Clarence, N.Y. (WBEN) - Uniland Development has given six months notice to Eastern Hills Mall tenants who don't have exterior entrances to vacate. This, as Uniland moves forward in redeveloping the mall into a town center.
Uniland says vacating the interior of the mall will allow for demolition of the interior and redevelopment to begin in January 2024. That timeframe will allow merchants to operate through the holiday season.
“Over time, you’re going to see the Mall begin its metamorphosis into a new Town Center,” highlighted Carl J. Montante, Jr., vice president of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives for Uniland. “When the Town Center Concept Plan was initially submitted, we described the process as turning the mall inside out. Most of the interior corridors that exist today will be transformed into exterior storefronts, broad sidewalks, parks, and heavily landscaped streets.”
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Greg Duell of Duff's in Eastern Hills Mall will not be affected. "It's exciting from a Duff's standpoint to see that something finally is going to happen," says Duell. "The plans that they unveiled most recently, leave us largely in place, and we're excited to see this. This might take one step back during construction season, but I think two steps forward in the future, and we're excited for that." During the redevelopment, Duell says the exterior entrances will be available and the patio will be open.
Duell feels for those who received the notice to vacate. "A lot of these tenants in this mall became friends of mine over the last 11 years, and they're all wonderful people and wonderful business people as well. So my thought is that this is probably pretty shocking, and I feel really bad for that. But I also think that they're they're great business people and will figure out how to land on their feet somewhere," says Duell.
The move also does not affect Sports Performance Park, as it too has an exterior entrance. Stephen Lynch says he's been working with Uniland as a new roof goes up on his facility. "We see it as a growth opportunity in the years to come," says Lynch.
Lynch says it's an unfortunate situation when anyone has to make a decision whether they move within a facility. As for his business, it's an anchor tenant at Eastern Hills and will be business as usual.
Uniland says it will help affected tenants find a new place to do business.