Pleasant Ridge Town Center

[hartford]

i agree the promenade will be really nice if it ever gets off the ground. it seems to me that there has been a lack of development in the chenal area (i.e. chenal parkway). there is a lot of land surrounding the kroger on chenal and I have never heard any plans for that area. it would be nice to get some more restaurants out in that area. also, at the beginning of chenal parkway at the 630/430 interchange it seems that there are a lot of "office space for lease" signs. are they having trouble keeping tenants? It would help if they would take care of that area...the grass in the middle of the road needs to be mowed. i know there is a lot of development going on on hwy 10 but it sems to me that chenal parkway is being forgotton. any reasons for that?

[Aporkalypse]

i agree the promenade will be really nice if it ever gets off the ground. it seems to me that there has been a lack of development in the chenal area (i.e. chenal parkway). there is a lot of land surrounding the kroger on chenal and I have never heard any plans for that area. it would be nice to get some more restaurants out in that area. also, at the beginning of chenal parkway at the 630/430 interchange it seems that there are a lot of "office space for lease" signs. are they having trouble keeping tenants? It would help if they would take care of that area...the grass in the middle of the road needs to be mowed. i know there is a lot of development going on on hwy 10 but it sems to me that chenal parkway is being forgotton. any reasons for that?

It's pretty inaccessible and traffic is a big issue. I think the Village at Rahling Road struggled a bit for this reason. I remember when that Kroger was built there was supposed to be adjacent development and it seemed like a great place for it. The store was designed to be attached to some strip centers and I always wondered why it didn't happen, even as a bank sprung up in its lot and car dealerships came along across the street.

[northernbizzkit1]

does anyone think J Crew will ever enter the market? I have not seen them mentioned in the midtowne mall or pleasant ridge. It seems to me that midtowne would be a good fit.

My friend works at J Crew here outside of Memphis, and they said that they tend to be the last one to join the party, so to speak...They see how the development does or region in general does before starting a store.

[Architect]

Either of these would be a good fit. Whatever retailers don't opt for Pleasant Ridge or Midtowne will have a couple more chances. The most concrete would be the Promenade at Chenal which is supposed to be 400,000 SF and will be nicer than both of the other developments. Last I checked there was some clearing of land that way but they weren't close to starting construction yet.

There are rumors of major shopping developments at Colonel Glenn near the Rave Theater and at Shackleford at the originally proposed Summit Mall site. JC Penney's is wanting to get back in the LR area out there. Anyone have any info on the status of those projects?

Sources tell me that the Promenade at Chenal is deader than a door nail. Is that really any surprise as it is so far removed from the population center and is VERY inaccessible from a major freeway? Not to mention the fact that all of the significant retailers are locating in MidTowne, and to some extent Pleasant Ridge.

[Aporkalypse]

Sources tell me that the Promenade at Chenal is deader than a door nail. Is that really any surprise as it is so far removed from the population center and is VERY inaccessible from a major freeway? Not to mention the fact that all of the significant retailers are locating in MidTowne, and to some extent Pleasant Ridge.

Only one tenant was important and that was Dillard's. Dillard's wants a store in West LR and originally this was going to be the large anchor at the Summit Mall. When Simon and the Summit Mall finally were scrapped the Promenade at Chenal was proposed. The timeline for it really made me think it would happen before Pleasant Ridge did and really it's a more promising development aside from the flawed location.

Some things have changed in the LR retail market since it was initially planned. Midtowne and the Park Plaza renovations have really cemented that retail corridor as the main retail complex in the region. Dillard's won't want to leave Park Plaza now and if they want a store at Chenal it will be in addition to Park Plaza, not instead of. The other issue is that Dillard's may not want to cede West LR to Parisian which will have a store at Pleasant Ridge and that may be a reason to go ahead and build Promenade. There is a need for additional retail and restaurant space and if Dillard's still wants the Promenade built the other tenants will follow.

I wonder how far along they are. I know the land acquisition was completed and I swore last time I was up there I saw them clearing land further back from the road itself across Chenal from Rahling. I thought that was pretty obvious behind the GMAC building. I know that the schedule has been pushed back multiple times, though. The same thing happened with Midtowne as well, I guess, so it might happen.

If it is scrapped it seems like the developers planning it are far enough along they'll take a big hit.

[skirby]

Today, Saks has announced that it is selling its Parisian stores to Belk. Belk announced that it will rename the stores Belk.

[Architect]

Today, Saks has announced that it is selling its Parisian stores to Belk. Belk announced that it will rename the stores Belk.

Yuk.

[mcheiss]

Yuk.

No, that sucks.

Belk is nowhere on the level that Parisian is.

[theman]

No, that sucks.

Belk is nowhere on the level that Parisian is.

That takes a some of the umph from Plesant Ridge. Wonder how Schikel feels about this? If I were him, I would be pretty upset now.

[mcheiss]

That takes a some of the umph from Plesant Ridge. Wonder how Schikel feels about this? If I were him, I would be pretty upset now.

I know how you guys feel. Our Sak's at Pleasant Crossing is being converted as well. Problem is, we already have a Belk in Rogers.

[RemusCal]

I know how you guys feel. Our Sak's at Pleasant Crossing is being converted as well. Problem is, we already have a Belk in Rogers.

I think it is the perfect place to put in a Nordstrom or Macys Department store. It is about time that one of those enters into Arkansas. I think LR and NWA could both support either one of those. Pleasant Crossing should contain both Nordstrom and Macys in my opinion. And add a lot of super upscale shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, etc...I know most people don't think we're large enough yet, but one of the two cities needs this to add more retail dollars. This will only help out our schools more...HOPEFULLY!

[Architect]

That takes a some of the umph from Plesant Ridge. Wonder how Schikel feels about this? If I were him, I would be pretty upset now.

I think "Belk" is swedish for "vomit" ....as in "I just Belked on your development."

[mcheiss]

I think it is the perfect place to put in a Nordstrom or Macys Department store. It is about time that one of those enters into Arkansas. I think LR and NWA could both support either one of those. Pleasant Crossing should contain both Nordstrom and Macys in my opinion. And add a lot of super upscale shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, etc...I know most people don't think we're large enough yet, but one of the two cities needs this to add more retail dollars. This will only help out our schools more...HOPEFULLY!

I think Macy's is a good idea, but I'm not to sure about Nordstrom, since they only participate in metros of atleast 1 million.

[Nomadic]

I think "Belk" is swedish for "vomit" ....as in "I just Belked on your development."

LOL! That was great.

[gmariam]

In December RED Development (The Promende at Chenal) got an extension of it's sales contract from Deltic Timber. The sale of the site was supposed to close in 4th quarter 2005, but now is scheduled for 2006.

Also, on June 22nd, Promenade at Chenal filed with the city for a Zoning Site plan review.

So maybe we will see some movement soon.

[gmariam]

Shackleford Crossing (old Summit mall site) is in the clearing stage. It's supposed to be 650,000 sq. ft. The only confirmed tenant will be JC Penney, which will be leaving University Mall.

Some rumored tenants are a Wal-mart supercenter, Toys r us, and a Red Robin restaurant.

[gmariam]

Info at the Villages at Brodie Creek (430 and Colonel Glenn).......

A Texas developer plans to build a 550,000 sq. ft. open are center. This is a different developer than the one that had plans to build in 2004. However, the new developer is keeping the same name.

This was from a 2005 Gazette article though. I don't know if anything is going on with it now.

[jcaruth]

Info at the Villages at Brodie Creek (430 and Colonel Glenn).......

A Texas developer plans to build a 550,000 sq. ft. open are center. This is a different developer than the one that had plans to build in 2004. However, the new developer is keeping the same name.

This was from a 2005 Gazette article though. I don't know if anything is going on with it now.

The Toys R' Us will be a Babies R' Us...Walmart most likely will build a supercenter store at this location and convert the Chenal and Bowman location to a Walmart Neighborhood Market.

Also, The Village at Brodie Creek is on hold for now and probably wont be developed in the near future.

[gmariam]

Great! Good to hear about a Babies r Us!

[Aporkalypse]

Is Schickel's lease arrangement with Saks binding now that they sold to Belk's? Can Schickel just back out of his lease and shop it around? Dillard's wants a West LR location and that was the whole impetus behing the Promenade at Chenal. I wonder if they would consider just going into the Pleasant Ridge Center if it were possible. Obviously, that would kill any remaining chance for the Promenade at Chenal.

I'm not sure Belk's would even want that location at Pleasant Ridge Towne Center - larger cities aren't their usual niche, especially in trendy suburban areas. The stores in Arkansas are all in smaller cities - Rogers (no idea where the Belk's is there), Conway, Stuttgart, Paragould, and Hot Springs.

I've never even been in a Belk's. What do they have?

Everything I ever heard about Schickel said he was kind of a prick. Talk about bad karma coming back to get you, this is it. His whole development centered around this store. Were this announcement made a year ago this development wouldn't be underway. At this point, though, there's no going back.

[Aporkalypse]

I think it is the perfect place to put in a Nordstrom or Macys Department store. It is about time that one of those enters into Arkansas. I think LR and NWA could both support either one of those. Pleasant Crossing should contain both Nordstrom and Macys in my opinion. And add a lot of super upscale shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, etc...I know most people don't think we're large enough yet, but one of the two cities needs this to add more retail dollars. This will only help out our schools more...HOPEFULLY!

I don't think either NWA or Little Rock is going to get either one of those chains anytime soon. They haven't entered many much larger and more affluent retail markets yet.

I do think both markets are good targets for Foley's which is a regional chain and is affiliated with Macy's.

In December RED Development (The Promende at Chenal) got an extension of it's sales contract from Deltic Timber. The sale of the site was supposed to close in 4th quarter 2005, but now is scheduled for 2006.

Also, on June 22nd, Promenade at Chenal filed with the city for a Zoning Site plan review.

So maybe we will see some movement soon.

Thanks for the info. I was hearing it might be dead.

[jcaruth]

Is Schickel's lease arrangement with Saks binding now that they sold to Belk's? Can Schickel just back out of his lease and shop it around? Dillard's wants a West LR location and that was the whole impetus behing the Promenade at Chenal. I wonder if they would consider just going into the Pleasant Ridge Center if it were possible. Obviously, that would kill any remaining chance for the Promenade at Chenal.

I'm not sure Belk's would even want that location at Pleasant Ridge Towne Center - larger cities aren't their usual niche, especially in trendy suburban areas. The stores in Arkansas are all in smaller cities - Rogers (no idea where the Belk's is there), Conway, Stuttgart, Paragould, and Hot Springs.

I've never even been in a Belk's. What do they have?

Everything I ever heard about Schickel said he was kind of a prick. Talk about bad karma coming back to get you, this is it. His whole development centered around this store. Were this announcement made a year ago this development wouldn't be underway. At this point, though, there's no going back.

Most likely the lease is no longer binding. They will have to do an assingment wich would require Schickle's signiture. However, it would be hard to find another tenant for this space unless a Dillard's quickly shows interest...also the layout and size of the store is only fitting for few tenants.

[Aporkalypse]

Most likely the lease is no longer binding. They will have to do an assingment wich would require Schickle's signiture. However, it would be hard to find another tenant for this space unless a Dillard's quickly shows interest...also the layout and size of the store is only fitting for few tenants.

I agree, very limited. I know he has a number of tenants already committed but you worry that this is going to interfere with his ability to bring in the right kinds of tenants. The things I'd been reading made it sound fairly upscale - the kinds of stores that want to be next to a Saks Parisian or Dillard's but not a Belk's.

[jcaruth]

I agree, very limited. I know he has a number of tenants already committed but you worry that this is going to interfere with his ability to bring in the right kinds of tenants. The things I'd been reading made it sound fairly upscale - the kinds of stores that want to be next to a Saks Parisian or Dillard's but not a Belk's.

True. I know there are several tenants that have letter of intents for the center, but have not yet signed a lease. It will be interesting to see if anyone backs out. These problems can tend to have a snowball effect...particuarly when it concerns an ancor tenant.

[Aporkalypse]

True. I know there are several tenants that have letter of intents for the center, but have not yet signed a lease. It will be interesting to see if anyone backs out. These problems can tend to have a snowball effect...particuarly when it concerns an ancor tenant.

If I were Schickel I'd be on the horn to Dillard's, Foley's and every decent dept store chain I could right now.

Of course he may already have a plan in place as he probably knew this was coming. We all knew Parisian was on the auction block but didn't know the buyer, he might've.

I was in town last weekend and saw the development - it's not too late to make significant modifications to that space if need be though the superstructure is largely built.