Amherst’s Salzburg Square enjoying revitalization
Despite problems in the economy, business continues to thrive at Salzburg Square in Amherst. What was once considered a dying shopping center has added several new shops in the last 18 months.
But the Austrian-themed shopping center hasn’t always done so well. From the late 1990s until just two years ago, it was a ghost town. Shops were moving away and customers were scarce, said Michael Spyridakis, who purchased the nine-store complex in 2004.
At that time the complex had been in “disrepair” and the mix of tenants didn’t make for a cohesive shopping experience.
In the first two years of ownership, Spyridakis, of Portsmouth, didn’t even want to market the property to tenants because he was too busy trying to fix the plumbing, put new siding on businesses, replace what was rotten and deal with a litany of other maintenance projects.
Spyridakis said he had been working six days a week, up to 70 hours per week, to get all the work done.
“This place was glorious in the 1980s,” Spyridakis said. “It needed a lot of work, but it’s really come back.”
