For one week, visitors to the Carousel Center are able to ride the carousel for free.

The Carousel Center, opened Oct. 15, 1990, celebrates its 20th anniversary this week. Special events include handing out 150 mall gift certificates of $20 and free carousel rides, which are usually $1, said Rose Hapanowich, the marketing director for the Carousel Center, in an e-mail.

Since it’s opening as part of the project to revitalize the Syracuse lakefront, changes have been made at the mall. The mall now has about 1.5 million square feet of space that businesses can lease from and about 176 tenants. The two newest stores are Sephora and Papaya, which are opening before the end of October, she said.

Hapanowich credits the 20 years of business to the developers watching the national retail scene and getting tenants that will attract customers. Keeping a variety of stores and creating a competitive edge have also helped the center evolve, she said.

The biggest changes Hapanowich has seen are the smoke free policy, the green parking and the parent-supervision plan. Green parking allows energy efficient cars to park in reserved areas close to the building, she said.

There are also facets of the mall that have stayed the same. There are 32 stores in the mall that have been there since the opening. These include J.C. Penney, Banana Republic and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. There are also several employees that have stayed, Hapanowich said.

During the anniversary celebration, some stores will be giving one-week specials. Other events include free cupcakes and balloons on Friday and a performance from Soda Ash Six, a Dixieland-style jazz band, Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Niki Leung, an undeclared freshman in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said she had already planned on going to the mall this weekend to shop, but she said she now wants to go because of the festivities. She did not know how long the mall had been around for.

‘I actually thought it was older,’ Leung said. ‘I didn’t think it was that young. I’m not sure what age, but way older than 20.’

Nick O’Hara, a freshman chemistry major, has lived about five minutes from the mall and said he has not noticed a change in the mall over the past 20 years.

‘I don’t think 20 is a stepping stone for the mall,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to progress anymore. It’s trying to go green, but it can’t do anything without the construction. It’s turning 20, yeah, but nothing major is going to happen.’

The Destiny USA building project proposed extensive additions to the mall, but construction on the expansion stalled in June 2009 after a dispute with Citigroup Inc., according to a June 16, 2009, article in The Post-Standard. Citigroup said it had lent more than $85 million to the project and was unhappy because of delays and additional costs.

‘The mall is a good place and they’re trying to make it better,’ O’Hara said. ‘Trying to be the biggest mall is a great feat, but turning 20 isn’t going to do anything for them, especially not a free carousel ride.’

krkoerti@syr.edu

 

Published on October 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm