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Shuttered Berkshire Mall Sold For $1M

New England Public Media | By Nancy Eve Cohen
Published July 12, 2019 at 3:37 PM EDT
The Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough, Massachusetts.
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A company from Ohio has purchased the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough, Massachusetts.
MassLive / masslive.com/photos
Inside the Berkshire Mall in January 2019.
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Inside the Berkshire Mall in January 2019.
JJBers / Creative Commons / flickr.com/photos/jjbers
Inside the Berkshire Mall in January 2019.
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Inside the Berkshire Mall in January 2019.
JJBers / Creative Commons / flickr.com/photos/jjbers

A company from Ohio purchased the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough, Massachusetts, this week. The mall has been closed for the last three months and stores there have struggled to stay open for years.

Durga Property Holdings Inc. in Cincinnati purchased the mall for $1 million.

According to The Berkshire Eagle, the buyer also paid $900,500 in back taxes owed by the former owner. 

Williams College economics professor Stephen Sheppard said if the property remains a mall, he is skeptical the new owner would be successful filling it with retailers.

At the same time, he said the purchase is a positive sign.

"It shows some faith in the local economy and a certain amount of optimism, but it is a really tough retail environment," said Sheppard. "Malls are struggling around the country. This one is is going to have to work hard and be lucky to succeed."

Sheppard said tearing down part of the mall or turning it into a mix of affordable and senior housing might be the way to go. 
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Regional News BUSINESS & ECONOMYINFRASTRUCTUREWESTERN MASSACHUSETTSRETAILFINANCE
Nancy Eve Cohen
Nancy Eve Cohen is a former NEPM senior reporter whose investigative reporting has been recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Regional Award for Hard News, along with awards for features and spot news from the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA), American Women in Radio & Television and the Society of Professional Journalists.

She has reported on repatriation to Native nations, criminal justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, linguistic and digital barriers to employment, fatal police shootings and efforts to address climate change and protect the environment. She has done extensive reporting on the EPA's Superfund cleanup of the Housatonic River.

Previously, she served as an editor at NPR in Washington D.C., as well as the managing editor of the Northeast Environmental Hub, a collaboration of public radio stations in New York and New England.

Before working in radio, she produced environmental public television documentaries. As part of a camera crew, she also recorded sound for network television news with assignments in Russia, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and in Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia.
See stories by Nancy Eve Cohen
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