A major retailer is leaving Chambersburg Mall
CHAMBERSBURG -- A flea market will be the lone anchor store for the Chambersburg Mall by the end of January.
Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, will close its store on Jan. 18. That leaves Black Rose Antiques and Collectibles to anchor the 455,000-square-foot shopping mall located near Interstate 81 Exit 20 in Greene Township.
Mall manager Robert Woodring said he could not say anything about who may fill the Burlington vacancy.
"It may be the final nail in the coffin," said L. Michael Ross, president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp. "I'm not aware of what the plans are at the mall. I think it's just been very disconcerting what's happened out there in the past decade, in particular the last five years."
When Mason Asset Management, New York, bought the troubled mall in 2013, the anchors were JC Penney, Sears, Bon-Ton and Burlington. The financially troubled retailers closed their local stores -- Sears in January 2015, Penney’s in July 2015 and Bon-Ton in the summer of 2018. Black Rose Antiques moved into the Sears vacancy.
Rural King, a farm and home retailer, still has plans to move to the spot vacated by Penny’s, according to Woodring.
Illinois-based Rural King announced plans in July 2017 to open a store at the mall, and land was subdivided for the store.
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Burlington Stores’ officials did not respond to a reporter’s calls, but the Fortune 500 company appears to be doing well elsewhere. The corporation reported increasing sales overall. It operates 679 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. The company opened 48 stores during the past year.
Burlington came to the Chambersburg Mall in 2008, just months after Value City left.
Burlington's departure is "sad news" Ross said. "With them gone it may be the catalyst for change that is needed. I hope that is the case."
The Burlington store at the Uniontown Mall also is set to close Jan. 18. It is third anchor to close in a year at the mall in Fayette County.
Online shopping has hit the nation’s malls hard. Chambersburg Mall, 3055 Black Gap Road, appeared on the U.S. News & World Report's list of the 10 most endangered malls in 2009.
"I know malls have been going through major transitions," Ross said. "Some are not as in dire straits as this one."
He contrasted the holiday shopping crowds at nearby Valley Mall to the lack of activity at Chambersburg Mall.
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Another key to the future of the Chambersburg Mall will be the cinemas, arguably the mall's final anchor, according to Ross.
AMC Theatres acquired the local mall movie theaters as part of a deal for Carmike Cinemas in 2016.
Crown American Corp. opened the mall in 1982. Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust acquired the mall in 2003 when it merged with Crown American. PREIT sold the mall to Mason in 2013 for $8.8 million.
Jim Hook, 717-262-4759