Officials Expect Sears Closures To Have Big Impact On Local Economy
By Molly Daly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - This week, word came that Sears will be closing two stores in the Delaware Valley: on 69th Street in Upper Darby, and at the Coventry Mall in Chester County.
"It's a sad day, to hear that one of our stores in our premier shopping center on 69th street is going to be closing," says Upper Darby Township chief administrative officer Tom Judge says he expects the store to close for good in the spring.
"What it means specifically to us in the way of revenue loss or jobs loss, we're probably going to see the loss of 30 to 40 some full time and part time jobs."
Judge says the closing of Sears will leave a void in the shopping district, but he's hoping the landlord will be able to find a new tenant to take its place.
"Certainly we will be affected in the sense that we have residents who are employees of the store -- that will have a major impact on it, and there are a lot of folks in our community that do their shopping at Sears."
Although Judge says the loss of Sears is sobering, it's by no means a fatal blow to the popular shopping area.
"While this is a horrible impact on the 69th Street market, it's not a devastating impact to 69th Street. We still have some thriving stores, and there is a lot of activity on 69th Street."
That includes the planned opening of a Ross department store.
