The Bon-Ton

[esw01407]

That reprieve could be temporary, though
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2018/02/07/debt-holders-want-bon-ton-stores-liquidate-court-approves-retailers-plan-keep-operating/317147002/

This would be a pretty big nightmare for eastern/central PA, tons of buildings hitting a market that doesn't need them.

[retailisking]

This would be a pretty big nightmare for eastern/central PA, tons of buildings hitting a market that doesn't need them.

There's Boscov's, of course, but only a handful would even make sense if that many.

[mixedday]

One of the strongest malls that had a Bon Ton was Park City Center in Lancaster, PA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_City_Center

This mall is also the premier mall of the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Lancaster-York market, nielsen DMA #43, and the only mall in Central PA with an Apple Store.

The Bon Ton is in a pretty decent highway facing position. The replacement tenant should really be macy's, but I wonder if macy's will be too slow to react to pick up this site.
Other wild card tenants:
a. Belk. Belk is expanding and adding a site in Hagerstown MD. It could creep up into Central PA.
b. Kohl's relocation. The Kohl's is in a peculiar position in the mall, and it could upgrade to the Bon Ton's site.
c. Dillards? While I doubt Dillards would exclusively go into this mall, maybe it could pick up a few divested Lord & Taylor stores or the L&T chain out right, and then it has northeast coverage. It services Ohio and Virginia up to Richmond. It would skip over the Pittsburgh market.

Are there any other Bon Ton locations that will are class A sites?

[esw01407]

One of the strongest malls that had a Bon Ton was Park City Center in Lancaster, PA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_City_Center

This mall is also the premier mall of the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Lancaster-York market, nielsen DMA #43, and the only mall in Central PA with an Apple Store.

The Bon Ton is in a pretty decent highway facing position. The replacement tenant should really be macy's, but I wonder if macy's will be too slow to react to pick up this site.
Other wild card tenants:
a. Belk. Belk is expanding and adding a site in Hagerstown MD. It could creep up into Central PA.
b. Kohl's relocation. The Kohl's is in a peculiar position in the mall, and it could upgrade to the Bon Ton's site.
c. Dillards? While I doubt Dillards would exclusively go into this mall, maybe it could pick up a few divested Lord & Taylor stores or the L&T chain out right, and then it has northeast coverage. It services Ohio and Virginia up to Richmond. It would skip over the Pittsburgh market.

Are there any other Bon Ton locations that will are class A sites?

I wouldn't be shocked if Belk would make the move. Only other Bon-Ton I knew that was even close to A in PA is Wyoming Valley Mall, that's a B++/B+, but they are also losing Sears, and the Bon-Ton store frankly isn't well setup for modern retail. 1st Floor ceilings are too high, and the second floor has visible ceiling damage in several areas.

Berkshire Mall might be a possibility in Reading PA, but I couldn't find recent sales numbers. Last number was 20013 at $387 per sq ft.

[mixedday]

One of the strongest malls that had a Bon Ton was Park City Center in Lancaster, PA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_City_Center

This mall is also the premier mall of the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Lancaster-York market, nielsen DMA #43, and the only mall in Central PA with an Apple Store.

The Bon Ton is in a pretty decent highway facing position. The replacement tenant should really be macy's, but I wonder if macy's will be too slow to react to pick up this site.
Other wild card tenants:
a. Belk. Belk is expanding and adding a site in Hagerstown MD. It could creep up into Central PA.
b. Kohl's relocation. The Kohl's is in a peculiar position in the mall, and it could upgrade to the Bon Ton's site.
c. Dillards? While I doubt Dillards would exclusively go into this mall, maybe it could pick up a few divested Lord & Taylor stores or the L&T chain out right, and then it has northeast coverage. It services Ohio and Virginia up to Richmond. It would skip over the Pittsburgh market.

Are there any other Bon Ton locations that will are class A sites?

I wouldn't be shocked if Belk would make the move. Only other Bon-Ton I knew that was even close to A in PA is Wyoming Valley Mall, that's a B++/B+, but they are also losing Sears, and the Bon-Ton store frankly isn't well setup for modern retail. 1st Floor ceilings are too high, and the second floor has visible ceiling damage in several areas.

Berkshire Mall might be a possibility in Reading PA, but I couldn't find recent sales numbers. Last number was 20013 at $387 per sq ft.

I will have to check out Wyoming Valley and Berkshire Mall, but I noticed from Wyoming Valley's website, that PREIT owns Wyoming Valley Mall. PREIT is pretty active in maintaining it's mall properties or divesting them. Considering the mall already has macy's, and Jcpenney, I'd guess PREIT would try not to assume any more department stores there - especially given JCPenney's instability. It might just re-configure the space for entertainment or dining.

I'll likely one day soon visit the Berkshire Mall.

I visited the York Galleria, and I don't think either the Sears or Bon Ton stores are that appealing for another department store replacement. The second level of Sears is somewhat decent, and it's exit is close to the Marshall's exit. I think that anchor could be split into two. The Bon Ton store just doesn't have good placement, and the mall itself isn't that strong.

[retailisking]

The former Bon-Ton Men's Shop at the dying Steeplegate Mall in Concord, New Hampshire will become a charter school

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Capital-City-Charter-School-located-in-old-Bon-Ton-store-to-open-for-students-this-fall-19054938

[MikeinBuffalo]

The former Bon-Ton Men's Shop at the dying Steeplegate Mall in Concord, New Hampshire will become a charter school

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Capital-City-Charter-School-located-in-old-Bon-Ton-store-to-open-for-students-this-fall-19054938

There is a charter school here in WNY that did the same thing with an old Kmart. Seriously, look at it. I almost caused a car accident the first time I saw it.

http://www.globalccs.org/

[giantsfan2016]

There is a charter school here in WNY that did the same thing with an old Kmart. Seriously, look at it. I almost caused a car accident the first time I saw it.

http://www.globalccs.org/

It's been mentioned that a school - a career institute for adults took over part of the former KMART in Waterbury, CT. Porter and Chester it's called. The other part of the store is Ollie's Bargain Basement (or whatever you call it). Ollie's opened first. P&C relocated their campus from Watertown. There are no pictures however. https://www.porterchester.com/campus-locations/waterbury-ct/

[MikeinBuffalo]

I was poking around the second floor of the Bon Ton at Eastern Hills Mall when I noticed an "Associates Only" door that was open. I figured it was some sort of stockroom, but upon investigation, I discovered that it was an old, unused fitting room from the days when the store was AM&A's. You can tell by the old teal door with gold hardware.



To the right of this was another door, which was likely added after Bon Ton moved in, which led to a space behind the wall, where I found this neat old rebate label for Craig electronics that expired more than 20 years ago.






Pics can also be seen on my Flickr.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/141912098@N03/28892941567/in/album-72157670476017058/

[TheFugitive]

My daughter taught at a charter school that had previously been a Cub Foods location
in Toledo, Ohio.  It was in a shopping plaza.  The school's neighbors were a Mexican
restaurant, a Polish deli and a Goodwill store.  She was able to find an apartment nearby
and walked to work every day.

[MikeinBuffalo]

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/nation-now/bon-ton-may-be-on-the-verge-of-a-comeback-after-bankrupcty/465-42fda4fb-12b3-4e7c-83b9-faf7f03e6eb3


Bon Ton might be back as a more e-commerce focused retailer with a few brick and mortar stores in a few states. I imagine this will be like Montgomery Ward, only with physical retail.

[esw01407]

So, wondering, how many Bon-Ton's have been successfully reused so far and/or demolished?

Reconstructed/Reused:
Stroud Mall has been converted into a ShopRite.
Westgate Mall is tentatively scheduled to become Weis Markets, with Weis moving from another location in the Mall.
York Galleria is tentatively scheduled to become storage units.
Lewistown has been converted to "The Bonton Marketplace", a booth style antiques store.

Demolished/Scheduled to be:
Bon-Ton Camp Hill (Harrisburg Metro), along with the attached ex-Borders.
Phillipsburg Mall
Park City Center in Lancaster is tentatively scheduled to be demolished.

Abandoned Projects:
Nittany Mall was to be a potential mini-casino, but the project has been cancelled.

Pre-Bankruptcy
Schuylkill Mall closed, building sold, and demolished with rest of mall.
The Marketplace at Steamtown subdivided by several businesses, will be full in 2020.

[patk]

i feel for all the stores they just fixed them up not long ago

[Retail Regents]

So, wondering, how many Bon-Ton's have been successfully reused so far and/or demolished?

Right now in Northeast PA, only one I know of is Stroud Mall. It's being converted to ShopRite.

Bon-Ton Camp Hill (Harrisburg Metro) is scheduled to be demolished, along with the ex-Borders.
Park City Center in Lancaster is tentatively scheduled to be demolished.
Nittany Mall has a lease signed for a potential mini-casino, but no further action has occurred.

Part of the Aviation Mall location in Queensbury has been taken up by Ollie's Bargain Outlet.

[esw01407]

Two updates:
Nittany Mall mini-casino project is scrapped.
Phillipsburg Mall is tentatively scheduled to be demolished.

[esw01407]

Updated: Westgate Mall in Bethlehem PA will tentatively become a Weis Markets.

[esw01407]

A few updates:
Westgate Mall locations interior is fully stripped awaiting renovations to Weis.
York Galleria is tentatively scheduled to become storage units.
Lewistown has been converted to "The Bonton Marketplace", a booth style antiques store.

[JimSawhill]

A few updates:
Westgate Mall locations interior is fully stripped awaiting renovations to Weis.
York Galleria is tentatively scheduled to become storage units.
Lewistown has been converted to "The Bonton Marketplace", a booth style antiques store.

A mall with storage units? Interesting in how that will work out. Of course, here in a semi-dead mall, there's a charter school, a dance academy, a community tv studio and a automotive training school (in the old Montgomery-Wards auto garage).

[esw01407]

A few updates:
Westgate Mall locations interior is fully stripped awaiting renovations to Weis.
York Galleria is tentatively scheduled to become storage units.
Lewistown has been converted to "The Bonton Marketplace", a booth style antiques store.

A mall with storage units? Interesting in how that will work out. Of course, here in a semi-dead mall, there's a charter school, a dance academy, a community tv studio and a automotive training school (in the old Montgomery-Wards auto garage).

Several ex-Macy's have been changed to storage so far including Lycoming Malls. Common use for old Kmarts have also been converting them to storage.