I know there are various topics about McCain Mall buried within other threads on this forum, but I think a thread entirely devoted to the death of a mall that has so much potential and is in a wonderful part of town is appropriate.

When in McCain tonight, I had discovered that yet another one of the "good" stores has closed; Wilson's Leather. One by one McCain is losing the stores that made it a decent mall. Unlike Park Plaza which is usually either packed or has a fair amount of shoppers, McCain was virtually void of shoppers. I will honestly be shocked if it is still with us in 3 years. Instead of suing the developers of the Shoppes at North Hills over the clearing of a few acres of trees, they should sue Simon for KILLING McCain mall.

McCain needs a major redo both for the interior and exterior. The outside of the mall looks very dated and unappealing. Also there needs to be more greenery in the parking lot area to spruce up the whole area. The glass/mirror panels on the Dillards side facing 67/167 look horrible.

The good news is that it is a big mall with a lot of potential and a great location (both visability and neighborhood). It will take some money but it can be done.

This continues to show the ineptness of the Simon group. I have lost all respect for them, assuming I ever had any.

There is NO excuse for abandoning the market, or this development. There are NO outside factors affecting the viability of the mall except the owners themselves. They are creating their own problem. This is a NICE part of town and a huge retail corridor for the north metro and northern suburbs.

Ridiculous.

[Note: this will only hurt Dillard's as well. Here's for hoping Strode or RED rescues this thing....]

If I was Dillard's, I would look at exiting McCain mall as soon as there is another viable development to exit to. Basically, if McCain is still owned by Simon by the time the Shoppes at North Hills get built (considering they do), Dillard's should move to the Shoppes and close their McCain store.

I am hoping it gets bought out before it comes to that. Freeing it from the clutches of Simon is the only way it can be saved.

I am not sure how recently this happend, but Luby's Cafeteria has closed in McCain Mall as well.

I don't know if viability of the mall is as good as it was a few years ago. The mall is no longer the draw it once was. A few years ago the mall received a lot of traffic from Conway but with retail development in Conway there is no longer the need to visit McCain as often. Or with the redevelopment of Park Plaza this might be a better choice for those shoppers. Also, Cabot is seeing some additional development that would reduce the need to visit the mall along with higher gas prices. If the Shoppes at North Hills is built I don't see the mall being around in its present form within ten years.

If there is a rescuer it may be someone else entirely. Someone who is trying to build a competing shopping center not far away but running into some problems outside of his control....

I agree. Instead of building the Shoppes at North Hills, its developer should buy McCain Mall from Simon and do a complete renovation inside and out. Bass Pro could be an outparcel or could go where the old MM Cohns spot currently is. I would prefer something such as a Macy's to go in that spot, but it would take a huge turnaround for McCain before something like that can even be dreamed of.

I agree. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. Ideally, there'd be one major regional center in NLR - McCain, and two in LR - Park Plaza/Midtown/Park Avenue and something out west. Unfortunately, there are more centers vying for attention than is warranted by the market.

In light of this, I agree. Perhaps Belz-Burrows should abandon their attempt at building a new center and buy McCain from Simon and invest $30-40M in a complete overhaul. If the Shoppes at North Hills spells the end to McCain, then personally, I'd prefer it not to go in.

I'm sure you read the article in Ark Business about Dillard's and the effect the shift away from indoor malls seems to be having on its real estate profile. There has been one indoor mall built in three years in the U.S. and none currently planned. Last year only 20 "outdoor malls" were built. The rest of the developments nationally were smaller lifestyle centers (I was thinking how subtle this distinction seems) and "power centers". I think what we are seeing in LR is just a product of the time period, I think this is becoming the norm nationally and will be for the next decade or so. I admit it's odd and I'm not quite sure I'm a fan. Will I be more likely to go to the same store at Promenade at Chenal vs Park Plaza? Honestly, probably so. The "easy in, easy out" factor makes a difference to me. I don't like spending hours at the mall walking around and shopping, I know what I want. I think that premise is the driving force behind this.

Rave has closed its doors.

We do however has some new stuff coming to McCain. Aeropostale, Justice Just for Girls, First Wok Chinese Restaurant, and Whitehall Co. Jewelers.

I don't think McCain Mall is necessarily dead, but it definitely needs a major renovation and a new exciting tenant that can replace Cohn's. Because of Dillard's close ties to Simon, they have been very good at keeping competitors from ever entering the market through a Simon development. However, if there were a way for Macy's to enter, it would completely turn around the shopping center. Without that, I think the Bass Pro Shop idea is a great one. And not building the Shoppes at North Hills is a great idea. I still don't see the appeal of it. That means McCain could also get a traffic-building stadium-seating movie theater.

It's a big change from a few years ago when McCain was at 100% occupancy and was toying with the idea of adding another floor - it would have been an easy fit - Dillard's and Sears both have additional floors already and could anchor the ends. Good thing that never happened, because occupancy would be very low now. Or would that have changed the scope to where McCain was a bigger player than it is now? Hmmm.

The Bass Pro would be ideal on the Arkansas River on the NLR side of the Rock Island Bridge. With the planned creation of the William Clark wetlands, Bass Pro could figure someway to ferry canoes and kayaks to the LR side of the river for use in the wetland area. An electric golf cart type of vehicle could work on the Rock Island Bridge if it is wide enough for pedestrians and bicyclers too.

Then NLR could put the RV park where the Shoppes of North Hills is planned.

I'd like to see a development similar to the one in Bossier City. It's an advantage to be on the water as it lets people try the boats on the water, the one in Rowlett (Dallas) is that way in addition to the one in Bossier.

Last I heard Bass Pro is still a go, it's just sorting through the lawsuits.

Anybody know if McCain Mall is still up for renovation this summer?

You mean its suppose to be?

Yes, but it was a fairly modest amount (6 million?)

Perhaps the rumors of McCain Mall's death were exaggerated? (But not necessarily that greatly, depending on one's perspective.)

Arkansas Business reports the mall's latest arrivals in its weekly Business Briefs. On the heels of expanding Victoria's Secret to 9,500 SF and replacing Gap with American Eagle Outfitters, McCain Mall has a couple of these open and will have all of the following in place by the end of July:

• Justice, just for girls! — second level in the former Waldenbooks, between Old Navy and Dillard's
• Aéropostale — first level, across from Buckle
• First Wok — first level, replacing China Express
• Whitehall Jewelers — second level, next to Claire's

Kay Jewelers will also reopen at the mall sometime this summer. Seems that McCain Mall will now skew significantly younger demographically.