I have noticed particularly in the Albany area we are seeing mass redevelopment of dead malls into retail plazas and I honestly don't think it is really solving anything.. Latham Circle Mall has become a very bland retail plaza with nothing really notable in it except for making the Walmart a super-center. the Burlington Coat Factory has returned and there are a few bland stores. I think for retail the Albany area has hit bottom... personally I think the Latham Circle Mall should have become a mixed use property with an Ikea as the main anchor.
The Eastern Hills Mall in Clarence was once the largest mall in the Buffalo area until the now-far superior Walden Galleria Mall opened in 1989. A few years ago they tore down the Ames store next to Eastern Hills Mall and remodeled the strip plaza with a Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Petco, and a Bed Bath and Beyond. Ever since Dave & Buster's and Macy's at Eastern Hills Mall have closed, the mall has become nothing more than a rather bland shell of its former self with no national chains outside of the anchors. I think it's time that Eastern Hills Mall gets remodeled into a plaza as an extension to the existing strip next door.