Word has finally come of a planned closure of the Kmart store at the Bridgehampton (N.Y.) Commons center. When this occurs next month, Kmart’s remaining presence in the continental U.S. will be nearly gone, but the other story here is what becomes of the giant commercial space in increasingly tony Bridgehampton. Word is it will become a Target, which makes retail sense, and offers a bone to the original motivation for the half century-old shopping complex, whose history I recounted here. The key tenant was originally a W.T. Grant; following its bankruptcy, Caldor took the least and for many locals, the whole place–the only true shopping mall in the Hamptons proper–became the “Caldor center.” By the time Kmart in turn succeeded to the site in the late 1990s, the area was already in full transition. The middle-class, year-round population that was to be serviced by a low-priced retailer, a key promise of the original developers, was thinning out. Bridgehampton and surrounding hamlets are dominated by wealthier “second-home” residents. A working class primarily commutes in from the west. If a Target can manage to bridge that day traffic with an “affordable chic” appeal–while at the same time not becoming a congestion node that will trigger already-stirring protests–it will help to complete the evolution of the modern Hamptons.
Kmart in Bridgehampton closing, leaving just 1 reduced-size store in U.S. – Newsday
Tim W. Ferguson 