The Costumer, Schenectady's century-old costume shop, is packing up its Mohawk Harbor storefront and heading downtown. The retailer plans to move into the former CVS pharmacy space at 415 State Street in 2027, trading its riverfront spot for a location steps from Proctors and the Jay Street Marketplace.
The retail outlet will move into the former CVS space in the Center City building on State Street, according to news10.com. The company's headquarters will remain on Barrett Street, with the new downtown storefront serving strictly as its retail outlet, the station reports. For now, nothing changes: the business will stay at its current Mohawk Harbor location through the 2026 Halloween and Christmas shopping seasons before the move takes place.
A Sublease Funded by Grants
The new retail space will be sublet from CVS, with the station's report noting that renovations will be paid for through grants. The Times Union reports that the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority will provide a grant to support the renovation work and has approved a sales tax exemption for the materials needed to redo the space. The Costumer did not return multiple requests for comment from the Times Union about the move.
The 415 State Street address has sat empty since CVS closed the location, which the Daily Gazette reports happened in 2024, three years into what had been a 10-year lease. That closure came as CVS announced plans, starting in 2021, to shutter 900 stores nationwide over three years, according to the Times Union. The building's lease at the site runs through Jan. 31, 2031, according to dailygazette.com, which also notes the site sits next to the YMCA and across the street from both Proctors and the Movieland theater complex.
From Colonie to Mohawk Harbor to Downtown
The Costumer's path to State Street has included more than one address change. The company was founded in Schenectady in 1917 by Anna White, per the Times Union, and for years operated on Central Avenue in Colonie before the retail operation moved from Colonie back into the city, as the Daily Gazette's coverage of its Mohawk Harbor debut describes. The company cut the ribbon on its Mohawk Harbor flagship store in September 2021, the Daily Gazette reported at the time, after remodeling two buildings on Barrett Street as part of that relocation project.
That 2021 move came with public support, too. The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority's board approved $210,000 in funding to back the Mohawk Harbor project, according to the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. Mohawk Harbor itself includes apartments, restaurants and retail space stretched along roughly a mile of the Mohawk River.
Why The Costumer Is Heading Downtown
DD Johnice, speaking about the decision, said the company looks forward to spending Halloween and Christmas at the harbor but chose the downtown CVS opportunity because of its proximity to four theaters and the Jay Street Marketplace, according to the Times Union. The company's retail store provides adult and children's costumes, props, wigs and theatrical makeup year-round, including a full line of dance footwear and apparel, per the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. The business rents and sells costumes, wigs and other theatrical materials for school shows, community theater productions and individual shoppers, the Times Union notes.
The scale of that operation is considerable for a business headquartered on Barrett Street. Each year, over 50,000 theatrical costumes are shipped out, the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority notes, and the company annually supports theatrical productions involving more than 1,000 schools, television, film, advertising and theater companies. The Costumer also became employee-owned in 2025, following an acquisition by Teamshares that closed Jan. 17, 2025, according to the Generational Group.
Once the move is complete, the company will remain headquartered at 1030 Barrett Street even as its storefront relocates downtown, per the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. The shift fits into a broader push along lower State Street, where the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority has also flagged a renovation of 200 State Street that would add 11 loft apartments and ground-floor retail space to the currently vacant building.
