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A sign appeared on the door of the Regal Cinemas in Lanesborough on Monday stating the 10-screen movie theater is closed permanently.

Regal Cinemas at Berkshire Mall Closes Permanently

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Regal Cinemas at the Berkshire Mall has permanently closed, according to a sign posted on its door.

It's not clear when the sign was posted but the phone no longer works as of Tuesday and residents were posting images of the sign on Monday. There are two Facebook pages for the 10-theater cinema, both of which state that it is open.

The sign on the door states:  "This location has been permanently closed. All ticket sales will be refunded.  If you have any questions please contact Regal through their Twitter or Facebook page, or Contact Us on regmovies.com. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Looking inside through the window, it is clear that the theater is shuttered. It had been using a door that goes directly into the Regal lobby rather than the mall food court entrance just feet away because the mall has been closed for more than two years. 

iBerkshires was not able to reach a representative from Regal but has left messages at the corporate office. An email connected to the Lanesborough cinema no longer works. The Regal website still lists one movie screening this weekend. 

Last year, mall owner Durga Property Holdings handed over property and management decisions to consultation agency Bedi & Associates. New and former tenants were expected to be in the mall by late 2021 along with needed repairs to the facility after sitting vacant since 2019.

Similar to Target, Regal owns its property within the mall located at Old State Road and Route 8.

Regal is part of the international Cineworld Group that operates nearly 800 theaters in 10 countries. The bulk of those theaters, 527, are located in the United States. Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the nation and has 10 locations in Massachusetts. Only two were in Western Mass, in Lanesborough and Springfield. 
 
The international group reported operating losses of $209 million at the end of last year's second quarter but indicated attendance and concession sales growth in the past two quarters. 
 
The mall location's closure doesn't seem indicative of a widespread reorganizing but there have been scattered instances of permanent closings over the past two years. The closest recent closing is a theater in Branford, Conn., at the beginning of the year. 
 
Theaters have had a rough time during the pandemic, opening and closing based public health regulations and film availability. Regal closed all of its theaters between October 2020 and April 2021. More recently, North Adams MoviePlex 8 shut down for the past week because of a "lack of new releases and staff levels," according to its Facebook page. It's expected to reopen this Friday with five movies, including new release "Moonfall."

Tags: closure,   movie theater,   

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Housing Secretary Applauds County's Collaborative Housing Efforts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass.—State leadership recognized the collaborative spirit that drives Berkshire County to address hard-hitting issues with a multi-faceted approach.
 
On Thursday, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus visited Pittsfield Housing Authority (PHA) and Berkshire Community Action Council's central office.  
 
His overarching observation? The collaborative spirit that surrounds nonprofit providers, state, federal, and local government.
 
"It's not about turf, it's not about fiefdom, it's about who you're trying to serve and the difference you're trying to make with your targeted population," he said, adding that there is still a lot of work to do and they will need that state's help with funding and technical assistance.
 
PHA owns and administers public housing for over 200 families and more than 400 individual tenants.  Augustus walked through Columbia Arms, which houses elders and disabled community members through income-based rental apartments.
 
Earlier this year, Tina Danzy was hired as the executive director.  During a private meeting, she and other PHA representatives discussed the city's aging housing stock, CARES Act funding increases, and community coordinators' positive impact.
 
Augustus explained that both the housing authority and state are enthused about community coordinators, which track issues and assist with developing programs and events.  
 
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