One $ Zone, Statewide Appliances, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Freight Liquidators, Antonella's Restaurant and Pizza, and European Nails. Borders will hire about 25 people, company spokeswoman Emily Swan said. The company, founded in the early 1970s, is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., and operates more than 420 stores in the United States and 35 internationally.

Babies 'R' Us, which opened its first store in 1996 is headquartered in Paramus, N.J., and is a division of Toys 'R' Us. There are 170 stores, including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and on Long Island. The stores specialize in products for infants.