HADLEY — The JCPenney store at Hampshire Mall, an original tenant and anchor for the shopping center, will remain open as other stores close nationwide.
Despite the company announcing in January that it would be closing 138 of its 1,000 stores, neither the Hadley store nor the one at Holyoke Mall at Ingleside will be shuttered, according to information released by JCPenney Friday.
The lone JCPenney store in Massachusetts that is on a list of stores to close is at the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough.
Hampshire Mall General Manager Lynn Gray said in an email that keeping JCPenney open in Hadlley is welcome news.
“We are thrilled to know JCPenney will continue to remain a fixture here at Hampshire Mall,” Gray said.
The uncertainty that had been surrounding the store’s future comes at a time when the mall, which originally opened in 1978, is undergoing changes emphasizing that it is more than a retail destination. During the past year, the mall unveiled a slogan that it is a place to “eat, shop and play.”
Entertainment options are increasing at the mall. A 19,000-square-foot build out is slated for Planet Fitness so its studio can relocate from the neighboring Mountain Farms Mall, joining other destinations such as the Autobahn Indoor Speedway, Interskate 91 and Cinemark theaters.
On the retail side, the mall is adding a 17,000-square-foot PetSmart where a Best Buy was previously located, with an opening scheduled for late April, Hannoush Jewelers is expanding, and T-Mobile is expected to open a store in July.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
