The Courtyard Mall/Neisners building on Main Street has seen significant changes to the exterior of late, and we are now able to see some of the direction of what the facade will look like when completed. It appears that the new facade will not be significantly different from the previous Courtyard Mall facade, the tall skinny windows on the second floor have been retained with several fake windows on the left side to remain. One of the more disappointing features of the design is at the ground floor level. The New York State Division of Parole has leased what was previously retail space. While they could have kept the floor to ceiling windows and entranceway, Ellicott Development has chosen to put in small windows several feet off of the ground. The retail space on the left side has thus far been preserved. A brick facade is planned.
The Courtyard Mall redevelopment will be a mix of office and retail space totaling 73,000 sq.ft. of renovated space in the heart of the Central Business District. As mentioned above the New York State Division of Parole leased 15,000 sq.ft. of that total with their move from the Donovan State Office Building which will soon be demolished to make way for the CanalSide development. Ellicott Development also owns the adjacent Baker’s Shoes building where additional retail space plus 12 upscale residential lofts are planned. The status of that project is unknown. The history of this site was told in a previous post by Westcoastperspective here.