Woodland Mall to get $100 Million makeover

[getemngo]

9 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

I have this:

Oh yes, that's what I saw before. Blame my faulty memory about it being a single building. But I was right about The Container Store!

 

20 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Unfortunately, Tesla won't be coming anytime soon due to State law. Heck, they setup a popup shop down at the JW last summer and they had to be very careful even talking about price. They deferred a lot of questions to either getting on line or giving business cards of salespeople out of State. I bet they would build a Tesla store in GR if it weren't for our laws. I went to the Tesla store in Oakbrook. It's a pretty cool experience / way to shop for a vehicle.

Joe

There's already a Tesla showroom at the Somerset Collection. But yes, it's a bit pointless when they can't sell them or discuss price.

[GRLaker]

Cheesecake Factory coming to Woodland.

https://fox17online.com/2019/03/21/the-cheesecake-factory-is-coming-to-west-michigan/

[egrguy]

That was something that Rivertown should have been falling over to get. Woodland is really doing a great job.

[mgreven]

I saw a rendering but it looks like the Bar Louie spot and there’s no “On The Border” in front of it. Odd. Anyone know where it’s going exactly?

[MJLO]

49 minutes ago, egrguy said:

That was something that Rivertown should have been falling over to get. Woodland is really doing a great job.

Unfortunately for Rivertown it's not near the high wage demographics for the area.  I'm not sure it would have mattered if it did go after a brand like Cheesecake Factory.  No matter how fancy and shiny Rivertown was when it was built, Woodland still sits adjacent to all the rich people.   Hence why all the new premium brands/chains to the area are still clustering between Woodland and Knapp's corner.

[egrguy]

12 minutes ago, MJLO said:

Unfortunately for Rivertown it's not near the high wage demographics for the area.  I'm not sure it would have mattered if it did go after a brand like Cheesecake Factory.  No matter how fancy and shiny Rivertown was when it was built, Woodland still sits adjacent to all the rich people.   Hence why all the new premium brands/chains to the area are still clustering between Woodland and Knapp's corner.

Of course. I agree with you 100%. I remember when Woodland was in a somewhat similar place and they nabbed the Apple Store and with further investment has been on an upward trajectory since. Not saying Rivertown will make it but they need brands like these to start competing.

[mpchicago]

35 minutes ago, mgreven said:

I saw a rendering but it looks like the Bar Louie spot and there’s no “On The Border” in front of it. Odd. Anyone know where it’s going exactly?

I guess they are giving Bar Louie and On The Border the boot, or moving them?  

[MJLO]

3 minutes ago, egrguy said:

Of course. I agree with you 100%. I remember when Woodland was in a somewhat similar place and they nabbed the Apple Store and with further investment has been on an upward trajectory since. Not saying Rivertown will make it but they need brands like these to start competing.

 I still believe the retail market in W. Michigan will support two super regionals.   Rivertown was overbuilt when it first debuted.  Though the late 90s were the pinnacle of brick and mortar chains, and West Michigan was growing even more gangbusters than it is now.  Back then it was premier for the area.  I remember as a teenager feeling like Grand Rapids had "arrived" since we had a two story mall lol.    

Woodlands location was as much of a gold mine now, as it was when it was built in the late 60's.   Except the buying power around it has grown even more exponentially.   PREIT has done an especially good job of constantly reimaging the property and staying ahead of negative trends.  This at a time when GGP neglected Rivertown and used it as a cash cow.  Rivertowns place will be as a super-regional center with mainstream brands.  Brookstone would do well to down size  the retail portion and diversify the uses.    There's a chance they could snag  a few premium brands from the Woodland area but I think it would take a monster reinvestment/reimaging.  To this point Brookstone hasn't shown any indication they have the desire to do so. 

[GRLaker]

2 hours ago, egrguy said:

Of course. I agree with you 100%. I remember when Woodland was in a somewhat similar place and they nabbed the Apple Store and with further investment has been on an upward trajectory since. Not saying Rivertown will make it but they need brands like these to start competing.

I think Rivertown has resigned itself to being the mall of the plebs and in doing so has doomed itself because they'll rarely out-price Amazon. Woodland has gone in the direction of creating a rich experience for rich people and it is obviously succeeding. It's unfortunate for Rivertown, because Grandville/SW Wyoming is a nice area that should attract plenty of upper middle class people from west and south of Grand Rapids with somewhat high-end stores. I think the only way Rivertown will succeed is if they "de-mall" and go the "Main Street" route. It would set themselves apart from Woodland and give an experience unique to the area. It is a hot trend throughout the country and I have no doubt it would succeed here even when considering our winter months. 

[twoshort]

1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

I guess they are giving Bar Louie and On The Border the boot, or moving them?  

 

To me it looks like you can see On The Boarder in the picture and they're simply getting rid of Bar Louie?  

 

[HavingAhoot]

so is Shake Shake coming or not.... I dont need cheesecake, I NEED Shake shack!!

[GRDadof3]

Looks to me like it's going right here. No? 

[MJLO]

2 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

Looks to me like it's going right here. No? 

 

I'd guess the space you highlighted plus the Bar Louie space as well.  Cheesecake Factory's are huge as far as chain restaurants go.  Multiple dining areas, bars, plus the cheesecake portion.  

 

[GRDadof3]

2 minutes ago, MJLO said:

I'd guess the space you highlighted plus the Bar Louie space as well.  Cheesecake Factory's are huge as far as chain restaurants go.  Multiple dining areas, bars, plus the cheesecake portion.  

 

Yeah, article says 8900 square feet so it would definitely go into the Bar Louie space. That place was alright, never really seemed to be crowded. Remember when it was Max & Ermas? 

[mpchicago]

5 hours ago, twoshort said:

To me it looks like you can see On The Boarder in the picture and they're simply getting rid of Bar Louie?  

 

I like the fact that the sun is setting in the north in this rendering!  

[joeDowntown]

Fox 17 updates their story:

"Woodland Mall officials tell FOX 17 that The Cheesecake Factory will be taking the place of Bar Louie.  The renovation to make the change into Cheesecake Factory begins next month."

Joe

[Guest]

Good for Woodland for landing a great tenant.  I've never been to a Cheescake Factory, is it really that great?

As far as GR being able to support two of them, this is probably true, but even all of metro Detroit only has one in Novi.

Now all we need is an Ikea.....

[Pattmost20]

8 minutes ago, Floyd_Z said:

I've never been to a Cheescake Factory, is it really that great?

I would say above average for a chain. It is still suburban mall food. I think of it more as a sign that higher end stores are willing to give West Michigan a try,

[GRain]

56 minutes ago, Pattmost20 said:

I would say above average for a chain. It is still suburban mall food. I think of it more as a sign that higher end stores are willing to give West Michigan a try,

Agree.   These are upper-middle-class brands and the city seems ready for it (i.e. Container Store, etc).

Cheesecake Factory was way ahead of its time in the early/mid 1990s.  As far as food trends go it even pre-dates the popularity of the Food Network.   

These days the opening of a Cheesecake Factory wouldn't generate much excitement in most cities 20+ years after its prime, but our city (and especially our outskirts/suburbs) are not exactly cutting edge (that's not a criticism, just sort of is what it is).  I'm sure CF will enjoy the sort of warm welcome that we will give them.   A real win-win IMO. 

[acmjames]

Rivertown is now royally screwed even the whole rivertown area if they don't get with the program. They need to bring in IKEA and convert the vacant Younkers or Sears into it or just tear them down completely. I also feel a de-mall is a good idea with a main street concept could save the shopping center. 

2 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

Good for Woodland for landing a great tenant.  I've never been to a Cheescake Factory, is it really that great?

As far as GR being able to support two of them, this is probably true, but even all of metro Detroit only has one in Novi.

Now all we need is an Ikea.....

I totally agree about the IKEA and it needs to go in place of Sears/Yonkers or both! Rivertown is on the verge of turning into a Rogers Plaza lol 

2 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

Good for Woodland for landing a great tenant.  I've never been to a Cheescake Factory, is it really that great?

As far as GR being able to support two of them, this is probably true, but even all of metro Detroit only has one in Novi.

Now all we need is an Ikea.....

The food is amazing if you like large plates, gourmet quality tasting food with full flavor. Also the cheesecake is to die for...

[acmjames]

7 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Fox 17 updates their story:

"Woodland Mall officials tell FOX 17 that The Cheesecake Factory will be taking the place of Bar Louie.  The renovation to make the change into Cheesecake Factory begins next month."

Joe

Bar Louie needs to go bye bye anyway lol...

[GRDadof3]

9 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

Good for Woodland for landing a great tenant.  I've never been to a Cheescake Factory, is it really that great?

As far as GR being able to support two of them, this is probably true, but even all of metro Detroit only has one in Novi.

Now all we need is an Ikea.....

I wasn't all that impressed with Cheesecake Factory. But then again there's a lot of things that people rave about that don't appeal to me. (like Ikea).

 

[joeDowntown]

17 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

I wasn't all that impressed with Cheesecake Factory. But then again there's a lot of things that people rave about that don't appeal to me. (like Ikea).

 

Agreed. The food is decent, but not memorable. The portions are ridiculously huge; to the point where you think “oh yeah, this is why we’re so fat”. If you’ve ever been to a Cheesecake Factory in a major metro downtown (like the one in the John Hancock building in Chicago), the design is pretty cool and unique. Like something out of Alice in Wonderland. But the suburban locations aren’t really that special. 

I think it’s a big score for Woodland. Some people will wait in line for hours, but others will forget we even have one.

Joe

[GRDadof3]

4 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Agreed. The food is decent, but not memorable. The portions are ridiculously huge; to the point where you think “oh yeah, this is why we’re so fat”. If you’ve ever been to a Cheesecake Factory in a major metro downtown (like the one in the John Hancock building in Chicago), the design is pretty cool and unique. Like something out of Alice in Wonderland. But the suburban locations aren’t really that special. 

I think it’s a big score for Woodland. Some people will wait in line for hours, but others will forget we even have one.

Joe

Agreed with everything you said. I'm not a big portion eater, and never get dessert at restaurants. I'll take small super high quality, small portions any day.  

We tried going to that one once and it was a 2 hour wait. 

[GRLaker]

9 hours ago, acmjames said:

Rivertown is now royally screwed even the whole rivertown area if they don't get with the program. They need to bring in IKEA and convert the vacant Younkers or Sears into it or just tear them down completely. I also feel a de-mall is a good idea with a main street concept could save the shopping center. 

I totally agree about the IKEA and it needs to go in place of Sears/Yonkers or both! Rivertown is on the verge of turning into a Rogers Plaza lol 

The food is amazing if you like large plates, gourmet quality tasting food with full flavor. Also the cheesecake is to die for...

I'm glad someone agrees with me on the de-malling/main street concept for Rivertown. Any mention of it seems to generate no discussion. Rivertown has a serious problem on its hands. It needs to be innovative or else it will fizzle out and it will take Grandville with it as 1/4 of the city sits as vacant retail wasteland.

I could see IKEA working at Rivertown only if they took Younkers, Sears, and the whole eastern quarter of the mall. IKEAs are notoriously big. The whole store is a giant warehouse with a maze running through it. I think the only way Rivertown could give them the amount of space they need is if they gave them that whole section of the mall and filled in the space in the southeast parking lot. That whole portion of the mall is essentially dead space anyway. The only anchor left is Sears, Younkers left, Hollister moved...Campus Den and Champs Sports are about the only stores that generate any foot traffic anymore. They could easily move to the west end and take the place of the two oriental import stores. 

Other anchor options would be Crate and Barrel and the Container Store. That would fill only one anchor void though (Sears will eventually leave) and it would only be a bandaid on the overall issue of the current setup being a dying breed of mall. The long-term fix would be to de-mall, make the center portion into a road with parking, expand the stores out to compensate for the space taken by parking, make the second story into condo or high-end apartment units, and maybe build a condo/high-end apartment complex adjacent to it. Make it into a small town full of retail, housing, restaurants/bars, etc. It would have a lot of up-front cost, but it could pay off in the long term as opposed to serving as a financial liability as it rots away.