After eight and a half years of working with the borough, retail coordinator Lisa Hurd had just one regret from her time in Haddonfield.
“We never did get to 100 percent occupancy rate,” Hurd said with a laugh.
The longtime coordinator will step down from her duties on Friday, Feb. 3, and will leave for a full-time retail-leasing manager position at Peddlers Village in Lahaska, Pa. While she says she’s sad to leave Haddonfield, Hurd said it was a great step for her career and a full-time position.
“I became aware of this opportunity and decided to pursue it. It’s a full-time job and it looks like a great opportunity to take what I’ve learned in this role for the last eight and a half years and apply it in an expanded role,” she said. “When the offer came through, it was something I couldn’t refuse — it’s an exciting opportunity career wise. I’m sad to leave Haddonfield. I’m thrilled with what has been accomplished.”
Hurd boasts an average 95 percent occupancy rate in downtown Haddonfield throughout her eight years, impressive numbers considering the recession that has affected the nation in the past few years.
Mayor Tish Colombi said she was saddened to learn that Hurd would be leaving the borough for another opportunity.
“She had done a phenomenal job as retail coordinator in the borough in my opinion,” Colombi said.
Haddonfield will continue to be a retail destination for both eager new tenants and shoppers throughout South Jersey, Hurd said. It competes well with other towns and malls in the area.
During her tenure, Hurd said she was involved in almost 50 leasing transactions, the most satisfying of which were the transactions where she helped tenants move from smaller locations to stores on Kings Highway.
She pointed to the English Gardener moving from Mechanic Street to Kings Highway where it has since become one of the most popular stores in Haddonfield.
“There’s so much to this job as it evolves. It’s part sales, part urban planning, and it’s interesting to get involved in borough governmental issues. You have to deal with planning and zoning issues, all kind of things. I really learned a lot here,” she said.
“I think Haddonfield has nowhere to go but up. This past holiday season was very strong. The retailers had great results, and one of the most exiting things is they are welcoming a lot of customers from outside of town. People are discovering Haddonfield for the first time and falling in love with it.”
During her tenure, though, Hurd did receive several criticisms from storeowners on side streets who claimed that they were overlooked by Hurd and the Partnership for Haddonfield. Wendy Kates, owner of Stardust Memories, often said that Hurd visited her store once for five minutes and then was never heard from again.
Steve Duross, owner of the now closed Duross and Langel soap store, said this past August that he believed Hurd gave him incorrect information about the town when he was considering opening up a new store along Kings Highway.
“We were led to believe something that was certainly not reality,” he said in August.
However, he didn’t blame Hurd for his store going out of business. Duross said it was simply the economics of Haddonfield not working well with his type of store.
But while there were criticisms, Hurd’s work was appreciated by borough representatives and residents in town. At last week’s borough commissioner meeting, resident Joe Haro spoke up in the public comment section and praised Hurd’s work over the past eight years.
“This is a big loss to the town. Lisa Hurd was great for Haddonfield,” he said.
