SmellyCat

huh?

Girly - first of all, you've missed my point and I apologize if I was vague about it. I'm trying to say I believe Northlake mall will succeed, that Southpark is a great turnaround story, and that Northlake should not be measured up to Southpark. But you obviously focused on the one comment which I was really not even trying to emphasize. But here goes. Yes, there are lots of upscale malls throughout the U.S. You forgot Aventura in Miami? Or the Glendale Galleria? The Westchester? Westfarms in CT? Cherry Creek in Denver? Phipps in Atlanta? As you say, probably one in every city. But I would certainly put Southpark and its impressive tenant roster in the top 10 to 15 "upscale" malls in the country and as far as I'm concerned, that would designate it as one of the premier upscale malls. Here's the stats you requested: In 2004, Southpark did $620 per foot in sales (Simon mall average: $420) source: BofA research and Simon's 1Q05 10-Q filing. The average mall throughout the U.S. only generates about $270 per foot. By comparison, Short Hills Mall does about $800 psf (consider the tons of extra foot traffic and marked up prices as it is located just outside of NYC). Here's why we have reason to be optimistic about Northlake: Taubman malls, on average, generate $477 per foot (source: Taubman 2004 10-K filing). Taubman, ironically, owns the Short Hills Mall, International Plaza and Mall of Millenia you mention above. And a quote from a well-regarded REIT analyst: "With Simon's upscale SouthPark dominating the southern Charlotte MSA, Northlake should be able to establish itself as the dominant mall in the northern part of town." Optimistic? Sure...but the overused expression "build it and they will come" always seems to play out...especially in retail. After all, what stupid Americans actually save anymore?

Southpark Mall has been a remarkable turnaround story. It went from plain jane to one of the most premier upscale malls in the country. Yes, country. It is one of the top sales grossers in terms of total sales and on a per square foot basis. Simon, the owner, consistently uses it in its presentations to show the incredible transformation since it acquired it several years ago. Now several of you are spoiled. You can't expect this level of success from most malls. Especially one that hasn't even opened yet..come on, give it a chance! Taubman, the developer, is one of the best mall operators in the U.S., especially in the high-end segment. They move very slowly and tactfully before they engage in any project. They don't do "crap". They have an outstanding track record, which I why I thoroughly expect Northlake be quite successful.

I don't know if anyone caught this, but in this week's Creative Loafing there is a half-page ad with a color rendering of the controversial Drakeford townhome project in First Ward. The townhomes are being marketed as "16 luxurious townhomes" priced from $335K to $550K, 1557 to 2443 sq.ft., 9 and 10 ft ceilings, private enclosed patios, attached 2 gar garages. Unfortunately no website is listed.

At least they didn't pick Daniel Libeskind, the Freedom Tower architect.

yes, only the pathetic little "Teeter Court" on the outskirts of the county near 485 and Harrisburg Rd. The inhumanity of it all!

all correct, except that the land is included in the value. If the land is not owned and there is a ground lease involved, the ground rent (often escalating each year tied to a CPI or other index) is an additional expense included in NOI, which will in turn decrease the value of the building.

Oh, the driving tour was a big success in my book. Most of my visitors couldn't believe the amount of development going on just in the Uptown area (due to time and attention span constraints, I was only able to do the uptown and South Park legs of the tour). One of the people visiting (a senior executive I might add) was so impressed that he said he would volunteer to move down here within the next year. This is a person who makes serious coinage, like $1 mil+. Luckily the weather was just beautiful that day as well. I believe, on the whole, we will have at least a dozen more people from my little group moving into the area, although I would expect at least several will be attracted to Ballantyne "hell" (as one poster described it), because after all, they are from the northeast

yep - good guess...i'd say around 7.25% to 7.5%. I'd say more like 9.5-11% for the suburban stuff, higher in the university area. Vacancies still hovering near 25% there and the Highwoods portfolio sale apparently has fallen through.

The amount of debt does not impact a building's value, but NOI does. NOI is caluculated before any debt consideration. As atlrvr said, the value is generally the buildings's NOI divided by a determined cap rate, which reflects the strength and risk of the market, quality of the asset and rent roll, etc. By the way, Moody's Investor Services puts out a quarterly rating of all markets, and in the 4th quarter of 2004, the Charlotte CBD was the HIGHEST ranking of all U.S. markets, with a score of 81 out of 100.

I believe their sales center will be in on the street level at 101 Independence Center on Tryon.

hey, that's pretty darn cool!

I think the key things Charlotte has going for it is its proximity to the racing teams and its geographically central position in the U.S. (although you could make a case for Kansas City there also). Plus the whole city seems to be behind it - does anyone in Atlanta really even care about this?

That would be the average quality of the asset, such as physical condition, location, average sales per foot and occupancy costs.

Some info from independent research on the Taubman company which was just released. FYI, this research firm tends to be very conservative so it's challenging to get a positive writeup: "It is becoming increasingly clear that Taubman's Northlake Mall, being built near the intersection of two freeways on the north side of Charlotte, is likely to be a success. Taubman recently announced that it has signed leases with 90 in-line tenants, out of a potential 150. A number of additional tenants have committed to the project, with leases in the works. The Northlake lineup looks quite strong despite competition from a newly built lifestyle center (Birkdale Village) just eight miles north. While the density in the surrounding area strikes us as lower than desirable, the trade area is growing rapidly and should fill in around the mall over time. Birkdale Village opened in 2002. While it has a respectable lineup for its smaller size, including some tenants that Taubman probably wanted in its mall, Northlake Mall will compete effectively. Simon's Southpark Mall, 15 miles south, still wins out as the power-shopping destination for Charlotte's well-to-do" Chart of Charlotte area Malls (current and to be built): Name Type Owner Quality rating Birkdale Village Lifestyle Center Inland Retail N/A Carolina Mall Mall Hull Storey B Carolina Place Mall General Growth B+ Concord Mills Mega-Mall Mills Corp. B+ Eastland Mall Mall Glimcher C- Eastridge Mall Mall Westfield C Northlake Mall Mall Taubman N/A Bridges at Mint Hill Mall General Growth N/A Southpark Mall Mall Simon A+ sorry I dont think this chart came out very well

now we're also waiting for the Renwick to see signs of life. I heard March was the groundbreaking date.

I like this concept. It's a house made out of cars. Perhaps this can be done to a larger scale, and pretty it up with some glass and stucco touches?

I always heard that REI stood for "return everything immediately". But based on this thread, I guess that's a misnomer.

Neo I agree with you about the poor marketing and lack of games on free TV. Very dumb PR move. I really hope that Charlotteans' apathetic attitude toward the team changes when they move uptown, as I'm sure that's the bet team management is making as well.

update: the lower floors (up to 9) scheduled to be completed by November and upper floors (10-17) by December. No retail tenant(s) have been secured for the ground floors yet.

I doubt it. Doesn't seem like there's much interest in baseball down here. Maybe it's the south in general....the Braves, Fla. marlins and TB Devil Rays have pretty bad attendance historically. The braves can't even sell out their playoff games. The kingpin sports down here are really just basketball, football and nascar.

Actually I just found this article from Dec CBJ: A Desire Named Streetcar: Project in Elizabeth Spurs Track Plans

altrvr...any updates on a timetable for the Elizabeth streetcar construction? Last i heard construction was slated for some time this year. I heard (on NPR I think) that it will take 7 years to complete.

bizarre....do u think the ghost of James Polk haunts that building? Maybe it's just in the cards to be saved.

Yep..that certainly can't hurt. I know it says bids are due May 31, but does anyone know when the final decision on the location will be?