Malls

[poonther]

I think he was talkin' about me GG, but I've asked all those questions before in the past and I just consolidated them into one post today.

sdarby can respond by just answering a few questions at time or maybe he's a fast thinker like me and can do it all at once. No sweat and did not mean to overwhelm if that occurred.

[josefk]

I think he was talkin' about me GG, but I've asked all those questions before in the past and I just consolidated them into one post today.

sdarby can respond by just answering a few questions at time or maybe he's a fast thinker like me and can do it all at once. No sweat and did not mean to overwhelm if that occurred.

It's difficult to express sarcasm in here, but I was just kidding about the questions flying so quickly Ask and ye shall receive- so as far as I'm concerned the volunteering to take questions and make clarifications was an opening of the floodgates..........a much appreciated opening though

[poonther]

I've always wished for a sarcasm icon on here josefk.

GG your avatars just keep getting more frightening.

[Go Gators]

I've always wished for a sarcasm icon on here josefk.

GG your avatars just keep getting more frightening.

I figured so, Jose, hence the "no way Jose." I thought it was funny, but I've had "one of those days" at work, so I was probably a little off!

Sorry Poonther, I would have loved to hept it how it was, but got scolded for it by a particular someone in a different city forum.

[Beukeboom]

Speaking of Pinnacle, we all know it's coming

We do? Last I heard nothing has been finalized nor permits, studies, etc. filed. Has something changed since then? As far as I know, it is still just a rumor from the property owner.

[poonther]

We do? Last I heard nothing has been finalized nor permits, studies, etc. filed. Has something changed since then? As far as I know, it is still just a rumor from the property owner.

Well we know this much, far from rumor I'd say, but less than absolute. I still am not sure how he is going to accomplish this project w/the road the way it is. If a lifestyle center does not arrive in Tally in this form, one will on the near horizon and Tally Mall should be preparing.

[Glenn]

Welcome to UP-Tallahassee SDarby!

You guys should contact Gander Mountain about locating in your mall....Lord knows you've got the space for one of their stores. When the new Gander Mountain opens in Jacksonville next week that will give them 3 stores in Florida. With as many sportsmen as there are here in North Florida, South Georgia and South Alabama they might just show some interest. At this point I wouldn't think you guys at Feldman would discount contacting anyone...no matter how crazy it might sound at first!

http://www.gandermountain.com/

Again, Welcome! We look forward to your dialogue and we'll keep throwing ideas and questions out to you.

[psycuda]

We do? Last I heard nothing has been finalized nor permits, studies, etc. filed. Has something changed since then? As far as I know, it is still just a rumor from the property owner.

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

[sdarby]

I have an issue with this statement. Are you implying that without government assistance to help you renovate, the mall will close because it's losing Dillards? Or are you implying the mall, at its current standards, is currently contributing to the decline of the area? Or finally, are you only claiming that the closure of the mall is the only thing that will lead to the decline of the area?

If you are only claiming the last question is true, I will give you that. But here is my question. If FMP is truly concerned about the well being of the area, as opposed to FMP's bottom line (and there is nothing wrong with that), is now the best time to ask loval government for financial assistance when they just recently went through budget cuts and thus are cutting citizen services?

I'm curious to here your response! Welcome to UP!

First of all thank you for your questions. I will try and answer them as they were drafted in your document.

What we are saying is that without support from our local government it will be difficult to solicit a new anchor tenant as well as beginning a successful redevelopment with the mall.

The mall is not contributing to the decline of the area, but as history has shown throughout communities in the country, once a mall fails it typically will take the surrounding area to some form of decline with it. As was stated during the county commissioner meeting there is approximately 3 million square feet of retail coming on-line within the next 2 to 3 years. If the N. Monroe corridor does not improve traffic and appearance we feel that there will be a shift to the newer retail developments, which will begin the decline of the N. Monroe corridor. Obviously the mall is a major player in that scenario.

In response to your financial assistance question there are a couple of different parts to the answer. What we requested was for local government to look at different options that may be available to support the mall and also assist the N. Monroe corridor for improvement. One of the options that we have presented and has been successful efforts in other communities throughout the country was the creation of a TIF or CRA. The basics of these programs do not touch the existing tax base but only would give the developer the increment of tax that increased over the next 10- 15 years. If the mall thrives and revitalizes the surrounding area, local government would be able to increase taxes for that value. Which would add value for everyone involved (business owners, county, customers, etc.) If the area continues to decline or does not improve and the taxes do not increase, Feldman Mall Properties does not receive any dollars from the TIF. Again let me state that this was a suggestion that has worked in the past with our company in other communities and was a suggestion to the local government as one option. I hope that I was able to answer your questions.

SD

[sdarby]

Thanks for joining us sdarby!

I have always been wondering this, if Dillard's at Tally Mall is closing in the winter of '08 and the new Dillard's out at Pinnacle isn't opening until at least '09, what is happening to those folks employed at your Dillard's? Are they giving them jobs at Gov. Sq. or are they laying them all off. I realize that's more of a Dillard's question, but I bet you know something.

Speaking of Pinnacle, we all know it's coming and they will try and attract high-end stores and then we have Gov. Sq. too. The size of Tally's metro really won't support 3 fashion malls, so I think it would be best if Tally Mall tried to change their function to more of an entertainment mall. I go there now mainly for the movies and I also enjoy going to Barnes and Nobles which I visit more for entertainment than shopping.

Has management at Tally Mall considered this change in function? More restaurants and entertainment functions? Have you explored the possibility of luring Dave and Buster's to the Dillard's location?

Have you guys explored other retailers that are expanding in the South such as: hhgregg and Steve and Barry's? Yeah I know they won't completely fill the function or space of Dillard's, but could you spilt Dillard's into two parcels and of course there's still the Sound Advice empty space next-door.

Good job on getting a Panera!

And finally, is there a weight or age limit on that bungy thing in the center court?

I had heard they were relocating some of the staff to the other store. I do not know what the statuses of the others are. I would think it would be difficult to keep help over the next couple of months and the holiday season knowing you won't have a job next year?

We have looked at the entertainment concept for Tallahassee mall. We are looking at all of the different alternatives for the mall. Loosing an anchor makes it quite difficult to recruit any tenants until they feel we can stabilize the future of the center. That is why we feel that local community and government support is crucial to that stabilization. If a future tenant knows that the community and local government do not want to see the mall fail it will ease the nervousness they may have about leasing space from us.

Throughout the other properties in our portfolio we have added restaurants and entertainment at our centers with tenants such as PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Sega Game works, Melting Pot, and many others.

I am not sure of the weight limit on the euro bungee but I think I would loose my lunch or pull something bad if I had to do it!!

[sdarby]

Welcome to UrbanPlanet {sodEmoji.|} Tallahassee sdarby

This is absolutely great that you've joined and offered to answer our questions. May I first begin by asking you this:

How confident are mall owners that they'll be able to find a replacement for the Dillard's space? What type of companies have been contacted about this pending vacancy, and are any interested?

Then this... it seems unlikely that the Tallahassee Mall will be included in any of Tallahassee's existing CRA districts given its location and condition. However, there's a strong possibility that resources are available from different sources. Is FMP prepared to spend its own $30-$35 Million doing what it can to improve the mall property -- while we continue to look for those funds?

I have more questions, but I'll start with these two.

We are confident with community and government support that we can find an anchor. We have been contacting several companies for the space and there has been some interest but it is quite a competitive market. We do want to improve the property but we do not want to put the last dollar in a bad investment, that know one cares if it succeeds or fails.

[sdarby]

Welcome to UP-Tallahassee SDarby!

You guys should contact Gander Mountain about locating in your mall....Lord knows you've got the space for one of their stores. When the new Gander Mountain opens in Jacksonville next week that will give them 3 stores in Florida. With as many sportsmen as there are here in North Florida, South Georgia and South Alabama they might just show some interest. At this point I wouldn't think you guys at Feldman would discount contacting anyone...no matter how crazy it might sound at first!

http://www.gandermountain.com/

Again, Welcome! We look forward to your dialogue and we'll keep throwing ideas and questions out to you.

I appreciate the welcome. We are looking at different retailers. The mall has an opportunity to hit one out of the park and that is the goal we are looking to accomplish. It will definitely help to have community and local government support to make that happen

[Beukeboom]

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

A proposal really isn't much to go on. Nothing official as of yet.

[Florida]

I appreciate the welcome. We are looking at different retailers. The mall has an opportunity to hit one out of the park and that is the goal we are looking to accomplish. It will definitely help to have community and local government support to make that happen

sdarby,

When you say, "we have the opportunity to hit one out of the park" are you referring to a potential replacement for the Dillard's anchor?

In exploring the entertainment concept what were some of your findings? Does it seem to be something the company is willing to move towards?

What are Tallahassee's chances of getting a PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Sega Game works, Melting Pot, etc?

Thanks!

[Go Gators]

sdarby,

When you say, "we have the opportunity to hit one out of the park" are you referring to a potential replacement for the Dillard's anchor?

In exploring the entertainment concept what were some of your findings? Does it seem to be something the company is willing to move towards?

What are Tallahassee's chances of getting a PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Sega Game works, Melting Pot, etc?

Thanks!

We have a Melting Pot!

[Florida]

^We sure do don't we!

[SkyDave]

sdarby,

Thanks for the prompt responses!

What types of infrastructure improvements are you all asking for in the North Monroe Street corridor? With all the road construction going on at 1-10 and North Monroe Street, is Feldman Properties looking at trying to improve access to the interstate? In many communities the malls have direct access to nearby interstate traffic for obvious reasons.

What specifically needs to be done to the Tallahassee Mall property to bring it up to date with the rest of your other properties?

Lastly, do you have any preliminary renderings of what you want to do in Tallahassee or are there any developments in other communities similar to what you want to do in Tallahassee? (remember the old adage "one picture is worth a thousand words")

[psycuda]

A proposal really isn't much to go on. Nothing official as of yet.

(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

[insituphoto]

My recommendations / requests:

- Bass Pro Shop / Outdoor World

- Dave & Busters

- Jillians

- Blacklion Antiques

- Dicks Sporting Goods

- Various factory outlet stores

- fye: For Your Entertainment

- Sun & Ski Sports

- Rainforest Cafe

[poonther]

psycuda I'm not sure what the application fees are in North FL, but for a project that size and w/that many reviews would have cost the developer tons of money in application fees alone where I use to work.

Another question for you psycuda: how is Pinnacle getting around the great obstacle of a two-lane Mahan? I know the whole project isn't going to happen at once, but even w/just the Mall section looks like they'd have trouble w/concurrency from the potential traffic generated?? I'd think the road as it is must be at capacity or nearly there now? From what I understand, the Mall portion wants to be built before Mahan is widened? Is my understanding correct? And if so, how do they propose handling the heavy traffic count it will generate? I assume I-10 will be used to absorb most of those?

[psycuda]

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.

psycuda I'm not sure what the application fees are in North FL, but for a project that size and w/that many reviews would have cost the developer tons of money in application fees alone where I use to work.

Another question for you psycuda: how is Pinnacle getting around the great obstacle of a two-lane Mahan? I know the whole project isn't going to happen at once, but even w/just the Mall section looks like they'd have trouble w/concurrency from the potential traffic generated?? I'd think the road as it is must be at capacity or nearly there now? From what I understand, the Mall portion wants to be built before Mahan is widened? Is my understanding correct? And if so, how do they propose handling the heavy traffic count it will generate? I assume I-10 will be used to absorb most of those?

[psycuda]

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.

[sdarby]

sdarby,

When you say, "we have the opportunity to hit one out of the park" are you referring to a potential replacement for the Dillard's anchor?

In exploring the entertainment concept what were some of your findings? Does it seem to be something the company is willing to move towards?

What are Tallahassee's chances of getting a PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Sega Game works, Melting Pot, etc?

Thanks!

With Dillard's gone there are other anchors out there that may bring much more value to the mall, if that happens it will begin to add value to the mall and the surrounding area.

We have explored the entertainment concept and will continue to look at that as these moves forward. The odds for Tallahassee to get one of the following concepts are possible. We do have relationships with the tenants that I mentioned and they are currently at out centers across the country. From our leasing staff they continue to build on existing relationships and will be speaking with those possible tenants about Tallahassee.

[sdarby]

www.feldmanmall.com

sdarby,

Thanks for the prompt responses!

What types of infrastructure improvements are you all asking for in the North Monroe Street corridor? With all the road construction going on at 1-10 and North Monroe Street, is Feldman Properties looking at trying to improve access to the interstate? In many communities the malls have direct access to nearby interstate traffic for obvious reasons.

What specifically needs to be done to the Tallahassee Mall property to bring it up to date with the rest of your other properties?

Lastly, do you have any preliminary renderings of what you want to do in Tallahassee or are there any developments in other communities similar to what you want to do in Tallahassee? (remember the old adage "one picture is worth a thousand words")

We are looking for some form of a light and a main mall entrance that you can get in and out of without fearing for your life. Back when the mall was originally developed some 40 years ago an entrance with no light was acceptable. We would like to modernize our egress in and out of the property to today's standards. If you would like to see the transformations of the properties that we have already done you can go to our website at www.Feldmanmall.com

[Beukeboom]

How about Honest Bubba's Discount Dollar And Used Tires Store to replace Dillard's?