Northlake Mall

[15895]

Sucks that that area of Charlotte isn't connected to UC

[LKN704]

Northlake still has a fourth anchor pad available right? If so, was the space laid out for "just in case" expansion plans? Or, did a department store plan to build, but backed out

[CLTProductions]

Northlake mall is being sold as part of a portfolio sale for $1.4 billion, one of seven shopping centers.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2014/06/18/charlottes-northlake-mall-to-be-sold-to-starwood.html

[kermit]

^ that is marginally above construction cost for Northlake which (IIRC) was around $175 million. I am honesty surprised that they got $200 million for it.

[mallguy]

Ouch.  I never thought that Northlake was a "dud", in that the parking lot (at least at the front of the mall) seemed crowded whenever I'd visit.  But it's being sold with a bunch of "dud" malls, many of which are missing anchors, seemingly unloaded so that Taubman can keep the "better" malls in its portfolio.

 

Is Northlake headed towards a featured appearance on deadmalls.com?

[Guest]

Ouch.  I never thought that Northlake was a "dud", in that the parking lot (at least at the front of the mall) seemed crowded whenever I'd visit.  But it's being sold with a bunch of "dud" malls, many of which are missing anchors, seemingly unloaded so that Taubman can keep the "better" malls in its portfolio.

 

Is Northlake headed towards a featured appearance on deadmalls.com?

I think Northlake is actually fairly successful. At least I'd been under that impression.

[Norm2]

I think Northlake is actually fairly successful. At least I'd been under that impression.

Northlake Mall gets the African-American middle class demographic because of it's location. I do not think that the developers intended for the mall to cater to this demographic.  

[Temeteron]

I frequent SouthPark, Carolina Place, and Northlake quite often.  Although SouthPark's demographics are very different, I feel that Carolina Place and Northlake have similar demographics.  The only main difference in my opinion is that Carolina Place caters more to children/pre-teens and teens.  Northlake actually has a lot more "semi-upscale" stores that SouthPark also has, which makes it more desirable than CP actually.  Stores such as Cache, Apple, Pottery Barn, Bebe, Pandora, Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic all have locations at Northlake, but not Carolina Place.  As far as ethnic groups, I find it pretty diverse at NL.  Probably more hispanics visit Carolina Place and Concord Mills, but I think an advantage NL has is that they are nearest to UNCC, which gives them a huge diverse student clientele.  

[Urbanity]

As long as I have been a member of these boards there seems to be the occasional rumbling that Northlake is in trouble or something.  Yet  the mall seems to continue to thrive in spite of pronouncements and worries to the contrary. 

[allthingsplanes]

I live fairly close to Northlake and am in that area regularly.  I would have to disagree with several of the sentiments expressed above.  While I do think that there is a sizeable African American population that goes there it never feels disproportionate.  When I first moved here 6 years ago some friends of ours told us that that area was shady.  But it's never felt unsafe to me.  And the area only continues to grow - with the addition of the McDonalds/BWW/Discount Tire area and several new apartment complexes.  I'd be shocked if Northlake is considered at all to be failing.

[AuLukey]

Probably more hispanics visit Carolina Place and Concord Mills, but I think an advantage NL has is that they are nearest to UNCC, which gives them a huge diverse student clientele.  

I'd be willing to put money on the fact that most UNCC students go to Concord Mills.  It is far more accessible from campus and much more entertaining than Northlake.  At least that was my experience when I was in college.  Northlake is a very mixed bag.  You have people from Huntersville and people from Sunset Rd all mixing in one place.  If it weren't for the curfew, that mall would have some major problems.

 

The parking lot is always jammed and the bus stop is overloaded on weekends.  I'm not sure that Northlake is headed toward failure, it just has an identity issue.

[kermit]

I have no idea if Northlake is healthy or not (I have never been). However, the  sub-2% (nominal) ROI that Traubman received for its recent investment suggests that the former owner saw little future there.

[chastogville]

I do know that a lot of the stores within the mall are considered low volume stores within their respected companies, so the sales per square foot are not good at all...

[ScottCLT]

I actually like going to Northlake more than any other mall in Charlotte. I live in SouthEnd, and it's a quick drive up I-77 - 10 minutes. It's the mall I frequent the most. I have figured out how to get to SouthPark in 12 minutes from SouthEnd using back roads (much trial and error involved, but I think I've figured out the best path), but still I prefer going to NorthLake. Plus, there's a Best Buy, REI, and more up there. So if it's a seasonal shopping thing (i.e. Christmas), then you can pretty much get everything done there. Except Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware, of course.

[CLT2014]

Northlake ended up in the local news again for the third shooting in the area in about a month. Even though the shooting was at the Verizon at Northlake Centre across the street, headlines still are connecting it to Northlake Mall, about a month after the Christmas Eve shooting that left a man dead in the mall on Christmas Eve. The shootout at Statesville/WT Harris on New Year's was also connected to being "near Northlake Mall."

Crime can happy anywhere, but the mall doesn't need to be at the top of headlines for violent crime like Eastland. It doesn't take much to sway popular opinion, even when we know crime can happen even at South Park.

Edited January 31, 2016 by CLT2014

[LKN704]

Gap has quietly closed all of their Northlake stores. Quite sad that Northlake couldn't support them.

[sclark]

Anthropologie also recently closed their store at Northlake Mall. Does anyone know if this was already in play before the Christmas Eve shooting?

Edited February 3, 2016 by sclark

[CLT2014]

Northlake opened in 2005 - many of the stores that were at the mall when it opened are hitting their 10 year lease renewal. I would expect more closings for stores that aren't generating enough profit, especially with so many brick and mortar retailers having such a tough time. Gap's closings aren't shocking. The Gap brands have been performing poorly and they are getting hammered by the stock market. They are closing stores all over the country to turn around their brands (and really struggling to do so).

The recent shootings in and around Northlake are not going to help for stores considering renewing their lease in 2016 if the sales data isn't super strong for the store. They may be concerned Northlake could go the direction of so many other indoor suburban malls across the country when they are thinking what the next 10 years look like. 

Middle class malls like Northlake are the hardest hit from shifting consumer behavior. High end malls are doing great, but the middle class mall customer has shifted preferences towards online and outlet malls. The Northlake customer base has two outlets within a 30 minute drive and the perception of good deals, BOGO's, and outlet excitement is more appealing to middle class consumers than paying full price at Banana Republic.

I don't want Northlake to collapse like so many other malls across the country, but I could see more stores looking at Uptown as their lease expires at Northlake.

Edited February 3, 2016 by CLT2014

[Skyybutter]

The only time I go to NL is when my Aunt is visiting from JAX. She loves the mall and the Brighton store especially. NL is just fine. Its not going anywhere. There's crime everywhere. Wasn't is SP where like some people broke into the Coach store and stole hundreds of pocket books? I never go to CP because I live in Concord and I only go to Concord Mills to catch a movie. I may walk the complete circle at the mall but just to see what new stores are there and what has left. 

[rancenc]

Great news concerning Northlake Mall!!

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article61311827.html

[tozmervo]

18% leap in square footage, pretty impressive for a mall that a lot of people have written off as the next Eastland.

[InSouthPark]

16 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

18% leap in square footage, pretty impressive for a mall that a lot of people have written off as the next Eastland.

I figured the expansion was for a new on-site jail. Huh. 

[Third Strike]

On 2/3/2016 at 10:46 AM, CLT2014 said:

Northlake opened in 2005 - many of the stores that were at the mall when it opened are hitting their 10 year lease renewal. I would expect more closings for stores that aren't generating enough profit, especially with so many brick and mortar retailers having such a tough time. Gap's closings aren't shocking. The Gap brands have been performing poorly and they are getting hammered by the stock market. They are closing stores all over the country to turn around their brands (and really struggling to do so).

The recent shootings in and around Northlake are not going to help for stores considering renewing their lease in 2016 if the sales data isn't super strong for the store. They may be concerned Northlake could go the direction of so many other indoor suburban malls across the country when they are thinking what the next 10 years look like. 

Middle class malls like Northlake are the hardest hit from shifting consumer behavior. High end malls are doing great, but the middle class mall customer has shifted preferences towards online and outlet malls. The Northlake customer base has two outlets within a 30 minute drive and the perception of good deals, BOGO's, and outlet excitement is more appealing to middle class consumers than paying full price at Banana Republic.

I don't want Northlake to collapse like so many other malls across the country, but I could see more stores looking at Uptown as their lease expires at Northlake.

I want Northlake to succeed, but I would be lying if I didn't want to see an Apple Store in Uptown. I don't think Apple would operate three in Charlotte, so relocating from Northlake might be the only option. Their other CBD stores are pretty amazing. Imagine if they integrated one in the Gateway Station, or used a space at Tryon Place, for example. But overall, I don't see Northlake going anywhere for a very long time. The development around the mall, and it's close proximity to Lake Norman and University City, will sustain it for years to come.

[mallguy]

$50 million for the expansion is $250 per square foot of new space.  Isn't that kind of high?

Seems odd that no tenants were announced for the expansion.  If tenants were already lined up, wouldn't they be named?

Maybe this is a gamble by the mall's owners that an expansion will be a shot in the arm for a struggling mall, like Greenville Mall in Greenville, SC was?

Edited February 20, 2016 by mallguy

[CLT2014]

Bebe clothing is trying to close all of its stores nationwide (and avoid declaring bankruptcy) and convert to an online only retailer as the retail bloodbath continues. They have a store at Northlake and Charlotte Premium Outlets. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/03/22/report-bebe-plans-to-shutter-stores-2-charlotte.html