Skies were blue this week in Edgartown, where, despite an unusually high number of vacant storefronts, empty sidewalks and available parking places on every block, two of the Island’s major commercial landlords were among those forecasting a bright summer season for business.

Between 15 and 25 businesses in Edgartown closed this winter, most of which will not reopen. In November, the Golden Door on North Summer street closed its doors after more than 40 years, while on the other side of town Hollywood Video also closed in November. The English Butler on Winter street closed for good this winter, as did the Golden Basket, Lola Tortola’s, Island Pursuit, Atlantic Traders T-shirts and Dream Weaver, just to name a few.

Meanwhile, in Vineyard Haven, which has long held the title of the Vineyard’s year-round town, Bowl and Board homewares closed its doors last month after 37 years in business, leaving a hole in the center of the business community that is still recovering from the devastating Fourth of July fire two summers ago that destroyed Cafe Moxie and forced an extended closure of the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore.

At the end of Main street, the MV Bagel Authority also sat vacant this week, after the owners declared bankruptcy last month and left the space unexpectedly. There are other vacancies in town, such as the space on the left side of Murray’s clothing shop, and it is unclear when the new Cafe Moxie will be open.

But there was unabashed optimism this week, even from Moody’s Economy.com, which said Massachusetts began emerging from the recession and moved into recovery in January. Seasoned Island business owners were in agreement.

Geno Courtney, who owns 17 retail spaces in Edgartown, confirmed this week that a large number of businesses left their spaces this winter, more than in previous years. But Mr. Courtney did not view this as a negative — he described the changes as an opportunity to bring in new stores and breathe new life into the business community.

“It was time to sort of get rid of some of the more tired business concepts,” he said, standing in front of the vacant space on Water street that formerly housed Atlantic Trader’s T-shirts. “If you ask me, Edgartown is getting a needed facelift. We have new people coming in, fresh energy and new ideas. It’s what this town needed.”

Mr. Courtney, who was joined by his sons, Patrick and Ted, said every retail space he owns will be leased and open for business by the time summer starts. He said the vacancies have allowed many spaces to be renovated and improved, including the space on Water street, where workers were hard at work this week making improvements.

“Look at this space right here; it used to be a three-for-ten-dollar T-shirt shop, and now it’s going to be a fantastic retail space — it’s a big upgrade,” said Patrick Courtney. “Some of these spaces should have been remodeled five years ago, and are finally getting cleaned up,”

The spaces formerly occupied by Chappy and Island Pursuit on lower Main street were under substantial renovation this week, and the Courtneys said the space would be reopened with new tenants in time for summer.

The retail space that houses Saffron, next to Alchemy, also is being renovated. Improvements to the Wharf Restaurant on Lower Main street have been completed and the business is open again already.

The space that formerly housed Dream Weaver at the corner of Main and Water streets, owned by the Hall family, is being renovated, and will have a new tenant in the coming months: Jack Wills, a British clothing line and chain of retail stores targeted at university students.

“Between Island Pursuit, Chappy, the Wharf, Dream Weaver, that’s a whole block of stores getting an overhaul. That’s definitely a positive for the town,” said Ted Courtney.

As to rumors that high rents forced many businesses to leave their spaces, Mr. Courtney said this was a simple take on a complicated issue. “It’s kind of a Catch-22; the people who purchased the properties have to pay the mortgages and other expenses, they have to pass that along to the tenants,” he said.

“And if people don’t want to pay the rent, there are people waiting to take their place. We have a list right now,” he added.

Ben Hall Jr., whose family owns a number of properties in Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, said property owners are often unfairly accused of driving off tenants by boosting rents. In the case of Bowl and Board, Mr. Hall said his family tried to work with the former owners and actually lowered the rent to try and keep them in the space.

Mr. Hall said many businesses in Tisbury are struggling not because of higher rents but because of a split tax rate, which essentially amounts to a 35 per cent surcharge on all commercial properties. “The tax rate in Vineyard Haven is outrageous, I think the town is going to lose businesses, and see many of them coming in and asking for tax abatements because they can’t afford it.

“Tisbury has become a very tax-unfriendly place,” he said.

But overall Mr. Hall, too, said he was optimistic about this summer season.

“We had the double whammy last year, the bad national economy and bad weather to start the summer. I am cautiously optimistic about this season — the economy seems to be improving; it’s one year after [President] Obama vacationed here; and with a little luck, we will have some great weather in April and May to get us off to a strong start,” he said.

Pat Gregory, owner of EduComp and president of the Tisbury Business Association, said he already has seen signs the Island economy is on the mend. More people are ordering computer hardware, he said, and sales at his store are up overall. Mr. Gregory also keeps careful records of foot traffic in town, and he said the volume of people over the past six months is way up.

“You keep hearing people ask, when are we going to hit rock bottom? And if you ask me, I feel like the worst is over. Before last summer, it just felt like we were heading into a bad time. But this year it feels different, people seem more positive and upbeat. I think we could see a real bounce back [summer],” he said.

Mr. Gregory said if there was a silver lining from the economic downturn, it is that many Island businesses have started to cater more toward year-rounders. “More businesses have made it more economical to stay local and shop locally. I just ran some figures this morning, and we sold just under $100,000 worth of items to people who used their Island Club card, which is a huge increase.”

Maggie White, owner of Hob Knob Inn in Edgartown and a member of the town board of trade, also was upbeat about this summer.

“All those empty stores [in Edgartown] are going to be filled; we have people waiting to take the spaces. On the national front, there are signs the economy is improving . . . we already have seen a healthy number of advanced bookings [at our inn]. You can never be sure when you make predictions, but I think we have a strong season ahead of us,” she said.