Hampshire Mall
Encyclopedia
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
with a small second floor in Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,793 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with approximately 55 stores owned by The Pyramid Companies. Current anchor store
Anchor store
In retail, an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store or a major retail chain....
s include Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. , or Dick's, is a Fortune 500 American corporation in the sporting goods and retail industries.The company's headquarters are on the grounds of Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dick's has 451 stores in 42 states as of...
, JCPenney, and Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
. There is a LaserStorm, a Lasertag facility in the mall. The mall is home to a roller skating rink.
History
When the mall opened in 1978 it was anchored by JCPenney, Steiger's and KmartKmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
.
The Steiger's store was demolished in 1994 for Media Play
Media Play
Media Play was a chain of retail stores founded in 1992 by Musicland that sold movies on video, DVDs, music, Electronics, video games, books, and games in the United States. Each store essentially contained a book store, a movie store, a music store, and a video game store under one roof. At...
. In 2003 the space was rebuilt and extended to house a Target store. Dicks Sporting goods opened in 2003. Originally the mall contained a six screen movie theater that existed from 1978-1999. This was then expanded to a 12-screen Cinemark movie theater in 2000.
A 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²). Dick's Sporting Goods store opened in early 2005, replacing a former Eastern Mountain Sports
Eastern Mountain Sports
Eastern Mountain Sports is an outdoor apparel and equipment retailer in the U.S. Northeast headquartered in Peterborough, New Hampshire.EMS sells outdoor equipment and clothing from both name brands and its own EMS line...
. Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
and Steve & Barry's replaced Media Play in early 2005. Steve & Barry's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 and subsequently closed their Hampshire Mall store in August 2008.
Wal-Mart developers beginning in 2005 wished to build a new 212000 square feet (19,695.4 m²) Supercenter southeast of Hampshire Mall. However there have been various hindrances as a consequence of a bylaw designed to keep out large stores by restricting new stores to 75000 square feet (6,967.7 m²). After two years of negotiations, on November 20, 2007, a subdivision plan that exempted the planned Wal-Mart Supercenter from the current bylaw restrictions was approved. Developers have eight-years to get a site plan approved before the exemption expires. This would almost certainly mean the current store, attached to the east end of Mountain Farms Mall
Mountain Farms Mall
Mountain Farms Mall is a one-story shopping mall in Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, with approximately 12 stores. It is located on Route 9, at 335 Russell Street in Hadley, Massachusetts, between Amherst and Northampton, approximately five miles east of Exit 19 off I-91. The mall is owned by...
, would close.
In February 2009 Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States that is known for its Buffalo wings.-History:...
opened a store between Target and Best Buy. The restaurant got into a dispute with the mall because of an alleged faulty roof that led to a build up of condensation on the premises. The Pyramid Corporation did not agree to carry out repairs and as a consequence some amount of the rent was withheld. Whether the restaurant never paid any rent or did pay some rent is disputed. The case is currently in litigation. On July 29, 2010 they announced that they lost their lease as of August 1, 2010.
Platterpus Records closed down its store in March 2010. In June 2010 the store reopened in Easthampton, Massachusetts
Easthampton, Massachusetts
Easthampton is the second largest city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is on the southeastern edge of an area called the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst, MA...
.
In May 2010, Famous Labels, a national apparel and home goods chain, Cell Ace, a cell phone accessory store, all opened.
Road access to the mall
The state of Massachusetts is considering widening Route 9 to two lanes in each direction from Middle Street to the mall area to alleviate perennial traffic jams. This would add to a previous project completed in 2008 that widened Route 9 from the Calvin Coolidge BridgeCalvin Coolidge Bridge
The Calvin Coolidge Memorial Bridge is a major crossing of the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley. The bridge carries Route 9 across the river, where it connects to Interstate 91...
in Northampton
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
and result in two lanes in each direction from Northampton through Hadley
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,793 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding...
to the Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
line. This would also enable easier access to Mountain Farms mall and the new Hadley Corner
Hadley Corner
Hadley Corner is a one-story shopping center currently under construction in Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, with 9 stores planned. It is located on Route 9, on Russell Street in Hadley, Massachusetts between Amherst and Northampton, approximately five miles east of Exit 19 off I-91 and...
shops.