WEST SENECA, N.Y. — It's a challenging time for many retailers, but one longtime local plaza is reporting its lowest vacancy rate in years.
Southgate Plaza in West Seneca has a vacancy rate of about 8% – the lowest the plaza has seen since retail giant Bon-Ton closed its location there in 2018, according to Andy DeVincentis, Walden Development Group’s leasing director. The shuttering was part of the retailer’s move to close all its stores, including several others in Western New York in such spots as the Eastern Hills Mall and McKinley Mall.
Why it matters: Southgate Plaza is a local example of a national trend, as some open-air shopping centers have pivoted and drawn in visitors as closed shopping malls struggle. Locally, traditional malls are 67% occupied on average and many are in different stages of the redevelopment process.
Read more from our partners Buffalo Business First.
