By GREGORY ZELLER //
The $100 million-plus renovation of Green Acres Mall is picking up steam, with new construction and a host of new retail and restaurant options on tap.
The facelift of the 2 million-square-foot Valley Stream shopping mecca – which originally opened in 1956 as an open-air retail center – began in earnest in May with the demolition of several aging structures, including the site’s abandoned Sears department store and an empty Sears Auto Center. An adjacent parking garage was also brought down.
Now, California-based real estate investment trust The Macerich Co., which paid $500 million in 2013 to acquire Green Acres Mall from New York City-based Vornado Realty Trust, is moving forward with new construction – and signing several big-name retailers and restaurants to fill roughly 370,000 square feet of shiny new spaces.
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While the new construction largely targets Green Acres’ northeast quadrant, the entire 70-year-old center is getting a facelift. Several renovation phases are planned; right at the top, the site’s former Kohl’s department store building will be remade into a plaza featuring outward-facing storefronts, green spaces and open-air dining, with a new grand entrance to that northeast wing.
The mall is expected to remain open during the entire renovation project. Construction is slated to be completed in 2027, according to the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency, which is facilitating the massive upgrade – and strengthening Nassau County’s employment rolls – with a multiyear tax-abatement package.
In April 2024, the IDA approved a five-year extension of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement originally granted to Macerich in 2014, despite objections by four Valley Stream-adjacent school districts.
Since that 2024 extension, which requires the mall to maintain a minimum of 2,400 jobs, Macerich has inked 21 new leases at the Valley Stream mecca – a strong running start on Green Acres’ ultimate socioeconomic potential, according to Hempstead IDA Executive Director and CEO Fred Parola.
“These new retailers and restaurants will bring diversity to the retail and restaurant offerings available at Green Aces, and many new jobs,” Parola said Tuesday. “These are all solid additions to the Green Acres Mall that will contribute to the long-term success of the shopping center.”
Of course, nothing strengthens a mall’s chances for long-term success like its retail selection – and to that end, Macerich has assembled an A-list of new leases since the Hempstead IDA extended its PILOT program last year.
Women’s clothier Bijoura, accessories boutique Claire’s, cosmetics kingpin Sephora and footwear retailers Finish Line, Portabella and Foot Locker are among the new and coming-soon tenants slated to join a strong existing roster that already includes Walmart, Macy’s, Old Navy, Primark, Home Goods and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Retail reimagined: The new-and-improved Green Acres will combine ambiance and accessibility.
Finer dining also plays a big part in the mall’s projected resurgence. The current lineup of Green Acres eateries – including Applebee’s, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Red Lobster, Chuck E. Cheese and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse – is scheduled to be bolstered by popular favorites including Cheesecake Factory, Panda Express, Shake Shack and French-style bakery/café Paris Baguette, among others.
Additional restaurants, multiple opticians’ offices, jewelers, tea shops, laser hair-removal facilities and an entertainment venue featuring a video arcade and a bowling alley will round out the new-and-improved mall, creating the world-class shopping and entertainment destination Nassau County has long deserved, according to Green Acres General Manager Joe Floccari.
“This latest step is a natural progression of our long-term vision to transform Green Acres into a dynamic destination that honors its legacy while embracing the future,” Floccari said in a statement.
