Voters Approve Expansion of Palisades Mall

The Palisades Mall may soon get much bigger.

The eighth-largest mall in the United States is poised to grow even larger thanks to voters in Rockland County.

On election day, voters in Clarkstown, NY were asked to approve a referendum lifting a restriction on the Palisades Center's size. In 1996 developers agreed to limit the size of the mall to 1.854 square feet of leasable area. The agreement came after the mall needed to acquire certain parcels of land that included three town roads.

Now, almost 25 years later, the Palisades Center wants to expand the mall, but can't do that without changing the original covenant with the town. The process of lifting the limit of 1.854 million square feet started with the approval of the town board but needed the final approval of voters.

On Election Day, ballots in the Town of Clarkstown included a question that asked voters to choose to allow the expansion or not.

Do You Agree That The Town Of Clarkstown Shall Lift The Restrictive Covenant That Limits The Palisades Center Mall To 1.854 Million Square Feet Of Gross Leasable Space?

The referendum was approved with 18,529 voters agreeing and 12,873 disapproving of the idea. With 59% of the vote, the Palisades Mall will now be allowed to expand. But that doesn't necessarily mean you'll see new construction happening right away. Any new construction or reconfiguring of the current mall must be approved first by the planning board.

When the Palisades Center opened in 1998, it included 236,000 square feet more leasable space than the agreement allowed. Because of this, much of the fourth floor of the mall was left vacant. The referendum will now allow the Palisades Center to apply for permits to open the top floor to new business. The mall can also apply to the Planning Board to develop new space that covers 242,000 square feet outside of its current footprint.