By ALAN WECHSLER Business writer
Saturday, April 16, 2005

COLONIE -- Colonie Center hopes to attract more shoppers with a planned 100,000-square-foot expansion that includes a Regal Cinemas multiplex theater with stadium seating.

But the town of Colonie wants to know how the mall will deal with the anticipated influx in customer traffic.

One answer may be valet parking.

In talking with town Planning Board officials earlier this week, advisers for owner Feldman Mall Properties Inc. suggested that valet parking would help offset the 300-plus parking spots that would be lost in the proposed two-story expansion.

The mall has more than 5,200 spots today.

While some shopping malls around the country have used valet parking for years, valet service in the Capital Region has usually been reserved for special events and a few high-end restau rants. St. Peter's and Albany Medical Center hospitals also have it.

At Colonie Center, valet parking would include a swipe-card system that would allow a shopper to drop off a car at one end of the mall and pick it up later at the other. The cost for customers is still undetermined.

Peter Platt, chairman of the Colonie Planning Board, said he was intrigued by the idea.

"It makes sense," he said. "I keep going back to this number, that 36 percent of the senior citizens in Albany County live in town." Feldman Mall Properties paid $82.2 million to acquire Colonie Center in February. The Phoenix-based real estate investment trust wants to spend $9 million to improve the 1.2 million-square-foot mall, which was built in 1966.

Some work will begin later this year, although construction of the addition will not start until 2006.

Feldman officials told the town this week that the theater would have as many as 14 screens and would be managed by Regal Cinemas, a holding of Regal Entertainment Group of Tennessee. Regal also runs theaters at Crossgates, Latham Circle, Wilton and Aviation malls, Clifton Park Center and Rensselaer County Plaza.

Officials from Regal and Feldman did not return calls Friday seeking comment.

Susan Despart, marketing manager at Colonie Center, agreed that valet parking was more common in bigger cities. But she said she expected some shoppers would take to it quickly, especially during cold weather.

Around the country, dozens of shopping malls have embraced valet parking. Some operate only on weekends, others every day. Most charge a fee of $3 to $4.

A quick poll of Colonie Center shoppers, taken in the mall's parking lot on Friday, showed mixed feelings on the idea. One senior citizen said valet parking was appropriate for hotels, not malls. Another shopper said he didn't see the need for it.

John Rogers, a Clifton Park resident, said he thought Crossgates Mall in Guilderland needed it more than Colonie Center. But he said he still wouldn't mind the service.

"I lived in Manhattan," he said. "I'm used to it."

Alan Wechsler can be reached at 454-5469 or by e-mail.