Washington Mall occupancy is now better than it was before the pandemic began five years ago.

The mall in Hamilton is at 96 per cent capacity, 10 per cent higher than it was before the health crisis began in 2020, according to Washington Properties general manager Paul Slaughter.

“We have just two vacant spaces,” he said. “This compares to five vacant spaces in February last year. Two other spaces are currently being renovated for new tenants that will open soon.”

Their office space is also doing well.

“The offices in our new building, Washington House, are now fully occupied which brings more foot traffic into the mall,” Mr Slaughter said.

In 2022 their office space was 66 per cent filled.

Mr Slaughter attributed the improvement to more people coming back to work in Hamilton, as many businesses move away from remote work.

He said the mall was an attractive option for small businesses due to its central location.

“The building is well maintained with onsite management, maintenance and cleaning teams,” Mr Slaughter said. “The owners are continually investing in improvements to the infrastructure of the building.”

Pop-up shops, such as Exclusive Flowers, have also helped to fill vacant spaces with some store owners converting to full leases.

“The small kiosks have also proved very popular,” Mr Slaughter said.

Last week Shannon Philpott, the owner of apparel store Holidae in the Washington Mall, said he would benefit from the mall being open on Sundays.

“When I come in on a Sunday, there is no parking available along Reid Street, so people are definitely in town,” Mr Philpott said.

In response, Mr Slaughter said the mall was open to considering Sunday and late-night shopping, if the majority of tenants supported it.

“The mall opens from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, but the individual retailers set their own hours,” he said. “We do need a majority of businesses to participate in extended hours to make it worthwhile for the mall and the shopping public.”

He said some tenants in the newer section of the mall, such as Gibbons Home Store and the English Market, were open on Sundays.

“We have been in touch with Mr Philpott at Holidae to see how we can help,” Mr Slaughter said.