Imaginative uses keep former anchor stores vibrant

At Eastfield Mall, in Springfield, Mass., owner Mountain Development has leased the bottom floor of its shuttered Macy’s store to an upscale, multivendor “weekend market.”

Bill Bullock, owner of Bulldog Enterprises, which regularly holds sports memorabilia events at the mall, is leasing 45,000 square feet of the 65,000-square-foot Macy's building and subleasing the space to vendors selling furniture, small appliances, memorabilia and other goods. "I really don't want to call it a flea market. It's an open market with antiques, vintage and some new products," he told MassLive.com. “We are looking for something that is going to be a little more upscale."

Bullock says he wants to keep rents affordable; the minimum 12-foot-by-12-foot working space will rent for $200 a month.

Mountain Development bought the Macy's building, originally a Steiger's department store, from Macy's last year for $1 million. The company also acquired the mall’s former JCPenney anchor (originally the Forbes & Wallace space) in 2011, after JCPenney closed. Apart from the empty Penney and Macy’s anchor stores, the mall is 90 percent occupied. Mountain Development says it expects to redevelop those anchor stores.

The Markets at Eastfield, as the venture will be called, opens April 7 and will operate on Saturdays and Sundays.