PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

IN BRIEF

B.C. mall to open on tribal land

A land squeeze in British Columbia is encouraging developers to forge joint ventures with American Indian groups. The latest project is Seymour Creek Village, a 430,000-square-foot, mixed-format center going up on 30 acres of tribal land in North Vancouver. The partnership between the Squamish tribe; Richmond, British Columbia-based Progressive Properties; and Vancouver, British Columbia-based Kingswood Capital Corp. plans to break ground next year, executives said. “Today in B.C., if you’re developing in a city that’s growing or that has a restricted land base, there’s a big chance that you’re going to be looking at First Nations reserve land as a possible site,” said Bob Mason, president of Vancouver-based Longbow Properties.

Theater joins San Antonio mall

AMC Entertainment will open a 12-screen movie theater at the September debut of The Shops at La Cantera, in San Antonio. General Growth Properties and a partner are developing the 1.3 million-square-foot mall, which is already 90 percent leased. Dillard’s, Foley’s, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom have signed on as anchors.

Mall of America considers casino

Mall of America representatives and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty met separately with local officials about adding a casino to the 4.2 million-square-foot center, which is located in Bloomington, Minn. “Who knows when the expansion can begin?” said mall spokeswoman Julie Hansen. “It’s not in our hands.”

Miami center to stack big boxes

Talisman Co. will turn Miami’s Miracle Center on Coral Way, a 250,000-square-foot, mixed-use building, into Coral Plaza, a multistory retail center with big-box retailers, boutiques and restaurants. Talisman bought the property from developer Michael Swerdlow for $15 million last year. Bed Bath & Beyond, Designer Shoe Warehouse and PetsMart are among those that have signed on. Construction will begin in May for a grand opening in the fall of 2006.

GGP to build Charlotte center

General Growth Properties and Atlanta-based Childress Klein Properties are developing The Bridges at Mint Hill (N.C.), a 1.3 million-square-foot retail-entertainment center 13 miles east of Charlotte, N.C. Belk and two as-yet-unnamed retailers will anchor the project, which is slated for a spring 2007 opening. The Bridges at Mint Hill is designed to be an extension of the town’s central business district. The open-air center’s freestanding department store anchors and specialty shops will feature varying facades and footprints. The developers also plan to include upscale restaurants, a bookstore and a movie theater.

Cinema joins Arkansas center

Malco Theatres will build a 50,000-square-foot cinema complex at Pleasant Crossing, a 1 million-square-foot retail complex in Rogers, Ark. The complex will be built in two phases and anchor the development’s 500,000-square-foot lifestyle center. Pleasant Crossing will also include a 350,000-square-foot power center. When the project opens in 2006, it will include a full-line department store, a bookstore, and some specialty shops and sit-down restaurants around a man-made lake. Maryland-based BOS Group and Little Rock, Ark.-based First Security Vanadis are the developers.

Partners target casino retail

Gordon Group Holdings plans to build one new project per year under its joint venture with Taubman Centers to build casino- and entertainment-related retail centers. “The majority of casinos worldwide are underserved by retail,” Scott Gordon, the firm’s president, said. “We’ll be looking at Atlantic City and less developed places like Indian casinos.” Taubman took a 30 percent stake in Gordon Group’s The Pier at Caesars, in Atlantic City, N.J. The developer expects to open the $175 million project, which will contain 320,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and restaurant space, next year. Once the center opens, Gordon Group, based in Greenwich, Conn., will lease the project, and Taubman will handle administrative services.

Hawk’s Creek includes town hall

Allegiance Development is building Hawk’s Creek, a $125 million mixed-use project in the Fort Worth, Texas, suburb of Westworth Village. A 204,000-square-foot Wal-Mart and a 135,000-square-foot Sam’s Club will anchor the 700,000-square-foot project. Hawk’s Creek will also contain between 60,000 and 90,000 square feet of offices and a 6,500-square-foot town hall. Construction on the anchor stores begins this spring, with completion set for early next year.

Plaza Hotel to go mixed-use

Developer Elad Properties plans to transform New York City’s famous Plaza Hotel into a mix of stores, condominiums and hotel space. The Plaza is expected to close most of its space for renovation in April and to reopen by the end of next year. The Grand Ballroom, The Terrace Room and two subbasement levels will be turned into store space. The number of hotel rooms will be reduced from 805 to 150, with the remaining space converted into 200 luxury condos. Elad will build about 150,000 square feet on five or six levels for a new department store it says will be “even more exclusive” than nearby Saks Fifth Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman. “This is the best retail corridor in North America,” Elad President Miki Naftali said. “There’s been a tremendous amount of interest from retailers about renting space.”

Portland mall expands again

Portland, Ore.’s Washington Square Mall is in the second phase of a 100,000-square-foot expansion of its existing 1.25 million square feet of retail and restaurant space. New stores, including Chico’s, Gigi Spa, Papyrus and Sephora, will be opening just in time for the holidays. The Macerich Co. and Cadillac Fairview own Washington Square, and DLR Group designed the expansion.

Colonial look for Columbus mall

Columbus Retail is spending $4 million to update its Worthington Mall, in Columbus, Ohio, by adding a Colonial-style facade to match the city’s architectural heritage. The center, managed by locally based Carpenter & Co., will also get exterior storefronts for some retailers. A Kroger on an outparcel will expand to 54,000 square feet to accommodate an in-store pharmacy. The shopping center will be renamed Worthington Square. The work is scheduled for completion in the fall.

Southlands to add residential

The developers of Southlands, an open-air, 1.7 million-square-foot retail-entertainment center in Aurora, Colo., bought 407 acres of adjacent land on which to build a complementary residential complex. Southlands is part of a $500 million master-planned community and is a joint venture of Alberta Development Partners and Pacific Coast Capital Partners. The project will open in stages. A Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Sam’s Club have already opened, and a 400,000-square-foot power center anchored by Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond is slated to open this summer. The overall project is to be finished next summer. The new residential space will be called Wheatlands and is to include 1,000 houses, 500 apartments, a clubhouse and some parks.

Mall to become power center

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Eastbourne Investments and Boston-based Berenson Associates hired Fidelis Realty Partners to redevelop Northline Mall into an 850,000-square-foot power center. The 800,000-square-foot Houston mall, built in the 1960s, is 65 percent leased to such tenants as Houston Community College, Magic Johnson Theatres, Palais Royal and Piccadilly Cafeteria. Construction is to begin later in the year.

Vacant Wal-Mart to split up

After buying a dark Wal-Mart store in Dayton, Ohio, for $4 million, DE Johnson & Associates announced plans to divide the 110,000-square-foot building into several parcels for Bed Bath & Beyond, Hobby Lobby and other stores. Construction begins this month, and the opening is scheduled for next January.

$250M project proposed in Ga.

Newnan, Ga.-based Thomas Enterprises is planning a 1.29 million-square-foot mixed-use project called The Forum at Alpharetta (Ga.) off the rapidly developing Georgia 400 corridor north of Atlanta. The 65-acre complex would include 759,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 527,000 square feet of office and hotel space and 560 condominiums. Thomas is still awaiting government approval of the $250 million project, but says it expects to break ground this spring and to open in 2007.

DeBartolo plans Fla. center

DeBartolo Development and residential developer New River Associates, both based in Tampa, Fla., formed a venture to build Town Center, a $500 million mixed-use project in a master-planned community called New River Township, 80 miles west of Orlando, Fla. The 3 million-square-foot project will include 690,000 square feet of retail and offices and 2,000 residential units. The ground-breaking is set for next year.

Mills buys oldest mall in U.S.

The Mills Corp. plans to boost profitability at its recently acquired, 1.3 million-square-foot Southdale Center. The Edina, Minn., mall, the first enclosed shopping center in the U.S., has a vacant Mervyn’s store and an empty anchor pad. Morgan Stanley REIT analyst Matthew Ostrower says Mills may re-tenant that space to position Southdale as a more upscale property competitive with the midprice-focused Mall of America. Local papers say Neiman Marcus is interested in taking an anchor space. Mills bought Southdale, along with Southridge Mall, in Greendale, Wis., for $452 million from a joint venture of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors and Polaris Capital.

Center grows around Jewel-Osco

Tucker Development Corp. is building Marley Creek Square, a neighborhood center in Orland Park, Ill., a suburb southwest of Chicago. The development will add 57,600 square feet of space for about 28 shops adjacent to an existing, 63,000-square-foot Jewel-Osco. The Jewel-Osco is a combination supermarket and drugstore. Marley Creek Square will open this summer.

Waterside to rival Bal Harbour

Luxury retailers Burberry, Christofle, Gucci, Hermes and Tiffany will all open stores in the redevelopment of the 260,000-square-foot Waterside Shops at Pelican Bay, in Naples, Fla. The Saks Fifth Avenue-anchored center is owned by The Forbes Co., ING Clarion and Taubman Centers. Scheduled for completion in November, the center’s revamp will make it “the Bal Harbour of Florida’s Gulf Coast,” said Robert S. Taubman, president of Taubman Centers.

© 2009 ICSC. All rights reserved. | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact ICSC | ICSC Home |