CONSTRUCTION THREAD: Magnolia Park Town Center

[krazeeboi]

Is Magnolia Park Town Center going to be something akin to a New Urbanist village (e.g., Baxter Village in Fort Mill) or Atlantic Station, just on a smaller scale? I would hope the latter; it's one of my favorite spots in Atlanta.

[goodbye]

None of us know exactly what this will end up looking like, but according to the new owners of the property, we should expect something similar to the Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It appears to be a quality high end development.

Edited April 13, 2007 by Skyliner

[RestedTraveler]

Is Magnolia Park Town Center going to be something akin to a New Urbanist village (e.g., Baxter Village in Fort Mill) or Atlantic Station, just on a smaller scale? I would hope the latter; it's one of my favorite spots in Atlanta.

With the property recently changing hands, I believe it's anybody's guess as to exactly what it will be at this point. The original Gulfside Development Corp. plan was leaning toward being that sort of development, yes.

[krazeeboi]

Thanks for the info, guys. If it turns out to be anything like Downtown at the Gardens, it will be pretty impressive.

[erm1981]

I also heard they have about a month and a half to build the costco so that is pretty fast construction. They will be working six 10 hour days a week.

[StrangeCock]

Aren't Costco's pretty much 4 walls and a roof? So maybe it's possible...

[g-man430]

I don't think this has been posted yet: http://projects.resalt.net/magnolia_v2/index.php

[mallguy]

I don't think this has been posted yet: http://projects.resalt.net/magnolia_v2/index.php

Great catch and that definitely is a 360 degree shift from some of the prior stuff on Menin's website. Looks good!

[g-man430]

^^Very true. Can't wait to see this development complete.

Edited April 16, 2007 by g-man430

[gs3]

Thanks for posting the updated website g-man. From the guys at Menin, this website update is still a stopgap and borrows heavily from the previous developers. Expect major updates soon.

Below are some photos I snapped of Downtown while on my way to my meeting this past week in Palm Beach Gardens. While a nice project, information I received at the meeting is that Magnolia will be greatly different from Downtown (Downtown has more internal pedestrian flow, Magnolia will have more external pedestrian flow).

1. Magnolia will see the use of major amounts of stone.

2. Magnolia will be more automobile oriented (not as in a sea of pavement, but small landscaped groupings of parking in front of stores).

3. A large percentage of the stores will have dual entrances (one facing parking, one facing interior plazas / walkways).

4. Some of the tenants of Downtown have signed on for Magnolia. (As stated previously in this thread, count on Z Gallerie, Anthropologie.....several of the ones previously stated will come to fruition, Menin has some good retail relationships). Additionally, several of the leases under the previous developer have transfered to Menin.

5. Restaurant and entertainment will comprise close to 40% of the Magnolia Park development.

6. Menin is partnering with a well known hospitality group for the hotel portion. Currently negotiations are on with three hotel brands (two from the same family of brands).

[GSP Tiger]

Has anyone noticed a stoppage in demolition with the Montgomery Ward anchor still standing? I would think the stoppage is due to the site changing owners.

[goodbye]

GREAT updtate, gsupstate! Thank you so very much!

[mallguy]

Surprised that not many comparisons have been made between Magnolia Park and the Village at Sandhill in Columbia, with some big-box stores and regular mall-type stores. The most upscale store at VaS seems to be Sharper Image:

http://www.villageatsandhillonline.com/pdf/vasdir.pdf

[g-man430]

GREAT updtate, gsupstate! Thank you so very much!

Ditto.

Edited April 20, 2007 by g-man430

[Greenville]

Surprised that not many comparisons have been made between Magnolia Park and the Village at Sandhill in Columbia, with some big-box stores and regular mall-type stores. The most upscale store at VaS seems to be Sharper Image:

http://www.villageatsandhillonline.com/pdf/vasdir.pdf

Based on what I have seen, Magnolia Park is going to be more upscale than Village at Sandhill - as in a lot of retail and restaurants that don't currently have a presence in South Carolina. In other words, it will set a new standard for town center developments in this state. Can you back me up on that, gsupstate?

[gs3]

Based on what I have seen, Magnolia Park is going to be more upscale than Village at Sandhill - as in a lot of retail and restaurants that don't currently have a presence in South Carolina. In other words, it will set a new standard for town center developments in this state. Can you back me up on that, gsupstate?

Indeed. Yes.

Village at Sandhill is simply a larger version of Greenridge, with different orientation of big box (strip set-up vs. the horseshoe shape of Greenridge).

Magnolia will be a different animal in styling, percent of restaurant/entertainment and quality level of retail tenants.

[mallguy]

From Southeast Real Estate Business, 2005, via an archived article:

"When completed, The Village at Sandhill will encompass 2.5 million square feet, lending its space to three distinct sections: an auxiliary center opening this month called

[gs3]

GREAT updtate, gsupstate! Thank you so very much!

My pleasure Skyliner.

[g-man430]

It's unfortunate Mallguy still has his doubts about this development. Come on Mallguy. Get happy.

[mallguy]

It's unfortunate Mallguy still has his doubts about this development. Come on Mallguy. Get happy.

I'm not doubting that it will be a successful mid-tier outdoor shopping center, at least for a typical shopping center's life cycle, in line with other developments in Greenville. I am confident that will occur.

I just see no evidence that some of the things thrown around on this board- that it will be an ultra-upscale "shopper's paradise" and the like- are true (and to which I give the same credibility as the Flyertalk post stating that an Aloft might come to Greenville, which seems to have gotten some people pretty excited). I'm just realistic. People just ought to be satisfied with Greenville's upsides (laid-back and small population, leading to light traffic, cheap real estate, low city stress, etc.) and should be satisfied that the upsides outweigh the downsides (lack of luxury retail); when people get so ecstatic about hints of high-end stores coming to town, it seems so small-town like. Look at the Charlotte and Atlanta boards, to compare people's reactions about hints of new retailers; people don't go nuts about a PF Chang's, for example.

[g-man430]

I'm not doubting that it will be a successful mid-tier outdoor shopping center, at least for a typical shopping center's life cycle, in line with other developments in Greenville. I am confident that will occur.

I just see no evidence that some of the things thrown around on this board- that it will be an ultra-upscale "shopper's paradise" and the like- are true (and to which I give the same credibility as the Flyertalk post stating that an Aloft might come to Greenville, which seems to have gotten some people pretty excited). I'm just realistic. People just ought to be satisfied with Greenville's upsides (laid-back and small population, leading to light traffic, cheap real estate, low city stress, etc.) and should be satisfied that the upsides outweigh the downsides (lack of luxury retail); when people get so ecstatic about hints of high-end stores coming to town, it seems so small-town like. Look at the Charlotte and Atlanta boards, to compare people's reactions about hints of new retailers; people don't go nuts about a PF Chang's, for example.

So just because Greenville isn't the size of Atanta, we can't have the same retailers they have? I think this center will get some fantastic retailers, restaurants, and hotels when it is complete that other cities Greenville's size and bigger wished they had.

Edited April 20, 2007 by g-man430

[Greenville]

I'm not doubting that it will be a successful mid-tier outdoor shopping center, at least for a typical shopping center's life cycle, in line with other developments in Greenville. I am confident that will occur.

I just see no evidence that some of the things thrown around on this board- that it will be an ultra-upscale "shopper's paradise" and the like- are true (and to which I give the same credibility as the Flyertalk post stating that an Aloft might come to Greenville, which seems to have gotten some people pretty excited). I'm just realistic. People just ought to be satisfied with Greenville's upsides (laid-back and small population, leading to light traffic, cheap real estate, low city stress, etc.) and should be satisfied that the upsides outweigh the downsides (lack of luxury retail); when people get so ecstatic about hints of high-end stores coming to town, it seems so small-town like. Look at the Charlotte and Atlanta boards, to compare people's reactions about hints of new retailers; people don't go nuts about a PF Chang's, for example.

What seems small-town like to me, mallguy, is the fact that you consider Greenville to have a small population, be laid-back, and with low stress. It's no NYC, but you portray it to be another Anderson, SC or smaller. Give it more credit. Greenville is a progressive, growing, clean "new South" metro that has the attention of many people around the Southeast - and in the last few years, the nation. It has all the amenities that just about everyone needs, and is gradually getting more. Nobody here has said that we're getting high-end retail like Versace, Armani, etc., but to discount Magnolia Park as being "mid-tier" is failing to pay attention to what several people in the know have shared.

[g-man430]

Gsupstate, you said the developers were working with three different hotel brands. Does that mean Magnolia Park Town Center could see three hotels or just one from one of the three different brands looking at the center?

[Greenville]

Gsupstate, you said the developers were working with three different hotel brands. Does that mean Magnolia Park Town Center could see three hotels or just one from one of the three different brands looking at the center?

I read it to mean that there will be one hotel, and that the Magnolia Park developers are currently deciding between three different hotels.

[mallguy]

What seems small-town like to me, mallguy, is the fact that you consider Greenville to have a small population, be laid-back, and with low stress. It's no NYC, but you portray it to be another Anderson, SC or smaller. Give it more credit. Greenville is a progressive, growing, clean "new South" metro that has the attention of many people around the Southeast - and in the last few years, the nation. It has all the amenities that just about everyone needs, and is gradually getting more. Nobody here has said that we're getting high-end retail like Versace, Armani, etc., but to discount Magnolia Park as being "mid-tier" is failing to pay attention to what several people in the know have shared.

I'm from Greenville. It's a lot bigger and has a lot more than Anderson or Spartanburg. It's not what Greenville has or doesn't have that make it seem on this board as if it's a small town; it is locals' reactions to prospects of new stores that make it seem small town-like. For example, when I took the Magnolia Park press release describing it as "refined" and with a Costco to my friends in Manhattan, along with a printout of some of the commentary on this site, my friends howled with laughter and thought Greenville must be the end of the earth, based on how people were reacting to some new stores and how they viewed "upscale" retail. The Spartanburg forum- with people ticked off that they don't have a TGI Friday's or the like- is even moreso. It's all about attitude.

Having lived in much larger cities that have more high-end stores and the like than Greenville does, I know that getting those benefits often means trading off other benefits that Greenville has, such as short commutes, cheap real estate, etc. People on this board should just be more confident that Greenville is a fine place, regardless of whether or not Nordstrom or the like is there, and shouldn't go berzerk upon rumors that an Aloft (based on a Flyertalk post) or a Nordstrom (based on some gift cards on sale at Bi-Lo) are coming, and people in Greenville need to realize that just because they like Greenville (well of course people should; it's a nice place), it doesn't necessarily follow that high-end retailers will abandon their market requirements and come there. It's people's reactions in Greenville, not what Greenville has or doesn't have, that make it seem small town-like to outsiders such as my Manhattan friends.

People in NYC aren't really fazed at all about getting a flagship Louis Vuitton or two Ritz-Carltons or even the Time Warner Center, which is a large development with some pretty big buildings; similarly, people in Greenville shouldn't care so much about a Z Gallerie. Both cities have enough going for them as it is.

Edited April 21, 2007 by mallguy