A struggling Lower Saucon shopping center is now without an anchor tenant, following the abrupt closure of Regal Cinemas Saucon Valley Stadium 10 on Route 378 Sunday.

According to a report published in the Morning Call yesterday, the 39,000 square foot, 10-screen mutliplex that opened in the late 1990s was recently sold to Posh Properties of Bethlehem.

The report indicated that the movie theater industry has been hurt by the nationwide economic downturn and the popularity of movie rentals, but quoted an industry expert who called the closing of the theater "very unusual."

Douglas Gomery, a professor of cinema at the University of Maryland, told the Morning Call that the sudden closure was "probably tied to a real estate deal."

In the spring, the Saucon Valley Square shopping center in which Regal was located witnessed the closing of both a Blockbuster Video store and a Pathmark supermarket that was formerly a Superfresh.

A broker for the company that handles lease agreements for the shopping center later said another supermarket would most likely fill the space formerly occupied by Pathmark, and that the Blockbuster space could be divided.

Both storefronts currently remain empty.

The shopping center is owned by Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc.