Swampscott Borders to remain open at least until end of year

SWAMPSCOTT – A day after confirming the closure of their Swampscott location, a Borders bookstore spokesperson said that the company has reached a new agreement with the leaseholder to remain open.”We were able to negotiate better lease terms with the landlord which allows us to keep the store open for the foreseeable future,” Davis said in an e-mail.The bookstore chain initially filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy law on Feb. 16, 2011 and announced that it was closing 200 stores this July, Davis said. An additional 26 stores were added to the list in March and a press release on the company’s website identifies eight of those 226 stores as located in Massachusetts. The company filed a motion in court Thursday, regarding 51 stores that were seeking landlord approval for extensions on their lease, including the Borders Express at Vinnin Square in the Swampscott Mall, Davis said.On Monday, Davis said that the lease was not renegotiated and that the company planned to close the location by Sept. 14. However, Davis sent an e-mail Tuesday that the store would remain open as the lease has been renegotiated.”The current lease expires at the end of this year so the store will stay open at least that long,” Davis wrote, calling the news a “welcome surprise.” “We are extremely happy to keep the store operating, and in doing so, preserving jobs and serving customers.”The management company at the Swampscott Mall said that the person in charge of leases who could confirm the news was not available Tuesday.