Page 72 - BusinessWest February 19, 2024

Garage, a casual clothing brand for young women, is one of many recent additions at the Holyoke Mall.
Holyoke, and they can get there, rather easily, she said, adding that these ‘differentiators,’ as she called them, not only attract visitors, but new tenants as well.
“We’ve certainly seen the benefits of that market consolidation,” she said, adding that this and other factors contributed to what was a very solid holiday season at the mall. While the final numbers are not in yet, most mall tenants came out of December happy with
Setting Sale
As she walked and talked with BusinessWest, Gray stopped at Monsoon Bistro, one of the newer additions to the mall, taking the spot formerly occupied by Ruby Tuesday near the Macy’s entrance.
It’s one of many new restaurants that have opened in the mall over the past year, several of them growing local businesses, she said, adding that these are some examples of how malls, and espe- cially the one in Holyoke, are in a state of nearly constant change. These changes reflect national trends, changes to the economy, and
their results, she noted
And those same retailers
are saying that, while overall visitation is down slightly — data shows the mall is drawing 99% of the total visitors it drew in 2021 and 98% of the num- ber in 2022, 9 million overall — those who do find their way there are generally spending more, on average.
Meanwhile, the ongoing change and evolution experi- enced by every mall continues at Holyoke, said Gray, adding that there have been several intriguing additions in recent months and renovations planned at several outlets.
For this issue, we talked with Gray about all that and much more as the mall brac- es first for February school vacation, and then continued response to that changing scene in retail.
“We’re easily accessible off
of 90 and 91,
and we’re in a position to tap
a much larger market than some of the regional properties that were or still are in the market.”
0.9% APR FINANCING AVAILABLE
FOR UP TO 36 MONTHS ON ALL 2024 MAZDA CX-30 AND SELECT 2024 MAZDA CX-5 MODELS*
2024 MAZDA CX-30 2.5 TURBO PREMIUM PLUS
2024 MAZDA CX-5 2.5 TURBO SIGNATURE
F E E L A L I V E®
BALISE MAZDA
733 East Columbus Ave, Springfield, MA 01105 413-306-3036 | balisemazda.com
*0.9% annual percentage rate limited term financing (up to 36 months) available on all new 2024 Mazda CX-30 and new 2024 Mazda CX-5 Premium, Premium Plus, Turbo Carbon Edition, Turbo Premium, or Turbo Signature Trims ONLY. Available through Mazda Financial Services to well-qualified buyers, not all will qualify. All incentives to dealer, may not be compatible with other offers. Offer ends 2/29/2024.
28 FEBRUARY 19, 2024 << COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE >> BusinessWest