Upscale market to open in Middletown – Times Herald-Record

MIDDLETOWN The former Middletown Indoor Flea Markets last tenant is renovating, renaming and reopening in May, subletting to artisans, antique dealers and some former sellers and restaurants.

The 50,000-square-foot market is part of a 200,000-square-foot partitioned strip mall building at 102-128 Dolson Avenue, home to Playtogs department store from 1959 to 1994.

It will be renamed Emporium Square, when it opens as soon as Mays first week, partly to avoid confusion with the nearby Middletown Flea Market, where several former tenants migrated, in a neighboring plaza.

Separately, LGP Capital of Middletown, owner of Emporium Squares nearly empty strip mall building, recently applied to Middletowns Planning Board to turn most of its remaining 150,000 square feet into a distribution center.

Until summer 2018, it held National Wholesale Liquidators, which repeatedly closed and reopened under that moniker and the name Playtogs Factory Outlet. (Both were unrelated to the original Playtogs).

The last tenant on that side of the strip mall, Hudson Valley Pawn Brokers & Firearms of Middletown, would be given the option to stay if city officials approve the warehouse, the propertys developer said.

The same would go for Pools Plus, which occupies a separate, nearby building, also owned by LGP Capital, thats considered to be part of the strip mall.

As for Emporium Square, Orlando Lalave, owner of Fusion Eyewear, an optical store and the former indoor flea markets last remaining business, is self-funding $400,000 to $500,000 of upgrades to the market.

His store will remain, as he shrinks the rest of the market to 84 booths, from its 164-booth capacity when it more fully operated until its January 2019 closure.

The unused market space will be blocked off, for Emporium Squares later potential use, until LGP Capital can repair that sides roof, Lalave said.

Ive put my heart and soul into it, Lalave said of Emporium Square. I always felt the community deserved better. So, Im going around the Hudson Valley and finding the hidden gems for vendors.

Kris Vassilatos agreed. Shes owner of Body Oils NY and a former vendor, who operates a store by the nearby Shoprite. She called Lalaves plan a 180, that made the market unrecognizable and beautiful.

The new market features all-new 100-square-foot booths, with a chocolate and black color scheme, ornamental bricks and a resurfaced concrete floor.

Lalave plans to sublet to antique sellers and artisan vendors, like pickle, jewelry and chocolate makers, with a rent of $300 to $400 per month, plus strong, reputable businesses like a local hemp extract producer.

Building owner LGP Capital has its own big plan. An LGP representative described the company as a privately held commercial real estate investment firm that buys and manages shopping centers in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

LGP has teamed with Real Deal Management Group LLC of Mahwah, N.J., an experienced commercial developer known for creatively turning former retail spaces into distribution centers, particularly in northern and central New Jersey.

Weve been tracking whats going on in Orange County, and we like what we see, from growth to highway access, said Isaac Neuman, an RDM Group partner.

RDM Group recently received the Middletown Zoning Board of Appeals approval for a novel, cost-saving idea to raise the buildings roof nine feet to 44 feet to accommodate tractor trailers.

Plus, the board allowed the potential warehouse to use 296 parking spaces, down from 741 at the site. LGP Capitals $5 million to $7 million warehouse plan also calls for repaving the parking lot and redoing the buildings exterior with a brick facade.

Twenty-one loading docks would be added to the liquidators building side (for 23 docks altogether with two current ones). And there would be several tree-filled parking lot partitions, including one separating Emporium Square.

A furniture distributor is a candidate for the warehouse, which could operate 16 hours daily and employ 20. Trucks would use an enlarged entrance by Pools Plus, not a main entrance near a Dunkin Donuts.

Emporium Square and Playtogs Plaza, an unrelated, neighboring shopping center, share that main entrance.

Local leaders, including Orange County Chamber of Commerce president Lynn Cione, Maria Bruni, Middletowns community development director, and Mayor Joseph DeStefano are enthusiastic.

I think (Lalave) has a winning formula to go upscale with that indoor market, DeStefano said. Its exciting for him and the city.

As for the warehouse idea, its an important proposal for our tax base, DeStefano added, promising that the planning board will ensure adequate buffering and a safe traffic flow. No one can imagine a retail operation going back into that space when stores are closing across America.

daxelrod@th-record.com

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Upscale market to open in Middletown - Times Herald-Record