Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - On Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst rests the Boulevard Mall. One of several Western New York malls once filled with life, people and plenty of local businesses, now on the verge of ceasing to exist.
It currently sits idly by with scattered few mall walkers and patrons coming back to gaze at the miniscule amount of businesses still left inside and the few department stores that will remain until the property is expected to turn into a "new walkable, mixed-Use, transit-oriented Town Center with residential, retail, and public gathering space" by developers and the town with funding from the state.
The Boulevard Mall management in the beginning of month issued notice to nearly all of the local businesses inside the mall to vacate by the end of the month. Those walking around the mall were reportedly told the indoor concourse section of the mall will be closed of to the public, except for the area that connects J.C. Penney to the Macy's.
"We were led to believe that we will be able to stay here until the end of November, December. And then all of a sudden, April 1, we got a letter stating we had to be out by the 30th," said Larry Silver, owner of Outlet Books and More, who has operated the book business inside the mall for 8 years.
The shop is doing a $10 fill-up-a-bag book sale and inventory is going quick.
Prior to the bookstore, Silver worked with his family operating Record Theatre - a group of records stores in the Buffalo and Rochester area.
Silver has very fond memories of the mall, even recalling when it was built in 1962.
"I'm 73 now, when I was a child, 10 years old, I used to play in the dirt mounds here when they were digging it up. I used to live out in Tonawanda, right off of Glenaby. Me and my friends would come here and just play in all the dirt mounds."
Terry Martin of Buffalo is disappointed that his mall will be shutting down.
"It was a great time while it lasted" he said. "And this this mall used to be the mall to go to when I was a teenager. I'd come here and hang out at the arcade and the food court and run around the mall and cause trouble like a teenager would - they're closing down a piece of history."
Silver notes that it's time to move on to the next venture, the mall has aged rather poorly.
"The mall is old. Ceilings leak all over the place. Air conditioning is broken down. It's time. They're gonna knock this down and put something else new here."
Silver thinks the ideas for new development are probably the best move for the town.
"It seems like there is a shortage of affordable housing all over the country. So if they can make affordable housing here for seniors or young families getting started, I think it's a wonderful thing."
The next venture for Silver?
He's going to be opening up his warehouse on Main Street in Buffalo to open Go Pop Culture - which will sell a lot of cool Buffalo and music-related collectables and other memorabilia available for purchase. Silver hopes to open within a year.