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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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Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 
 
The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.
 
"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.
 
"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 
 
Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 
 
Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 
 
Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.
 
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