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Despite A National Expansion, And A Possible IPO, Barnes & Noble Shutters Nanuet Store
By Tina Traster
One of the two Barnes & Noble bookstores, the only big-box bookstore in Rockland County, will close its doors on January 18. The large bookseller, located on Route 59 in Rockland Plaza in Nanuet, will shutter after 33 years, leaving Rockland with a Barnes & Noble in the Palisades Center, and a handful of independent bookstores countywide.
An employee at the store on Monday confirmed the store will close next month, adding “it couldn’t renew its lease.” Rockland Plaza is owned by Brixmor Property Group.
Brixmor did not return an immediate request for comment.
Earlier this year, Barnes & Noble shuttered its City Center store in White Plains.
The company plans to open 60 new stores in 2026, following the addition of 67 stores in 2025 and 61 stores in 2024, reversing a two-decade decline caused by online sellers such as Amazon and changing economic preferences among book buyers.
A revitalized strategy includes a focus on local curation, improvements in store atmosphere (like themed nooks), a new partnership with A24 to promote books, and the acquisition of Books Inc.
The company’s sales peaked in 2008, with sales dwindling as customers moved to other retailers (especially digital booksellers like Amazon), ultimately leading the retailer to shed 150 stores.
As part of its turnaround, leases for new stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington state, and Washington D.C. have been confirmed.
The turnaround was supported in part by reaching younger readers through #BookTok on TikTok and other social media, and the company’s diversifying its offerings to include greeting cards, toys, and games.
The chain has about 600 stores nationwide and has announced plans to open an additional 60 stores in 2026. The chain sells more than 190 million books a year and is the largest national retailer of magazines and newspapers.
In 1993, Barnes & Noble started trading its stock publicly, but was acquired and taken private in 2019 by Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited, the owner of Waterstones, the largest bookseller in the United Kingdom.
The company continues to navigate shifts in the industry. Some watchers expect a return to the equity market – rumors are the company is preparing for a potential IPO, based on its return to strong sales.
Redevelopment Plans Proposed For Rockland Plaza
Brixmor has been planning a re-development plan that carves up larges spaces to cater to smaller businesses and envisions adding at least two restaurants to the center. While the Nanuet Diner has been preserved in this latest round of redevelopment planning, the intended addition of a grocery store has been scrapped.
The new plan varies dramatically from a plan submitted in 2021, that included the addition of a 43,000 square-foot grocer (the developer declined at the time to reveal which one) and the demolition of the Nanuet Diner to make way for new outparcel buildings. Overall, in this new iteration, the shopping center will be reduced by about 7,500 square feet, from 258,758 to 251,217 square feet.
The new plan calls for demolition of part of the former Modell’s building. In its place, Modells will be divided into five small retail spaces averaging roughly 2,000 square feet each, and a 6,000 square-foot restaurant, all in the smaller footprint. The new configuration will widen the passageway between the new retail and the existing Starbucks.
The former Petco location will be divided into four smaller retail units of about 3,000 to 5,000 square feet each. Some of the larger spaces in the east wing of the building will also be divided into smaller units to attract new retail.
Facing Route 59, a new 4,750 square foot retail bank building with drive-thru lanes would be added. And, in a later phase, a 5,000 square foot free-standing restaurant would be built on land adjacent to Middletown Road.
The parking lot would be reconfigured and restriped with a reduction in parking spaces from 1075 to 969. Clarkstown Town Code requires 840 spaces, according to the developer’s plans. Much of the parking is situated behind the buildings and is under-utilized. The owner hopes the re-configuration will make those parking spaces more desirable.
Plans also include an upgrade of the buildings’ facades with a more modern look, similar to what was done for ULTA Beauty at the east end of the shopping center.
The developer will need to secure several variances for the project including setbacks for the new construction. The Planning Board will also likely require a traffic study in response to the new parking lot configuration and new construction.
Hanging On In The Palisades Mall
Meanwhile, the sole remaining Barnes & Noble is located in The Palisades Center in West Nyack, which faces an uncertain future even after Black Diamond Capital Management, an “alternative asset management firm” purchased the mall’s underlying debt at a substantial discount earlier in October. Barnes & Noble considered moving to a smaller store during COVID-19.
An “alternative asset management firm” is one that specializes in high yield credit, stressed and distressed credit, restructurings and business turnarounds.
The face of retail is changing dramatically in both strip malls and large enclosed malls. For several years, many big boxes have either declined, gone bankrupt or disappeared. Successful indoor malls nationwide are being re-developed with housing and other amenities to compensate for the lack of retail demand spurred on by internet shopping.
The original refinancing of the Palisades Mall in 2016 was a $418.5 million CMBS (Commercial Mortgage-Backed Security) loan when the mall was valued at $881 million. But the mall’s fortunes turned south when anchors JCPenney and Lord & Taylor shuttered their stores in 2017 and 2019 respectively. COVID-19 and e-commerce further hurt revenue when occupancy fell from 100 percent to 78 percent, leaving inadequate income to service the underlying debt.
