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CORTLANDT, N.Y. - The owners of the Cortlandt Town Center are tight-lipped about the possibility of Walmart vacating to greener pastures across the street.
Jon Grisham, senior vice president and chief accounting officer for Acadia Realty, deflected all questions about Walmart opening a supercenter on 34 acres on the other side of Route 6 and leaving a 144,000-square-foot space empty at the town center.
He also refused to confirm that Nathan's had closed its doors, though all the promotional posters were removed and there has been no sign of any activity inside for days.
"We don't comment on tenant movement at the center," Grisham said.
Cortlandt officials were caught off guard earlier in the week when representatives for Westrock Development and Walmart informed them of plans to construct a 166,000-square-foot supercenter, with a full supermarket and limited auto service center, on currently wooded property that is fronted by a few small businesses.
Walmart officials said their lease at the town center, which runs until 2018, restricts them from having a supermarket like it has at its closest supercenter in Fishkill due to an arrangement with A&P.
Walmart is considered one of the Cortlandt Town Center's anchor stores and major draws but it prefers owning its locations.
Before Westrock can put a shovel in the ground, it must go through a lengthy planning process. In addition, the Cortlandt Town Board must authorize a zoning map change since more than 26 acres of the site is zoned residential.
Meanwhile, Nathan's seems to have been unable to compete with the popularity of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which opened a few months ago and is doing a booming business. Even McDonald's is trying to combat Five Guys by offering two Big Macs for $3.
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