COURTESY PAUL POST
By Paul Post
Eighteen-year Aviation Mall employee Shannon Stafford has been promoted to manager of the Queensbury shopping center, which was purchased at auction recently for $21 million.
She succeeds James Griffith, who left shortly after the acquisition to pursue opportunities in real estate.
Stafford began her career at the mall as a customer service representative in October 2007 and worked her way up through a series of roles, including administrative assistant, operations coordinator and operations manager, before assuming her new position.
The 50-year-old mall was purchased Sept. 10 by Eric Jacobov, principal of the Manhattan-based investment firm Concord Capital New York. Previously owned by Syracuse-based Pyramid Companies, the property went into receivership in July 2024 and was managed for the following year by The Woodmont Company of Fort Worth, Texas, on behalf of Deutsche Bank and M&T Bank.
The auction, held at the Warren County Municipal Center, concluded the judicial foreclosure process. Jacobov outbid the only other party present, a group of investors led by Michael Vopelak, which dropped out after offering $19 million.
Although significantly impacted by the growth of online shopping, the mall is seeing renewed activity with the recent opening of ADK Karting Experience, a large entertainment complex, and the Dec. 1 debut of On Deck Athletics, a baseball training center owned by former professional player Brett Rodriguez of Queensbury.
“I think they’re going to have a huge impact,” Stafford said. “The community is looking for places to come out and do activities. It’s a family-type environment. It gives people a place to go with their kids, and they can shop, go to restaurants or the movies. It’s a one-stop thing, especially in wintertime.”
A new eatery, Pabonnie’s Pizza, has also opened recently in the food court.
Stafford said a leasing specialist markets available spaces, while she conducts tours with prospective tenants. “The biggest challenge is making sure we get the right mix of stores and entertainment so people can come in and enjoy the mall,” she said.
The center comprises more than 720,000 square feet of retail space. Major tenants include Regal Cinemas, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ollie’s Bargain Basement and JCPenney, an original tenant dating back to October 1975, when the mall first opened.
The largest vacant space is a 50,000-square-foot area adjacent to Ollie’s, formerly part of the Bon-Ton store.
Before his departure, Griffith said the mall generates about $80 million in taxable revenue annually and attracts more than 8,000 visitors per day. However, it has lost some Saturday morning winter traffic this season after the Glens Falls Farmers Market relocated to a year-round site at The Ed on South Street in downtown Glens Falls.
In her previous roles, Stafford said she learned the mall’s operations “inside and out,” overseeing contractor bids, project reviews, sprinkler and fire inspections, and other behind-the-scenes functions.
As mall manager, she now oversees housekeeping and maintenance staff, including scheduling and ensuring crews have the supplies and equipment needed to do their jobs.
Concord Capital New York manages multiple strip plazas, but Aviation Mall is its first enclosed shopping center. Jacobov has said increasing occupancy through new tenants is his top priority, though the property’s zoning for multifamily residential development also factored into his interest.
“That’s definitely a bonus and adds potential,” he said at the time of purchase. “We’re going to look into that deeper. It’s a big plus.”