Aviation Mall Isn’t Going Anywhere: New Owner & Bright Future Ahead
With the recent news of Aviation Mall’s foreclosure, many have been asking: What’s going to happen to the mall, and is ADK Karting still set to move in? The short answer is: the mall isn’t going anywhere, it’s just changing owners (the new owner has officially been announced!), and ADK Karting is opening in November.
Read on to learn more from our exclusive interview with Aviation Mall Manager James Griffith.
The Foreclosure & New Owner Explained
The previous owner of the mall, Pyramid Management Group, defaulted on their loan, with the property going into default on July 20 of 2024, prompting many to question the future of the mall.
“So it’s been in default for a little over a year now,” Griffith said. “And the management company, the Woodmont Company, which is the court ordered management company, managed it knowing they weren’t going to purchase the property. They were just managing it until a new owner came about.”
The new owner of the mall has now stepped into his new role! Ariel “Eric” Jacobov of Concord Capital New York purchased the mall in an auction on September 10, 2025 for $21 million. The auction took place at the Warren County Municipal Center.
When asked if there is a chance Jacobov could change the mall into something else, Griffith responded, not without going through the Town of Queensbury Planning Department.
“Aviation Mall is zoned in the enclosed shopping center district in the Town of Queensbury. It’s the only enclosed shopping center district, and the Town has these restrictions on what you can have in those districts.”
Further, the big box tenants like JCPenney, Dick’s, and Regal Cinemas all have active leases. When Jacobov purchased the mall, these leases were included.
As far as the shoppers are concerned as this transition to the new owner takes place, it’s business as usual - the mall is fully functioning and operating, and you can go there today.
ADK Karting Is Opening on November 1
“They’re still on track, pun intended,” said Griffith, when asked if ADK Karting is still set to move into the former Sears space. In fact, if you check out ADK Karting’s Facebook page, you’ll see they’ve already been moving in and have been documenting their progress.
“They’re finishing up the indoor miniature golf course, the kids' karts have arrived…they’re hoping to get the track laid down within the next month.”
The expansive indoor entertainment center will feature:
- Indoor Go Kart Tracks - 1,400-foot track for adults, and 250-foot track for kids
- Racing Simulators - 6 professional grade simulators designed to replicate real racing
- Arcade - 50+ games
- Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf
Griffith emphasized the mall’s complete transparency, explaining they “were communicating regularly through the negotiation” with ADK Karting owner Jeremy Treadway, keeping him “informed about what was happening” as the ownership situation evolved.
Aviation Mall had been in discussions with potential new tenants in addition to ADK Karting, including new eateries in the food court, but these had been put on hold until the new ownership is finalized.
“We had to communicate with all of our tenants and all of our contractors that the entity is changing over,” Griffith said. “We had to go through and get an updated certificate of insurance, send everybody the updated information - a lot of back-of-the-house stuff.”
All of that red tape put a halt on anyone else new coming in. But now that they're past the auction, they can revisit those conversations with leads looking to acquire space at the mall.
Dinner, Movie, Shopping & More: Aviation Mall Is a Queensbury Community Hub
Aviation Mall opened in 1975 and has been steadily expanding since the early 2000s, having evolved from a traditional department store-anchored shopping center into a mixed-use community space that now includes entertainment, fitness, and retail experiences.
The mall is the place to go come Halloween for store-to-store trick-or-treating, and kids flock to see Santa at Christmastime. It also served as a vaccination site during the pandemic.
When asked about the future of the mall, and his opinion on people who say malls are dying in the age of buying everything online, Griffith didn’t seem concerned, simply stating that malls are changing and adapting, especially Aviation Mall.
Malls have transitioned from being solely for shopping to becoming mixed-use destinations. They now serve as community hubs offering dinner, movies, and entertainment like arcades or ADK Karting, while anchor tenants like Target draw customers for shopping staples. This foot traffic then benefits smaller stores, which often rely on impulse buys.
Griffith called out 99 Restaurant, Target, and Regal Cinemas as doing a phenomenal job at the mall, with the movies pulling in more than they were making pre-pandemic. JCPenney and Dick’s are other key players drawing people to the mall.
“Planet Fitness just did a 1,600-square-foot extension two years ago, so they’re continuing to grow,” Griffith said. “They have classes that start at 4 in the morning…there are constantly people going to the gym, all the way into the evening.”
As for ordering items online instead of in-person shopping? Overstock retailers like Peter Harris and Ollie’s sell items that you just can’t purchase online. Plus, those big box stores like Target have what you need right now - no waiting for a package to arrive.
Compared to the Lake George Outlets, which mostly draws in tourists, Aviation Mall is primarily for the locals. More people go to the mall each year - about 6 or 7 times a year - compared to the Outlets, where people go maybe twice a year, while on vacation and for Christmas shopping. If you’re a visitor to the area and want to go where the locals do, head to the mall!
The Future of the Mall as a Top Entertainment Destination
ADK Karting is of course primed to draw in even more crowds to Aviation Mall, with Treadwell expecting around 1,250 to 1,500 additional footsteps per week, according to Griffith.
“ADK Karting is the only entertainment of its kind north of Albany that is this size,” Griffith said. “You don’t have anything like that in Latham, Clifton Park, or Saratoga. We’re hoping as the karting opens up that it’s going to draw some more of that traffic from Clifton Park north…people who would’ve gone to Dave & Buster’s or Apex at Crossgates…we’re hoping to pull some of that traffic.”
With the new ownership finalized, the door is now open for more tenants to come in, and the mall is ready for them. Aviation Mall is already in a key location with great visibility just off the highway, and a renovation about eight years ago has it looking spic and span and up-to-date inside.
“We did a renovation, changed all the tile work, added LED lighting…when you walk through Aviation Mall it looks like a modern mall. When you walk through some of the other regional shopping malls that we have in our area here, they haven’t been touched inside. It still looks like the mall of the 90s. Aviation Mall doesn’t look like that.”
For those wondering about the Glens Falls Farmers Market, who has historically set up shop in the winter season in the mall but now have a new location in downtown Glens Falls, Griffith said he expects them to be at the mall through December 2025. They do not currently have heating in their new building.
“We haven’t finalized on that yet. They have a great new facility, and I know there is anticipation of heating that’s going to be added. So we are looking to maintain that relationship with the Glens Falls Farmers Market, but we understand that they’re the Glens Falls Farmers Market. They’ve been downtown for most of their business. So we certainly understand that.”
When it comes to malls adapting to modern times, Griffith pointed to Clifton Park Center as a solid example: “Look at what Don Greene did down at Clifton Park Center. He turned it inside out. There’s only a very little bit of interior mall there now. Everything else is exterior, and has its own marketing exposure for each one of those stores. That’s potentially something that could be foreseen in the future for Aviation Mall.”
Griffith went on to say, “But there are other uses that we want the Town to get. There could be additional residential space…lifestyle centers are very big right now…we have some residential, and it creates that steadiness of business where you can have more restaurants and other types of lifestyle brands that go along with it. So malls aren’t going to go away. They’re just going to change based on the economics and demographics of the region.”
In conclusion - the mall is open for business and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Jacabov is the new owner of the mall, and ADK Karting opens on November 1. Stay tuned for more news regarding any new tenants or upgrades coming to the mall!
