DealMan

There sure is a lot of misinformation that flys around on these sites. Let me see if I can clarify on Magnolia Park. 1. Sports Authority-Not going anywhere as they are currently about to get really punched in the face by Academy Sports. Their mismanagement of the real estate in this market is pathetic. They have a dead store 2.5 miles away on Laurens, that they have not closed yet, and an oversized former Oshman's box that sits in the back of a vacant mall. Meanwhile Dicks opened and hurt them, and they still did not do anything about it. Now Academy will open and will either be the death nail, or maybe the wake up call they need to revisit their real estate in Greenville. 2. Bass Pro Shops deal on Highway 14 is going nowhere currently. The bill to help give retailers like Bass Pro assistance, has still not been ratified yet. Not to mention no developer could get financing to do a Bass Pro deal currently. 3. Menin is working with tenants to backfill the existing Montgomery Ward. They are working with an existing big box(non-department store) in Greenville that would relocate and expand into the ground level of that. They are also working with an entertainment concept to take the top floor. 4. If the Montgomery Ward stays and is released, and Sports Authority continues to stay, the Magnolia Park that was painted to the city, and Menin had dreamed of will not happen for a minimum of 5-10 years, because of the lease terms and lengths will be signed in the old Montgomery Ward. Those buildings and their placements coupled with the existing Regal, Costco, and soon to be Rooms To Go with their site plans, parking needs, and restrictions, will keep a large scale mixed use lifestyle center from being able to layout on the property. It is disappointing for the city and the state that this development will be a victim of the economic collapse difficulty in new construction financing, and lack of higher end retail sales and business currently, but I applaud Menin in trying to get creative with what they do have to create space. It will be interesting to see now what the next life of the former Greenville Mall property will be.

From my understanding from The Sports Authority store manager, their long term plan is to close the Laurens Road store due to poor positioning and have one store on Woodruff. Their current Woodruff Road store is a very inefficient layout since it was an old Oshman's and not a traditional Sports Authority. I have heard they are in discussions with Menin to relocate and build new onsite, thereby unencumbering the property, and have also heard that they are looking at the Goody's box as well. The Circuit City box would be too small for them and so would the Linen's N Things at Greenridge.

I just read all the latest posts over the last 60 days, as it has been a while since I checked this thread. Here is the latest. Rooms to Go will close on their property and be open by end of 2009. The small shops that are scheduled to be built with RTG, are struggling to be leased currently due to the economy, and some might be built and some might be held off until more leases are in place, and able to funded. In regard to the remainder of the project, due to the economy, there are very few fashion and higher end retailers doing new stores right now, and almost none of them are really pushing to enter a market like Greenville. The mixed use and larger component of the project is currently proposed for a spring or summer 2011 opening. There is no way those dates will be made with the current state of the economy and the lack of retailers signing deals. I would assume more likely a 2012 opening if and only if, retailers start to sign leases, as the construction process will take 12-18 months so they would need leases completed by Fall 2010 at the latest. Apple has signed a proposal to enter Haywood Mall and is wrapping up a lease, and should be open there possibly by end of year, but more likely early 2010. That is a big blow to MPTC, as they could have built around Apple as their lead shop tenant. Also Sports Authority has not made a decision on what they will do with their existing store there, which is extremely problematic to build around.

4th Street Live is a great project, and has really put downtown Louisville on the map. It is developed by Cordish, who is a monster developer in mixed use urban projects. They received tons of money from the city for that project as well. The retail portion as opposed to the prior poster's comments, is actually larger than Epicenter in terms of the retail square footage. Also Cordish had to "buy" the tenant deals in terms of huge economic incentives, which Ghazi company is commanding the largest economic premiums for rent in downtown Charlotte currently. I agree on the bookstore front, unfortunatley both Borders and Barnes and Noble real estate departments are very short sighted, and hopefully a bookstore will reconsider and come to downtown in the future. Books A Million has an existing store at Cotswold that is too close.

Project has been delayed. They are now projecting a 2nd quarter 2010 opening. The commitments have not come yet. Every retailer that was in negotiations has slowed down due to the state of the economy and also the developer's extremely high rent numbers.

The tenant that is currently proposed to go into the Fox Sports Grill space has not executed a lease deal, however if you scroll back through the pages their name is included in the group of tenants that has been listed.

In regard to the site plan, developers usually put specific categories or retailers they are in negotiation with, but if the deal was finalized it would be publicized and announced.

The Trader Joes rumor is definitely legit. They are still doing due diligence to decide if they will move forward on South Carolina stores. In regard to a potential exit on I-385 that is not going to happen, because there is already an exit on Woodruff Road and at Roper Mountain, and it is not affordable to take that land away from the development. In regard to tenants, given the state of the economy, I would think there are some delays in the retailer and restaurant market. I would think that there will be announcements later this year, but don't look for anything substantial until the summer or the fall, as commitments will be slow coming.

The Gourmet Grocer is a proposed Trader Joes. The reason there is more parking in front of Regal is due to the fact that Regal will not allow Menin to build shop space there, as they feel it will be detrimental to their parking and business.

The concept coming to Epicentre will be the first in Charlotte. It is not Hard Rock, but there are similar type restaurants to this that already exist in Charlotte, but this will blow them all away. The meals are very well done and in the $15-25 price range. I think it will be a monster hit for uptown. As the previous poster mentioned, based on my understanding the restaurants,bars, concepts going in the Epicentre span the spectrum of the eating and drinking world.

It is not ESPN, it is a totally different type of concept, ie not a sports bar!

Fox Sports Grill is not going there anymore. Expect an annoucement within the next 30 days regarding their former space at Epicentre, and who will be taking it. It is a much better concept than Fox Sports Grill

Current timing for the majority of the stores will be Fall 2009. Rooms To Go and some of the shops right up on Woodruff Road, could be open for Fall 2008.

I think that we all realize that the plan will definitely change with Menin Development entering the arena. I am sure they will add density to the retail and other uses, especially with the county square relocation not moving forward currently. In regard to specific tenants, and who might be moving forward or not, I think the only tenants that we know for sure are Costco, Rooms to Go, Regal, and Sports Authority. I think that they will continue to move forward with a majority of the tenants that Gulfside Development was proposing, and perhaps position them in a more effective lineup. I am guessing they are not announcing any other tenants at this time, due to the site plan changes, and the impact that is having on their existing deals.

MallGuy, from my understanding they are not allowed to put names on the site plan unless they have (1) permission from the retailer and/or (2) a signed lease.