Instead of being bustling with shoppers, the Newburgh Mall has empty stores and closed businesses this holiday season as News 12 has learned the center prepares to undergo a major renovation. 

Newburgh Mall Ventures LLC tells News 12 that the aging building is about to undergo a “vast transformation” with the southeastern section of the building to become a strip mall with individual store fronts. 

“We have several new national tenants lined up, with plans for each of them to have their own storefront,” says Newburgh Mall Ventures LLC Office Manager Lisa Giammattei. “The first tenant, opening early to mid-2024, will be O'Reilly Auto Parts, occupying half of the old Sears location.” 

News 12 went inside the mall on Route 300 in the Town of Newburgh this week and saw many of the old stores closed or about to close, including the longtime anchor store, Office Depot. The mall has declined in popularity in recent years – until Resorts World opened a casino in another section of the building in 2022, where the old Bonton store used to be.  

Giammattei says existing business leases are “naturally expiring and have been mutually non-renewed,” but the owner of Studio 845, Melanie Rose, says some businesses, including her own dance studio, are being forced out. The small business posted to Facebook earlier this week saying it’s regretfully closing and looking for a new location to reopen. 

“All businesses are being asked to leave by January 2024. We have made every effort to negotiate to keep our location, however it will be torn down along with every other surrounding space within the mall,” read the post. “We apologize for the very abrupt and disappointing news.” 

Giamattei says the names of mall’s new tenants will be revealed in early 2024. 

“When the time is right, we can sit down and answer some of these unanswered questions.  To add, we are still in search for additional food and beverage operators that are interested in opening on the casino side of the Center,” Giammattei says.