Sangertown Square is an enclosed regional shopping mall at 8555 Seneca Turnpike in New Hartford, Oneida County, New York, in the Mohawk Valley's Utica-Rome area.
The property sits between Seneca Turnpike and Commercial Drive near Route 5, Route 5A, and Route 8, on roughly 101 acres with about 870,000 square feet of leasable space.
It serves New Hartford, Utica, Whitestown, Clinton, Yorkville, and central Oneida County with shopping, dining, entertainment, nonprofit events, and about 8 million annual visits.
Opened in July 1980, the mall remains the only enclosed shopping center within about 50 miles, with Boscov's, Target, HomeGoods, and Dick's Sporting Goods as its main anchors today.
Sangertown Square Began on Open Land Near Levitt Farm
Children played hockey on open land near the old Levitt Farm before Sangertown Square covered the site with parking lots, department stores, and an enclosed concourse.
That memory is one of the few surviving pictures of the place before the mall arrived.
The name came from Jedediah Sanger. He bought about 1,000 acres along Sauquoit Creek from Hugh White in March 1788, after a fire destroyed his New Hampshire farm.
The Sanger name stayed tied to New Hartford long before it appeared on a shopping center sign.
Sanger bought the Sauquoit Creek acreage in March 1788. Sangertown Square opened in July 1980.
Sangertown Square Opened in 1980 With Four Anchors
Sangertown Square opened to the public on July 21, 1980. The mall had about 34 stores at the start. Sears, JCPenney, Hess's, and Bradlees formed the original anchor lineup.
Sears and JCPenney gave the mall two national department-store names. Hess's brought a regional department-store presence.
Bradlees added a discount department-store anchor. That space later worked for Target.
Sears was already operating at the mall by April 1980, ahead of the full public opening period. Anchor openings and the mall's public opening did not fall on the same day.
The one-level enclosed mall placed anchor stores around the perimeter. Smaller shops lined the corridors between them.
The food court, interior walkways, exterior entrances, and surface parking fields gave the property its original regional-mall shape.
Early tenants included Radio Shack, GNC, Endicott Johnson, Liberty Travel, and Waldenbooks.
Early Entertainment at Sangertown Square Added Movies
Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened at Sangertown Square in 1982.
The location shut down in 1985, giving the mall a short early stretch of family entertainment while department stores still led the property.
A cinema near the Bradlees side added another draw for visits after school, after work, and on weekends.
The theater started with six screens and expanded to nine screens in the mid-1980s. Movies pulled in teenagers, families, and post-work crowds across the mall's first two decades.
The mall cinema closed in 2004 after a newer 14-screen theater opened nearby at Orchard. The former theater space did not sit unchanged.
Once the projectors were removed, sections of it were turned into retail and specialty uses.
The reused area held tenants that needed larger footprints than the original inline shops could offer.
DSW later used part of the former theater-side retail area inside Sangertown Square.
Department Store Changes Rebuilt the Anchor Lineup
Hess's became Kaufmann's in 1994. Kaufmann's became Macy's in 2006. The same anchor space carried three department-store names across the mall's first three decades.
Bradlees closed around 2001. Target opened on the former Bradlees site on October 9, 2002.
Target brought household goods, clothing, groceries, and everyday basics to the old anchor mix.
Circuit City operated at Sangertown Square during the 1990s and 2000s. Circuit City closed in 2009 after the chain's national collapse, leaving the former electronics space for later reuse.
Dick's Sporting Goods became one of the mall's major anchors in that period.
DSW opened at Sangertown Square on September 20, 2012, with a large footwear format.
HomeGoods opened in the former Circuit City space in October 2017 with off-price home decor, housewares, furnishings, seasonal goods, gourmet food, storage items, and kitchenware.
Boscov's Filled the Sears Space With a Big Opening
A high school marching band, classic cars, Debby Boone, and a ribbon made of $100 bills marked Boscov's opening at Sangertown Square on October 8, 2016.
The $100-bill ribbon was cut for United Way member agencies. The event included a $1,000 donation.
The new store filled the former Sears space. Sears had been one of Sangertown Square's original anchors and lasted 35 years.
In 2015, Sears decided to close the main store and the Sears Auto Center. The auto center was scheduled to close in May 2015, and the main department store was scheduled to close in July 2015.
The Sears store and auto center had 109 employees. Liquidation sales began in early May.
Boscov's hired more than 300 employees for the opening.
The store brought back a full-service department-store format with furniture, oriental carpets, candy, toys, gifts, vision care, and a community auditorium. Boscov's became the 45th store in the chain.
JCPenney and Macy's Closures Hit Sangertown Square Hard
October 18, 2020, was the final day for JCPenney at Sangertown Square. The store had been part of the mall for about 40 years. Its closure affected 85 employees at the New Hartford location.
JCPenney entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and selected many stores for closure.
New York State restrictions in 2020 kept large enclosed malls closed longer than some smaller retail businesses.
Macy's followed in 2021. The Sangertown Square store closed after the Hess's and Kaufmann's names had already passed through the same anchor space.
Its closure added another large vacancy to a mall already dealing with the loss of JCPenney.
The Sangertown Square Macy's was identified for closure in January 2021. The Macy's job-elimination window covered April 6 through April 19, 2021, at the New Hartford store.
Sunken Court Raised, Then Hours Shifted After 2020
The former sunken center court was raised in 2003.
Parts of the food court area were updated in the same round of work. The change removed one of the older interior features from the mall's first decades.
A larger mall refresh began in 2014 and ran for roughly two years. New seating was added to common areas.
Decorative lighting and new tile updated the interior corridors. Exterior entrances were updated outside the building.
Landscaping improvements reached the property edges near the parking fields.
In June 2022, regular hours shifted to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Current common-area hours list Sunday closing at 6 p.m.
Fun Nation and New Stores Reworked Recent Mall Traffic
Fun Nation Action Park became the newest entertainment name at Sangertown Square by January 2026. A ribbon-cutting was held on January 23, 2026.
The location was the first Fun Nation site in New York State, with individual play, birthday parties, and group events inside the mall.
Billy Beez opened in 2016 in the Target wing with slides, tunnels, trampolines, ballistics areas, swings, toddler areas, and birthday-party facilities.
PiNZ opened in 2019 with bowling, games, food, events, and group activities as the brand's first New York State location.
Earthbound Trading Company opened a 2,500-square-foot store in the Boscov's wing in 2020. Journeys opened in the Boscov's wing in April 2023.
Urban Planet x Charlotte Russe was announced in January 2026 for a location near Dick's Sporting Goods, with apparel, footwear, and accessories for men and women.
March 2025 Incident and Sangertown Square Loan Extension
At about 12:45 p.m. on March 1, 2025, police were called to Sangertown Square after a shooting inside the mall. One man was taken to Wynn Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and was recovering.
The mall moved into a shelter-in-place response. Shoppers and employees were later evacuated. Police later charged a 20-year-old man.
Sangertown Square reopened on March 2, 2025, with normal hours.
Two months earlier, in January 2025, a three-year loan extension was secured for Sangertown Square.
The mall remained part of the Pyramid Management Group portfolio, which also includes Destiny USA, Walden Galleria, and Crossgates.
More than 50 nonprofit events had been held there in 2024, using mall space for meetings, tabling, fundraising, and public outreach.
In 2025, the mall and its tenants were tied to about 1,090 local jobs.
Notable Milestones
1788 - Jedediah Sanger bought about 1,000 acres along Sauquoit Creek.
July 21, 1980 - Sangertown Square opened with about 34 stores and anchors Sears, JCPenney, Hess's, and Bradlees.
1982 - Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened at the mall.
Mid-1980s - The mall cinema expanded from six screens to nine screens.
1994 - Hess's became Kaufmann's.
2002 - Target opened on the former Bradlees site.
2004 - The mall cinema closed after a newer multiplex opened nearby.
2006 - Kaufmann's became Macy's.
September 20, 2012 - DSW opened at Sangertown Square.
2015 - Sears and the Sears Auto Center closed.
October 8, 2016 - Boscov's opened in the former Sears space.
2016 - Billy Beez opened in the Target wing.
October 2017 - HomeGoods opened in the former Circuit City space.
2019 - PiNZ opened as a bowling and social-entertainment tenant.
October 18, 2020 - JCPenney closed after about 40 years at the mall.
2021 - Macy's closed.
2024 - More than 50 nonprofit events were held at the mall.
January 2025 - A three-year loan extension was secured for Sangertown Square.
March 1, 2025 - A shooting occurred at the mall; it reopened the next day.
January 23, 2026 - Fun Nation Action Park opened as its first New York State location.
