Swansea Mall (the whole thing - not just a store) Closing March 31, 2019 (Cambridge: for sale, lease)
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Wow! I remember when it opened which was right at the height of the malling of America. I was bright and shiny but built kind of on the cheap in comparison to malls in more affluent retail-heavy areas. I guess this should help Dartmouth Mall and Emerald Square Malls since they are closest.
Replum33 is right about anchors dictating who can occupy stores in the shopping centers they are located in. All major anchors have contingencies in their leases that will say stores that compete with them can't occupy vacant spaces in the center. That is why you often see vacant spaces sitting in very active centers. It is because replacement stores can't sell or do the same things as the anchor does. Is there anything that a Walmart Super Center does not sell? I know someone that had a successful small gift store in a small shopping center. A large pharmacy came into the center and as soon as the gift store's lease was up, they had to leave the center. The space is sitting vacant because there is not a lot of things that can go in there. The center already has all the things the pharmacy does not carry or do. Jay
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT
Wow! I remember when it opened which was right at the height of the malling of America. I was bright and shiny but built kind of on the cheap in comparison to malls in more affluent retail-heavy areas. I guess this should help Dartmouth Mall and Emerald Square Malls since they are closest.
Replum33 is right about anchors dictating who can occupy stores in the shopping centers they are located in. All major anchors have contingencies in their leases that will say stores that compete with them can't occupy vacant spaces in the center. That is why you often see vacant spaces sitting in very active centers. It is because replacement stores can't sell or do the same things as the anchor does. Is there anything that a Walmart Super Center does not sell? I know someone that had a successful small gift store in a small shopping center. A large pharmacy came into the center and as soon as the gift store's lease was up, they had to leave the center. The space is sitting vacant because there is not a lot of things that can go in there. The center already has all the things the pharmacy does not carry or do. Jay
I've never been in it (don't like malls anyway), but a ladyfriend went a few times to a work out place, like exercise workout, that some dudes set up in a storefront there. Just seems so very odd, but they must have had cheap rent or something.
Wow! I remember when it opened which was right at the height of the malling of America. I was bright and shiny but built kind of on the cheap in comparison to malls in more affluent retail-heavy areas. I guess this should help Dartmouth Mall and Emerald Square Malls since they are closest.
Replum33 is right about anchors dictating who can occupy stores in the shopping centers they are located in. All major anchors have contingencies in their leases that will say stores that compete with them can't occupy vacant spaces in the center. That is why you often see vacant spaces sitting in very active centers. It is because replacement stores can't sell or do the same things as the anchor does. Is there anything that a Walmart Super Center does not sell? I know someone that had a successful small gift store in a small shopping center. A large pharmacy came into the center and as soon as the gift store's lease was up, they had to leave the center. The space is sitting vacant because there is not a lot of things that can go in there. The center already has all the things the pharmacy does not carry or do. Jay
It's interesting because certain types of retail establishments actually do better when clustered with similar/competing retail. You see this a lot in restaurants and bars. These places almost always do better when they are grouped with other similar places (even if they sell the same beers at the same prices as the neighbor). I would imagine this would be true with standard retail too. Davis Square is a small area, but it has three consignment shops right next to each other. All three are doing well. It's a shame big stores blocked smaller stores from opening up. There's no real risk to Walmart or Macy's if a small shop sells the same/similar products in a store inside the mall. It's just greed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyB
I remember the Walmart as being behind the mall, not actually connected to it.
Was it detached in the past? I can't remember. It's definitely attached now.
I remember the Walmart as being behind the mall, not actually connected to it.
Walmart replaced Caldor in the mall in 2001. In 2013, Walmart moved to its own building in the mall parking lot. Walmart was still able to place restrictions on the mall.
If I understand it when Walmart decided to separate from the mall into a standalone building it bought the piece of land from the mall which is currently behind it. As part of the deal is when the slipped in all the restrictions on what the mall could do there. The owners who were likely paid more for this land sale than the mall was worth went along because they were making out in the deal. Now with all the restrictions in place it was the last nail in the coffin for the remaining mall which has literally withered away.
The town is trying to step in as a way to remove these restrictions and allow the mall to be re purposed or rebuilt into something worthwhile.
So it is separated... wow, it's really been a while since I've been in there.
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