Many mall and retail renovation plans for 2021 are focused on adding open green space and more outdoor communal areas that serve as a solace to coronavirus concerns. Mixed-use developments are also trending, especially for taking over demolished vacant big-box mall space. Much of the development is occurring outside of major metropolitan hubs, with the exception of IKEA-branded malls that are specifically seeking urban core communities for new retail developments in the states.
Promoting the Great Outdoors
A retail/mixed-use project in the Northwest that is benefitting from an influx of urban transplants, especially from Boston, is Rock Row in Westbrook, Maine, developed by Waterstone Properties. In November, two tenants signed leases to be a part of the 20,000-s.f. building that is expected to be complete in the summer of 2021. Big Fin Poke will take up 2,200 s.f. and Firehouse Subs will utilize a 1,800-s.f. space. A freestanding pad will see a 3,200-s.f. Chase Bank, which should be complete by mid-2021, and by late 2021 a drive-thru Chick-fil-A is expected to be up and running. An upcoming Starbucks unit is also in the works. The Rock Row development already has an 80,000-s.f. Market Basket grocery, a 9,000-s.f. The Paper Store specialty gift shop and Maine Savings Pavilion, an outdoor waterfront concert amphitheater that can accommodate 8,200 people. The two million-s.f. project is being built alongside a 26-acre quarry lake and will include 70 miles of nature trails for walking, running and biking. The lake will also feature a boardwalk and evening light shows. The development anticipates up to 700 residential units built by late 2023 and the targeted demographics are expected to be both empty nesters and the 21- to 34-year-old crowd.
The Zona Rosa Town Center, an open-air lifestyle center in Kansas City, Mo., just completed the demolition of a 34,569-s.f. structure near its Dillard’s store that had previously housed 13 retail tenants. The site will be transformed into a new green space area that will be called “North Park,” which will be used for outdoor seating and lawn activities. The developer, Trademark Property Company, is also constructing a pedestrian bridge that will feature landscaping and local public art. Trademark also plans to build a new splash park, a new exterior children’s play area and construct a stage for live performances. The developer’s future plans will include adding additional restaurants, multifamily properties, a hotel and office space. The mall site, which already has two residential apartment buildings onsite with a total of 73 units, is aiming for a community hub feel. Tenants already in the mall’s mix include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Old Navy, Staples and the Kansas City Improv Comedy Club.
The Montclair Place indoor mall in Montclair, Calif., received city approval in October to transform the shopping center into an outdoor shopping destination that will include a pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined street called The Rambla, which will be surrounded by restaurants and specialty retail tenants. The goal is to duplicate the ambience of a street in Barcelona, Spain. The project, developed by the CIM Group, will also consist of freestanding retail buildings totaling about 512,000 s.f., as well as office buildings, a 100- to 200-room hotel and residential towers housing about 6,000 units. The project is expected to take 20 years to complete. Last year, The Montclair Place opened The Canyon, a 17,500-s.f. live music and restaurant venue that can accommodate 1,300 people. The mall also currently houses tenants such as Macy’s, JCPenney, Sephora, Starbucks, Tillys and Vans.
In July, the Clearview City Center indoor regional mall in Metairie, La., broke ground on its $100M redevelopment plans, which includes transforming a Sears building into two separate smaller buildings, with an open-air pedestrian walkway separating the length of the mall. The majority of the mall’s interior will also be rebuilt to accommodate this open-air walkway concept. Overseen by Richards Clearview, LLC, plans also call for a 14,000-s.f. green space that will feature outdoor concerts, as well as the construction of a new six-story, 150-room hotel that will be placed in the center of the new mall configuration. There will also be more rooftop-access open-air restaurants, 260 luxury apartments on an unused back lot and potentially 100,000 s.f. of commercial office space. The demolition of the 3,500-s.f. standalone Sears auto center pad site has already begun. The space, which will be filled by Regions Bank, is expected to be complete by June of 2021. The mall’s current tenants, including Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond, will benefit from the farmers market, nightlife performances and festivals that are expected to fill the new open-air space. The development expects to become a live-work-play site and is within a 20-minute drive from New Orleans’ French Quarter neighborhood. Richards Clearview, LLC hopes for the majority of the renovations to be complete by late 2023 or early 2024.
Unicorp National Developments Inc. had its groundbreaking in August for its $1B, 4.32-acre O-Town West mixed-use development project in southwest Orlando, Fla., which is in close proximity to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. Retail and restaurant tenants signed on include Publix, Taco Bell, Wawa, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, Wendy’s, Dunkin’, Planet Smoothie, Panera Bread, Portillo’s, Flippers Pizzeria, Action Gator Tire and Renaissance Med Spa. A White Castle broke ground in November for its largest unit, a standalone 4,567-s.f. Restaurant that will feature two drive-thru lanes and indoor/outdoor dining, expected to open by mid-2021. Four luxury residential developments — totaling 1,904 units — are also in the works, along with jogging trails, a lagoon for water activities, a boardwalk, a dog park, a two-story entertainment center and 150,000 s.f. of Class A office space. The project will also house the Marriott Vacations Worldwide headquarters.
Unicorp also hopes to finalize its plans to purchase the Orlando Fashion Square from The Bancorp Inc.’s TBB Orlando LLC. Once finalized, Unicorp is expected to submit plans to the city of Orlando for a $1B project that will redevelop the space with a new landscaping, water features and garden areas. Unicorp would also like to add tenants such as a fitness center and a pet resort, in addition to a hotel and high rise apartments.
Furniture Brands Owning Malls
Ingka Centres, which owns 45 IKEA-anchored malls throughout Europe, China and Russia, plans to open its first IKEA-anchored U.S. mall in the fall of 2021 within a six-story, 250,000-s.f. glass building in downtown San Francisco. Additional similar IKEA-anchored malls, dubbed “Meeting Places,” are expected to open in more inner-city U.S. locations, with Ingka Centres eyeing New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Co-anchors are expected to be supermarkets and judging by other Ingka Centres throughout the world, potentially Zara, Adidas and H&M stores. Ingka Centres also hinted at other similar do-it-yourself-type retail tenants, potentially Michaels or Hobby Lobby. IKEA is also closely associated with sustainability, which may mean popular Bay Area-based sustainable-oriented brands such as Allbirds, The RealReal and even Levi’s SecondHand jeans stores could be potential future mall tenants. Ingka Centres may also open its own IKEA secondhand merchandise store, which it debuted in Sweden in October, in these American malls in the future.
The owners of another furniture retailer, the Northwest-based Safavieh, recently purchased a Class A mall, the Stamford Town Center in Stamford, Conn., from Taubman Properties for $20.15M. Safavieh plans to add more youth-oriented, trendy restaurants and shops to cater to the boom of 25 to 34 year olds that have made the exodus away from New York City’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions, and transplanted themselves into Stamford’s many multifamily housing options. One of these options, the 465-unit Stamford Urby apartments developed by Brookfield Property Group in partnership with Urby, is within walking distance of the Stamford Town Center. The new owners will open their own Safavieh brand rug/furniture showroom within the mall, making it the brand’s 14th U.S. showroom and its first mall unit. The other locations are either standalone buildings, end cap units or inline street-front spaces. Safavieh, known for their high-end home furnishings, plans to provide new plants and updated furnishings within the mall. The mall’s current tenant mix includes Macy’s, Saks OFF 5th, Michael Kors, Swarovski and Pieology.
