Malls · New York

Penn-Can Mall

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedOperatingCicero, NY

Opened 1976. Closed 1996. Reinhabited in 2000.

Status nowOperatingextracted, unreviewed

documented

The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village.

en.wikipedia.org

What it becameretailextracted, unreviewed reported

Retrofit year2000extracted, unreviewed reported

Walkability7.8 of 20 · 15-minute 5 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD

Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Penn-Can Mall — Interior view of a shopping center with escalators and holiday decorations. · verified by a vision model. Photo: Kai Brinker (User:Newkai), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile11 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

Hills

This site: Hills wikipedia · all sites with this

Sears

This site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this

Place

15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)

This site: 5/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this

30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent road

This site: 51,704 on 81 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this

Bike network nearby

This site: 21 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this

County home values up 50%+ in 5 years

This site: +51% zillow · all sites with this

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -10% census-cbp · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

Low social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)

This site: 0.09 cdc-svi · all sites with this

Strategy

Reinhabited

This site: Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States. extraction · all sites with this

New use

Retail (continued)

This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Operatingextracted, unreviewed documented The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village. en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Reinhabitedextracted, unreviewed documented The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village. en.wikipedia.org
New uses	retailextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States.extracted, unreviewed documented Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States. en.wikipedia.org
Retrofit year	2000extracted, unreviewed reported

Site context

FEMA flood zone	no NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	3: DRIVER'S VILLAGE COLLISION CENTER; GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO ACS 1137; NYSDOT BIN 1031720EPA FRS
Census tract 36067010500	2,294 people, 1,326 per sq mi; median household income $86,850; median gross rent $1,390; 6% renters; 5.9% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 7.8 of 20; 48 intersections per sq mi; no transit stop within the EPA search radius; land-use mix 0.76; 40,424 jobs within 45 min by car; 6% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	5 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 0 schools, 2 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 1 civic, 7 food and drink; 21 cycleway segments, 0 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	noHUD
Housing permits, Onondaga County (NY), 2024	278 units in 5+ unit buildings, 32 in 2–4, 323 single-family; 2023: 66 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.09; socioeconomic 0.18; housing and transport 0.08; 8% below 150% of poverty; 3% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	2 within 10 km, 4 within 25 km: Driver's Village (0.0 km); Great Northern Mall (9.9 km)computed
Overture Maps	no place match; building footprint 16,985 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views	3,321 since 2015; 1,535 in the last 12 months (+15% vs the prior 12); peak 2024-12 with 185Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population -4% (2,385 → 2,294); median income +24% ($70,192 → $86,850); renters 6% → 6%; median home value +35% ($145,900 → $196,900)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	very low overall (score 4.9); expected annual loss $488,875; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	noneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	24,399 jobs in 1,461 establishments; average annual pay $42,127; employment location quotient 0.99; employment -1.7% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	2,094 jobs; 1,109 in retail trade, 373 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 36067010500)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 46th income percentile as adults; 1.0% incarcerated at the 2010 count (138 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	low-access at 1 mile, not low-income; 42% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 5.3%; median family income $98,258; 42 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	North Syracuse Central School District (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: KARL W SAILE BEAR ROAD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLNCES EDGE
Elevation	385 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	270 county-logged events: 211 thunderstorm wind, 31 flash flood, 22 hail, 3 flood; $12,001,200 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 13039, 2026-09	median list price $432,400 (-6.0% on the year); 24 active listings; median 41 days on market; 5% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	1,507 establishments (-10%); 26,928 jobs (-8%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $285,908 (+6% 1 yr, +51% 5 yr); typical rent $1,673/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025	568 (2000 = 100); +16.1% 1 yr, +70% 5 yr, +98% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	51,704 vehicles a day on 81; 10,985 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Penn-Can Mall opened in 1976 by the Winmar Company and expanded to 121 stores by 1986. It closed in 1996 amid competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area. The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village, an auto row, and remains operating as retail.

Why. The record attributes the mall's decline and closure to competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area. The subsequent partial demolition and retrofit were driven by the need to repurpose the vacant structure.

Where it stands. The site is currently operating as Driver's Village (an auto row) under an unspecified owner, with the record listing its status as operating and strategy as reinhabit.

For a planner

Demonstrates a reinhabit strategy with retrofit completed in 2000.
Policy tools or incentives used for the retrofit are not detailed in the record.
Open questions include long-term viability of the auto row use and its integration with surrounding land use and transportation.

For a developer

Site size and parcel boundaries are not provided in the record.
Ownership/control structure and current entitlement status are unspecified.
Context-layer constraints (flood risk, transit access, environmental conditions) and market signals from tract data are absent.

What we do not know yet

Owner or controlling entity of the site is not identified.
Exact parcel size, building footprint, and current tenant mix are unknown.
Any floodplain, transit, or environmental constraints affecting the site are not detailed.
Financial performance or lease terms post-retrofit are not recorded.
The record is marked as 'draft' verified, indicating possible unreviewed or model-extracted data.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Driver's Village, Cicero, NY · Malls · opened 1976; closed 1996; same strategy: reinhabit
Manistee Town Center, Glendale, AZ · Malls · opened 1973; closed 2000; same strategy: reinhabit
Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, VA · Malls · opened 1975; closed 2000; same strategy: reinhabit
East Lake Square Mall, Tampa, FL · Malls · opened 1976; closed 1998; same strategy: reinhabit

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Penn-Can Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Penn-Can Mall - Cicero(Syracuse), NY - A Deadmalls.com Presentation youtube.com
Inside Penn-Can Mall, Cicero, NY: Forgotten Nort… bestattractions.org
Penn-Can Mall: Pic 14 of 19 deadmalls.com
Penn Can Mall ~ Detailed Information | Photos | Videos alchetron.com
A great SUPER 70s looking storefront at Altier's Shoes at Penn-Can Mall ... scrolller.com
Penn Can Mall | Syracuse Nost… syracusenostalgia.com

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened	1976extracted, unreviewed
Closed	1996extracted, unreviewed documented After a period of decline in the 1990s, brought on by competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area, Penn-Can Mall closed in 1996. en.wikipedia.org
Stores at peak	121extracted, unreviewed reported
Original developer	Winmar Companyextracted, unreviewed documented It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington, en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	Hills, Sears, Chappell's
County	Onondaga County
Census division	2 · Mid-Atlantic
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Defunct shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States. It is housed in a former shopping mall which was known as Penn-Can Mall. Opened on March 28, 1976, Penn-Can Mall was the first enclosed mall on the north end of Syracuse, and the fourth mall to be built in the entire metropolitan area. It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington, and had room for 86 stores. At the mall's inception, only 28 stores were open, but the other spaces quickly followed, followed by even more during an expansion in 1986, putting the mall's store count to 121. Anchor stores of the mall included Hills, Sears, and Chappell's. After a period of decline in the 1990s, brought on by competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area, Penn-Can Mall closed in 1996. The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

1976 Opened
1986 Expansion increased store count to 121
1996 Closed
2000 Partially demolished and reopened as Driver's Village

Sources

Wikipedia: Penn-Can Mall · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year closed, year opened
10 quoted sentences
Opened on March 28, 1976, Penn-Can Mall was the first enclosed mall on the north end of Syracuse, and the fourth mall to be built in the entire metropolitan area.
After a period of decline in the 1990s, brought on by competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area, Penn-Can Mall closed in 1996.
It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington,
Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States.

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Penn-Can Mall, Cicero, NY." Record m-413502d181, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ny/cicero-penn-can-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_ciceropenncanmall,
  title = {Penn-Can Mall, Cicero, NY},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ny/cicero-penn-can-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-413502d181, release 2026.10.20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

How to cite, versioning