csedwards72

Absolutely, as that site tracks struggling malls in addition to truly dead ones. Eastland is a very interesting place. I think it will be around for a long time to come, but just with different anchors than now but a lot of the same in-line tenants (the urban-type stores).

Definitely. If those dying malls on North Tryon (Northpark Mall, with the former Target and former grocery store now re-leased to moderately priced stores, and that Asian mall) can limp along for years after losing anchors, surely Eastland can as well.

I agree with that. I used to do real estate finance and anchors- particularly ones in older malls- often have minimal net direct economic benefit to landlords. The value they add is the shoppers they allegedly draw to help the in-line stores. For Eastland, Dillard's apparently isn't doing that well, and that Belk's doesn't seem to be thriving, either. Thus the mall's owner isn't directly making money from the anchor leases and the mall's in-line tenants probably aren't getting much from them, either. Thus if the department stores could be replaced with anchors that appeal more to the neighborhood's residents (e.g., maybe an Old Navy, Steve & Barry's, Magic Johnson Theaters, etc.?), both the landlord and the in-line tenants could be a lot better off. Oddly enough, some stores will stick around in an unanchored mall. Greenville Mall lost its JBWhite/Dillard's, Proffitt's/Parisian and Wards anchors over the past four years but still has a few stores (Eddie Bauer, Finish Line, April Cornell, etc.) left in the inside. I don't know how on Earth they survive, but they are hanging on.

It seems as if Eastland is adding in-line tenants these days rather than shedding them. I think that what's interesting re: retail is when malls compete with one another, so I was sorry to see that the number of vacancies at Eastland had declined prior to a recent visit.

Regardless of how the Parisian saleswoman's remarks are viewed, having JCPenney instead of Parisian won't help Columbiana attract upscale tenants, since sometimes upscale in-line tenants locate where upscale department stores are. I am sure that when Greenville Mall attracted a Parisian, some of the other stores that located there came because of Parisian. Then when Proffitt's came (not much fancier than a JCPenney), the mall's attempts to lure more upscale stores were not helped.

Bleeding cash? What's the source on this? What is Glimcher spending money on? Not logo updates, at least.

Wasn't Bonwit Teller in the '80s pretty upscale? If that could be attracted then, why can't something similar be attracted now? If you look at Saks Inc.'s annual reports, Parisian is described as a store aimed at upper-middle to upper-income residents of large markets. If Columbia meets that target, it should be able to get more good stores.

I always considered Parisian upscale because no junk is sold there. Any Belk's or Dillard's will have plenty of nice things there but will also have some $9.99 track suits. Parisian's high-end things aren't usually any fancier than at a nice Dillard's or Belk's but Parisian just doesn't have the cheap stuff. That Richland Parisian needs some updating- when I first visited in '95 it was nice, but now it looks kind of ragged. I'm really surprised that the Columbiana one was the one that closed- thought it would have been Richland. I'm also surprised that Parisian hasn't come to NC yet. Northlake Mall and SouthPark in Charlotte would be perfect for Parisian.

Tapp's again? Just kidding. Unfortunately I think that the dominant chains in the Carolinas- Parisian (which I consider upscale, like Lord & Taylor), Belk, Dillard's, Macy's, JC Penney and Sears- are all we'll have for a while. Saks is in Charleston mainly because of upper-income tourists, and upscale department stores elsewhere- from Bonwit Teller to the Hilton Head Saks- have failed.

This is that sun logo- it is from the '90s?

The mall is in decent shape- not as nice as McAlister Square and not nearly as nice as Greenville Mall were when they died, but still OK. It will probably need some renovations in a few years, but it should be OK for a while more. I just wish Eastland would get rid of that sun logo above some of the entrances.

parisian at Columbiana is closing. The lease will be assumed by JC Penney. Look on the Saks corporate website and the press release is there. Great analysis, StevenRocks and other prior posters- you were right on! How will this impact Columbiana Center? I would guess that upscale stores are now somewhat less likely to locate there since there is no more sort of upscale-brand anchor. But the mall's demographics should be good. Greenville Mall attracted a slew of upscale stores I think because it had a Parisian, even though the mall's demographics weren't significantly more upscale than Haywood Mall's were. This is sort of a reprieve for Richland, unless Parisian is pulling out of Columbia entirely.

Why is Parisian maybe leaving- slow sales? Too bad since it is a nice store, seemingly perfect for a moderately upscale mall.

I think inner-ring suburbs having economic problems, sandwiched in by resurgent downtowns and thriving outer-ring suburbs, is pretty common around the US, unfortunately. Wealthy people who work in downtowns either want to live close to work in buildings downtown or want big, nice houses in distant suburbs. Inner-ring suburbs, with older, smaller houses, just aren't what people who can afford better want. Malls in those inner-ring suburbs then die off. McAlister Square in Greenville, SC is a victim of this pattern, and it looks like Eastland is as well. Deadmalls.com has some updates- one about Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio. That mall seemed to have had a crime wave, with shootings inside and outside the mall. Look where it ended up. Doesn't bode well for Eastland.

Why? Uptown Charlotte, where I live and work, is very nice. None of my neighbors or co-workers, that I know, go to Eastland; the mall serves a different demographic than Uptown residents. People who live uptown drive up to Northlake or to SouthPark. Eastland and Uptown are two different worlds.