As of 8/11/12 the Container Store has opened. On 8/17/12 Trader Joe’s opened at 9am.

When the old Avis building sat in decay for years at its location at 900 Old Country Rd. in Carle Place, it was always rumored to be in development or to be under a phase of realignment. Much has happened since Equity One scooped up the property from SIMON; and what has been sitting idle for the past few years has been on a quick pace in the last few weeks.

Image Taken 8/13/12 @9am
Image Copyright Mark Brandon Photography

Picture Taken 6/24/12 @2:45pm
Image Copyright Mark Brandon Photography

Picture Taken 6/24/12 @2:45pm
Image Copyright Mark Brandon Photography

Picture Taken 3/5/12 @5:00pm
Image Copyright Mark Brandon Photography

Picture Taken 11/28/11 @9:00am
Image Copyright Mark Brandon Photography

Picture Taken 8/11/11
Photo Courtesy of Mark Brandon Photography

What makes this development so interesting is that it is sandwiched between two heavy players controlled by SIMON. Both Roosevelt Field Mall and The Mall at the Source are within walking distance and if you have been to the area lately, you’ll notice that The Mall at the Source is dying a slow and painful death. Major retailers such as Circuit City, Ayhan’s Shish Kebab and others have all closed up shop and the mall is a shell of its former self. The stores are empty, the food court is always almost vacant and there are almost as many aisle vendors as there are stores open.

Picture Taken 8/11/11
Photo Courtesy of Mark Brandon Photography

Furthermore, we have just confirmed that Nordstrom Rack and Saks Off 5th will be making the move to The Gallery at Westbury Plaza from The Mall at the Source and will join shops such as The Container Store and Trader Joe’s when they open. This is unconfirmed as well, but we’ve been hearing lately that The Cheesecake Factory is considering moving to the new space as well, which would totally deplete The Mall at the Source’s dining choices (PF Chang’s may remain as the only survivor).

The Gallery is sure to be an interesting mix of utility when it does open (scheduled for Fall 2012) and we’ll be watching carefully to see if the 330,000 square feet of retail goodness will be able to prosper in this increasingly bleak Old Country Road area. What we can be sure of though is that the holiday traffic, already notorious in these areas, is about to get a lot worse.

As of now they’re placing in the retaining wall on Zeckendorf Blvd. and moving a lot of dirt and earth around. The trucks are always moving and we’ve seen a tremendous amount of activity since they razed the Avis building. We’ll be updating with photos of the development as they continue and get closer to constructing the buildings on site, and hope that you’ll be following along with us as we do.

The Gallery at Westbury Plaza
900 Old Country Rd.
Carle Place, NY 11514
{Website | Flickr | Developer}

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