How Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, NY, Changed Over 40 Years

Concrete First, Then Carpet (1981-1988)

Hudson Valley Mall opened in October 1981 along Route 9W in the Town of Ulster, just north of Kingston, NY. Its original anchor tenants were Kmart, JCPenney, Hess's, and a six-screen Hoyts Cinema 6.

The interior followed a walk-through layout with main corridors leading between large department stores.

The movie theater operated with its own access and showed first-run films for several years before its later expansion.

Hess's sold fashion and household goods, consistent with its role as a mid-tier regional department store.

Kmart filled the discount category and carried general merchandise, seasonal goods, and auto-related items.

JCPenney offered a catalog counter and family clothing. Each had dedicated exterior entrances along with access from the interior walkways.

Through the mid-1980s, the rest of the mall filled out with national chains and standard storefront formats.

Shoppers could pass through from one end of the building to the other without going outside.

Common-area seating, service counters, and mall directories were placed at intervals.

The finishes reflected retail design of the time, broad corridors, and commercial tile.

There was no food court yet. By 1988, the core structure was unchanged, but the mall was preparing for expansion.

Plans were already in motion to bring in new space and move one of Kingston's largest retailers into a fresh location inside.

New Stores, New Names (1989-1999)

In 1989, Hudson Valley Mall expanded with a new wing capped by Sears. The addition included a food court and roughly 15 new interior stores.

Sears had moved from Kingston Plaza and took over one of the largest footprints in the building.

The new section adjusted internal flow, restrooms were relocated, and new seating areas were placed near the food court.

Hess's remained open until 1995, when the company filed for bankruptcy and closed its store in the mall.

The following year, Filene's opened in the same space. No large construction work was documented during the transition.

Kmart, an original anchor, moved out of the main mall and opened a Super Kmart nearby on Route 9W.

That site later became a Kohl's.

Throughout the decade, the mall's interior remained structurally consistent.

Storefronts held a mix of apparel, electronics, and gift retailers. Central areas hosted food vendors, mostly national chains.

By the late 1990s, tenant turnover increased.

National trends shifted, and mid-sized malls like Hudson Valley began seeing more vacancies in secondary corridors.

Square Footage, Not Square One (2000-2006)

In the early 2000s, Pyramid Companies undertook a renovation of the Hudson Valley Mall's interior and tenant layout.

The former Kmart space, which had been vacated earlier, was divided into two new anchor stores.

Best Buy opened in 2000, followed by Dick's Sporting Goods in 2001. Each occupied large-format units and had direct exterior access.

A new Target was built next to them, also opening in 2001, completing a trio of national big-box retailers clustered along the mall's expansion wing.

Smaller tenants continued to rotate in and out during this period.

EB Games, located along the central corridor, later became GameStop after the 2005 acquisition.

It remained in place through the rest of the decade. Rita's Water Ice opened in May 2006, operating out of one of the food court units.

On September 9, 2006, Filene's was officially rebranded as Macy's.

Chain tenants included American Eagle, Kay Jewelers, Zales, Gap, Verizon Wireless, LensCrafters, and Taco Bell.

The mall's main layout remained unchanged, but the renovation introduced visible upgrades.

New signage went up. Floors and walls were redone with cleaner finishes. The anchor stores didn't close; they stayed fully operational.

Two Incidents, Weeks Apart (2005-2006)

On February 13, 2005, a 24-year-old man entered the Best Buy at Hudson Valley Mall and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle.

He carried two 30-round magazines and discharged all 60 rounds, first inside the store, then into the mall corridor.

Shoppers ran or dropped behind fixtures. A 20-year-old National Guard recruiter and a 56-year-old man were struck by gunfire.

When the gun emptied, the shooter dropped it to the floor. A mall employee picked up the rifle.

Another tackled the suspect. He was detained at the scene and later taken to the Ulster County Jail.

Investigators searching his home found videos of homemade pipe bombs and materials linked to earlier attacks.

He pleaded guilty on March 15, 2006, and was sentenced two months later to 32 years in state prison. Parole eligibility was set at 26 years.

On June 4, 2006, the night manager of the Ground Round restaurant inside the mall was found dead in the building.

Police reported dozens of stab wounds. Roughly $4,000 was missing.

The suspect, who had recently worked at the restaurant, had used a false name during a traffic stop the night before.

Two weeks later, he died from injuries after falling out of a moving car. No other arrests followed.

The Anchors Pull Back (2007-2018)

By 2007, McDonald's had closed its food court location at Hudson Valley Mall.

Friendly's, one of the full-service restaurants on site, remained for a few more years before closing in November 2011.

JCPenney closed in 2017 during a national reduction of stores. It had been one of the original anchors.

Sears followed in April 2018, also as part of a broader downsizing strategy.

Both closures left large storefronts unoccupied. External signage came down, but the footprints stayed in place.

In August 2018, Regal Cinemas shut down its 12-screen theater.

The closure was not announced in advance, and no replacement tenant was named. The hallway to the theater was locked.

Box office windows were dark. The cinema had operated for decades and had been expanded from its original six-screen setup.

By the end of 2018, tenants like GameStop, LensCrafters, and Verizon Wireless remained.

Around the holidays, a few seasonal carts were added near the food court.

Most of the lot stayed empty, except near Target, which continued to draw steady traffic.

From Retail to Clinic (2016-2020)

In April 2016, Macy's closed its Hudson Valley Mall location.

Its departure marked the loss of the mall's largest interior tenant. The Macy's space remained vacant for more than a year.

In February 2017, Health Quest, a regional healthcare network, confirmed plans to lease the building.

They intended to demolish a portion of the former department store and rebuild it as a stand-alone medical facility, separate from the mall interior.

By mid-2019, construction was underway. About 40,000 square feet of the original structure was removed.

The project included four internal sections: primary care, urgent care, imaging and lab services, and physical therapy.

Hudson River Health Care partnered to deliver family practice and dental care. A new parking area with over 500 spaces was added near the building.

The facility officially opened in February 2020. It operated under Nuvance Health and offered daily walk-in services from a dedicated entrance.

As of mid-2025, the urgent care center remains open. The location continues to offer medical imaging, lab testing, and non-emergency care.

More Mats Than Mannequins (2019-2023)

In early 2019, NCG Cinema opened in the former Regal space, becoming the only NCG location in New York.

The theater reopened with minor renovation and resumed first-run showings.

That same year, Old Navy left the mall and relocated to Kings Mall in the former Modell's Sporting Goods building.

Kingston Athletics moved into Hudson Valley Mall later that October, taking one of the interior units near the cinema corridor.

Best Buy closed in October 2020. In March 2021, Ulster County converted the space into a COVID-19 vaccination site.

The setup handled up to 2,500 doses per day and was designed for both walk-in and drive-up use.

The site operated through early 2023 and then closed permanently.

Spirit Halloween began seasonal occupancy of the former Gander Mountain unit around the same time.

Gander Mountain had already shut down in 2017, briefly reopened under the Gander Outdoors brand, then closed again.

Spirit Halloween later moved into the former Best Buy space in 2023.

By the end of this period, the mall's tenant mix included a number of health and activity-focused uses.

Units once used for apparel or specialty retail were taken by businesses offering martial arts, fitness, and wellness services.

Traditional storefront signs began to share space with vinyl banners and schedule boards behind glass panels.

The Lights Stay On, but Fewer Doors Open (2024-2025)

As of September 2024, the mall still had a list of active tenants. NCG Cinema remained in operation.

Dick's Sporting Goods was still located inside but had received town approval to move into the former Gander Mountain shell.

Work at that site was ongoing by June 2025. Target, the other primary anchor, continued without announced changes.

Jimmy Jazz closed its store on December 26, 2024. GameStop followed, shutting down quietly around January 5, 2025.

Staff received little notice. The storefront was empty by January 10.

The United States Postal Service branch, which had operated in the mall for years, ended operations on May 29, 2025.

After that, all USPS services for the area were redirected to the Cornell Street location in downtown Kingston.

Hudson Valley Mall Dental closed the same month. On June 2, a new dental provider opened in the same space.

Other businesses still operating in mid-2025 include Innate Movement Parkour, Kingston Athletics, Mauceri Muay Thai, Health Quest Medical Practice, the Boy Scouts of America office, and Unisex Hair Palace.

The main concourse stays open, but most of the space between the former JCPenney and Sears remains unoccupied.