Big-box stores keep mall alfloat in rocky retail waters
In late October 1975, hundreds of people, including politicians, business leaders, and Miss Watertown Bicentennial herself, turned out for the grand opening of the long-awaited, state-of-the-art Watertown Mall.
The first business to open, a Bradlees department store, was packed that day. More stores -- dozens -- were opening soon, and people were thrilled. This wasn't just any mall. This was the first mall in town and, accordingly, it was front-page news.
"It was definitely a big deal," said David Scaltreto, a 53-year-old Watertown native. "I sure had big hopes for it."
Those hopes have faded since. Three decades after the mall opened, there are 20 stores, about half the mall's capacity. Storefronts sit vacant. Strawberries Records & Tapes shut its doors early this year, and the Gap Outlet closed last summer only to reopen at the Arsenal Mall just across the street.
Malls across Greater Boston have faced similar problems in recent years, some closing for good. But even with all its troubles, the Watertown Mall does not seem to be on its last legs. It has two popular big-box stores on either end -- Best Buy and Target. And according to Watertown zoning officer Nancy Scott, the mall is looking to retool in the months ahead, considering plans to build a new atrium entrance and expand Target's floor space into the mall itself.
Neither mall management nor Target returned phone calls seeking comment on their plans.
Even without details on any changes, it seems clear that the Watertown Mall -- like many enclosed retail behemoths dating from the 1970s -- is struggling to remake itself in a new retail era.
"They have this new place where you can shop all in one place and not go outside. It's called the Internet," said Ronald C. Curhan, professor emeritus of marketing at Boston University. "It's the new mall."
The Watertown Mall sits on land once used by the B.F. Goodrich Co., and the Hood Rubber Co. before that. It was industrial, not retail, and longtime residents recall shopping on Main Street in downtown Watertown.
But by the late 1970s and early '80s, this 18-acre site had become the local hang out.
Kids went to the Watertown Mall after school and on weekends. Town Councilor John Donohue, 36, recalls taking the bus to the mall to play video games at the Dream Machine arcade. And it wasn't popular only with the younger set. Dawn Scaltreto, 44, also recalls spending hours at the arcade, the book store, and other shops inside the mall.
"It was a place where you didn't mind hanging around for an afternoon," she said. "But that's not the case for most residents anymore. Now the Dream Machine's not there. There's no book store. And the DMV -- who wants to go there? You have to from time to time. But it's like walking the plank."
By DMV, Scaltreto means the state Registry of Motor Vehicles office. It may be the busiest storefront inside the mall these days, since there's always a healthy market for driver's permits and registration plates. And though it's not exactly retail -- and not exactly exciting -- the Registry may not be such a bad thing for the mall, Roberta Miller said.
It brings in foot traffic, said Miller, a Town Council member from 1980 to 1985 and now a public policy consultant. Any mall needs foot traffic to succeed. And with the mall landing Best Buy and Target as major tenants in the last several years, Miller said she believes it may be as well-positioned as any of its retail peers.
"I don't think Target is going anywhere," she said. "And I don't think Best Buy is going anywhere. Both of them are strong retail stores. People are just going to have to be creative about finding more uses for the space in between."
If local history is any guide, that won't be easy. Malls in Framingham, Somerville, Weymouth, and Worcester have all shut down in recent years. And in Billerica, where the mall is strikingly similar to the Watertown Mall, tenants are also scarce.
The retail industry has changed. What people used to buy at the mall, they are now buying not only on the Internet but at new outdoor complexes known as "lifestyle centers." The enclosed malls of the 1970s and '80s, consequently, are being torn down. Or they're being gutted and rebuilt as outdoor plazas, accompanied by big-box stores. The industry has even coined a term -- de-malled -- to describe the process.
"Consumers are looking for change," said Robert Sheehan, vice president of research for KeyPoint Partners, a Burlington-based real estate management company that oversees the leasing of retail outlets in Massachusetts, including Wayside Commons, a lifestyle center that opened last year in Burlington. "They're looking for more entertainment, more of a lifestyle feel. There's kind of a sense of place with these lifestyle centers. And it has caught on."
It's a troubling trend for people who once loved and still cherish the Watertown Mall. For all its empty storefronts, it's still part of the community.
On a recent morning, workers erected walls to display the art of local school children. Signs advertised upcoming visits from the Easter Bunny. Senior citizens swapped gossip in the Dunkin' Donuts and mall walkers made swift laps around the concourse.
Ton Chin, 73, of Allston said he prefers to walk outside. But, in the winter, he has nowhere else to go. So, every morning, he and his wife, Kum, lace up their white sneakers, drive to Watertown, and walk the mall for an hour. Chin said he doesn't know what he'd do without it.
"I come here every morning," he said. "Every morning."
