psycuda

MAybe not so much with Destin Commons, since all it is is a regular mall that is missing a roof and has a street running through the middle of it, surrounded by a moat of parking from 98 and 263.

And that is part of the issue with it for the local governments. Also, there is actually a newer version that might still be floating around that has the hotel at the end of the psuedo downtown main street section of the project.

So you went to Wells. As for the Fingerlakes Example, the mall went from the mall that time forgot to being 100% occupied inside of a couple of years, plus a new hotel was built next door and a power center with a Target and some of the other stores we've come to expect across the street. While there might not be enough space along Monroe for some of this to happen, the potential for reinvestment along the corridor would be high.

Didn't see the facade, but stretch that out over 1400 feet of frontage, and that might be it.

I'm trying to find a place in the City, either in the Southwedge/Swillburg area or closer to Village Gate, since that is where my office is. While I'm glad I'll be able to shop at Wegmans again, I don't know if I will be able to handle the relentless Fuceillo commercials or attempt to devour a garbage plate at Nick Tahou's.

But remember, it's between the two lake effect belts (or at least that's what I need to convince myself after the first time of digging around my car.)

Yes it is a good place. I've been trying to get back there since I graduated from Brockport in 1994, now it's finally about to happen. Besides, now I can actually afford to live in one of those neighborhoods that Urban Planners love to talk about trying to build, only it's already there and not 20 miles from the middle of town where everyone needs a car to get around to work or anything else outside their little bubble.

I figure I'll use the coat I used on vacation every year and just wear some more layers (That's the secret, right). The first thing I do need to get, though, is a good pair of boots. Plus, I might need the big bucks to pay for the heating oil....

I didn't know where to put this, but here goes.... After a bit over 5 years in Tally and just under 2 years with Leon County, I am moving on and going back to NY to accept a position with a planning firm in Rochester NY. It has been interesting reading your persepctives on development and planning in the Leon County area. While I will no longer be living in town, I will occasionally be lurking on UP, keeping up with what's going on in Tallytown. Chris

In regards to the Tallahassee Mall, I found this response from the Syracuse Post Standard's retail blog (Imagine a newspaper paying someone to write about store openings and malls 3 days a week plus a blog) about another of Feldman's malls, Colonie Center in suburban Albany NY. Some food for thought: Bob, thought there for a second that you'd gone on assignment and headed down to Colonie to the big LL Bean store in Colonie Center. I stopped in the Sunday of their opening weekend, found a big crowd there, and after talking to one of the helpful employees, found out that it was even busier earlier in the weekend. The store isn't huge, but it isn't tiny either. A nice selection of the favorites and popular items from their catalogs, and definitely a must-stop for those who wait with baited breath for those catalogs from Maine. Speaking of Colonie Center, it's a place that could teach the folks at Macerich something about what they could do at Shoppingtown. When the current owner bought the mall several years back, there were 3 strong anchors (Sears, Boscov's, and Macy's), but a lot of empty storefronts and "seasonal" stores. Christmas Tree Shops was also drawing a lot of traffic, but it seemed that the specialty shops chose Crossgates Mall, and defected to there. An interior renovation of the mall was done (not that the place was that shabby), and an upscale Adirondack lodge look for the interior was the result. With this commitment, they were able to lure new destination retailers and restaurants to the mall (LL Bean, PF Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, Steve & Barry's, and Barnes & Noble, to name some), and lure a new theater complex to a highly visible perch on top of the existing mall. Most of these new tenants were built into remodeled space facing Wolf Road (pretty equivalent to Erie Blvd.), with entrances both into the mall and out to the parking lot. Call it a hybrid lifestyle center/mall. Point is, they didn't have to bulldoze anything, but were able to make it a trendy, hip place to shop. I'd anticipate that the place will be filled in a short time. So IMHO, Macerich needs to put their money where their mouth is, spruce up ol' Shoppingtown, and agressively go after tenants. Waiting on DestiNY, and Bob Congel's ever-changing vision of "what" it's really going to be, is being short sighted. There's room for more than one major mall in the Syracuse area, and Shoppingtown is perfectly poised to become the trendy, hip place to go. That is, provided Macerich actually does something soon.

1) They will be when the site plan applications, concurrency applications, etc come into the County Growth Management offices on top of what has already been submitted to the planning department and the RPC. 2) That is one of their greatest obstacles, and one that Colonial (the developer) will ,in all probability, be contributing a large sum of money toward fixing , along with helping to fund one or several StarMetro routes along Mahan Drive and maybe a couple of other smaller items. These details are amongst the several to be worked out in the coming months between Colonial and the various governments involved. As far as I-10, this is a point that the developer is trying to make, but when you are talking about a million square feet of commercial space, it requires people to come from all directions, not just the interstate.

(putting on local government employee's hat)Actual proposal meaning the applicant has an application in process with the Regional Planning Council to try to get approved. That is as official as one can get.(Taking off local government employee's hat) TALLAHASSEE Pinnacle at Cross Creek Physical Address: 6512 Mahan Drive IMAGE COMING SOON! Jurisdiction: County Main Parcel ID: 12-18-20-001-0000 Summary: 400 Residential Units. 300,000 sq.ft. of office, and 1,140,000 sq.ft. Shopping, 60,000 sq.ft. movie theater, 200 Hotel Rooms Status: Under Review Completion: Fall 2009 Colonial Properties{sodEmoji.|}DeVoe Moore Website: http://www.colonialprop.com/companyinfo/ne...p?reqid=1004476 Zone: I

It is an actual proposal now, and has been for about 2 months.

I mean literally, as in a 3-4 story building with direct access to the mall by utilizing parking area that is hardly used right now, or the possibility of incorporating housing in the outdoor center component. I do agree with the sentiment about redesigning the section of the mall in the vicinity of Ross, since having to go outside to get to these stores is a pain.

As a neighbor of the Tallahassee Mall area, I can agree with many of the sentiments posted on this site. The things that I could see that would benefit not just the mall but the neighborhood as a whole are the enhancement of pedestrian access points into the mall (walking on grass and mud and across parking lots/drive aisles is not the safest option out there), the enhancements to transit service (which both Feldman and StarMetro would like to see, based on conversations with Star Metro and the TalTran Renaissance Plan), and the possibility of including a more mixed-use component to any renovation/remodel of the Mall. I also agree that the soon to open Panera Bread store could serve as the second step in the redesign of the area facing Monroe St to be an outdoor center component (except I would like to see both exterior and interior access to this store, unlike the Guitar Center store). As far as the area formerly inhabited by the Burlington Coat Factory, perhaps some incentive for on-site workforce housing can be provided by Feldman (in conjunction with the city and county) that would benefit all parties.

Not for at least another year....

I wasn't thinking about a D & B here, but it would work. As far as the Sears goes, they might want to close the K-Mart on the Parkway and move it here and call it a Sears as a compromise.

As much as I'd like to see Sears make that move, I highly doubt that the company would leave Governors Square to do so. Another option would be to convert that section of mall into a 2 level Target (Although I highly doubt that is is in Target's plans, since a 4'th store in town might not work for the time being.)

Reality, since Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales aren't coming to a metro of 300K with Tallahassee's demographics, Saks sold their store here to Belk for a reason, and there are no other viable options within 700 miles of here that aren't here already.

Now that the impending closing of Dillards is official, what do you see taking this store's space in the mall? I hate to say it, but based on the demographic that is shopping the mall here, and the inability to get another full-line department store to come into town, I would go with Steve and Barry's in this location for at least part of the space.

Ok, another reason to renew my lease on this side of town, especially since driving across town to go to Panera is a pain.

Here is a link to an article about another mall owned by Feldman, the Colonie Center in suburban Albany, NY http://www.labelscar.com/new-york/colonie-center Hopefully, Feldman will be bringing some of these retailers into town.

Heck, for nearly 500 million dollars, you'd think that putting a charter or magnet school in the building would be possible as well, specializing in training for broadcasting, sports management, facilities management, and sports medicine. Between this and the Buddy Dyer Darden Performing Arts Center (I think he will get his name on this one, not the arena), on top of what's already in place, the gentrification of Parramaore is close at hand.

Ahhh, the joys of my job (LOL).

Only in Tally could we take pride in a man who's famous for singing/rapping about being in love with a stripper