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Northlake Mall


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Z-Gallerie is indeed open. Nothing special about it. It reminds me of a cross between Bombay, Pier 1, and the Pottery Barn.

Wow, I am definately going since it sounds like a mutt of all that I like. :)

I am such a sucker for Bombay. The desk that I am typing on right now came from their. It is a great piece and one that I will keep for a lifetime.

Does Z Gallery sale things such as furniture, or is it primarily a Home Decor place with all of its inventory being accessories (ie Art, Linens, Dishes, and nick-naks)???

A2

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  • 2 weeks later...

There was a small deli, not located in the food court, next to Belk that has closed.

There is an upscale wine bar/restaurant also near Belk that I suspect isn't going to make it. It's always empty and the demographics of NorthLake in the evenings and weekends don't really support a place such as that. There are several places around Lake Norman, most notibly at Birkdale Village that compete against this place and do much better.

It's interesting that so many places have closed in NorthLake and it has not been open 9 months. I suspect what is happening is that demographically the mall is not attracting the crowds that it expected. I can't think of one reason why I would leave the Lake Norman area to go shop at NorthLake and I suspect that most of the middle class in Charlotte are still headed towards SouthPark and even Carolina Place. I wonder, if eventually, NorthLake will become the sequel to Eastland Mall?

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Seems like Northlake isn't handling its "upscaleness" as well as once presumed

Definitely. I live nearer (timewise) Northlake than SouthPark. But if I want to do serious shopping in Charlotte, it's worth driving an extra short distance to SP given the mall's much larger selection of upscale stores than NL. In the short term, NL might become a new Eastland or Carolina Place or the like.

Yet north Mecklenburg will be experiencing a massive population boom in the next 10+ years. Northlake will do well over the long run.

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Definitely. I live nearer (timewise) Northlake than SouthPark. But if I want to do serious shopping in Charlotte, it's worth driving an extra short distance to SP given the mall's much larger selection of upscale stores than NL. In the short term, NL might become a new Eastland or Carolina Place or the like.

Yet north Mecklenburg will be experiencing a massive population boom in the next 10+ years. Northlake will do well over the long run.

I agree. Northlake may have actually been ahead of its time. It basically is the catalyst that the area needed for growth, but in turn it is actually hurting itself as little (comparably) is out there yet. I live smack dab between Concord Mills and Northlake. I don't care if Concord Mills is an "outlet mall," the area has much more to offer than Northlake as of now. I've gone there easily three times as much in the last 9 or so months.

Give that area time to grow; soon enough people will start going back. Although, I must agree that NL so far has been a disappointment to me.

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I was in Northlake over the weekend and I bought a pair of CK jeans from Hecht's. The price was marked down to $39.99. The sales clerk said "That is the Macy's price, but I can give you the Hecht's price for a little while longer." The Hecht's price was $10 cheaper.

He also said that they are operating as Macy's now, but they are waiting for the company to figure out what to do with them, since this is a new store, management doesn't know what will sell well yet.

Also, at the top of my receipt where it would normally say "Hecht's" it was just blank.

Edited by f0xym0p
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I grew up in the DC area and remember Tysons Corner catering to more lower income/middle income families. I went back home to visit and stopped by Tysons and it has changed dramatically. I'd say it's still too soon to tell with Northlake, the area is just growing SO much right now.

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Actually there really isn't that much residential growth in that immediate area. Beyond a few developments that were built some time ago, there is not that much activity there. The huge amount of growth is further north around Lake Norman and in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson & Mooresville. This is a minimum of 5 miles away from the mall. What appears to be happening, is the mall has failed to attract much traffic from these areas and instead is pulling a lot of people in from University and parts of East Charlotte.

NorthLake really doesn't offer much that you can't already get at the Lake except for Belk, Dillards, etc. and the appeal of those places in Charlotte, IMO, is not that good. NorthLake needs a killer unique anchor store, sort of like Bass Pro Shops at Concord Mills, that will draw in people from a wide area. Run of the mill places like Belks and Dillards really don't do it anymore.

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Actually there really isn't that much residential growth in that immediate area. Beyond a few developments that were built some time ago, there is not that much activity there. The huge amount of growth is further north around Lake Norman and in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson & Mooresville. This is a minimum of 5 miles away from the mall. What appears to be happening, is the mall has failed to attract much traffic from these areas and instead is pulling a lot of people in from University and parts of East Charlotte.

NorthLake really doesn't offer much that you can't already get at the Lake except for Belk, Dillards, etc. and the appeal of those places in Charlotte, IMO, is not that good. NorthLake needs a killer unique anchor store, sort of like Bass Pro Shops at Concord Mills, that will draw in people from a wide area. Run of the mill places like Belks and Dillards really don't do it anymore.

I disagree - stores like Guess, Abercrombie, Steve Madden, Sephora, Aldo, Storehouse, Anthropologie, bebe, Arden B, Coach, Hollister, Forever 21, delia*s, J Crew, J Jill, Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie, etc are all stores worth driving 5 miles for. The mall really is not that far from the Lake. You can't find these stores up by the Lake (some can be found at Concord Mills, like Forever 21, Guess Outlet, and Arden B, but thats it). Carolina Place doesn't even have this nice of a selection. I've seen a good mix of people at this mall, and some pretty expensive cars in the parking lot as well. If it wasn't doing well, then why would stores like Sephora and Aldo Accessories bother expanding there?

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...., Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie, ....

Honestly, I can't see many people up here furnishing their homes with stuff from either place. Maybe some do, but I never hear of anyone here going to that mall to shop. I can't comment on the pocket books and the teeny bopper clothing outlets, I am sure that some go there but Northlake seems to be 0 on people's radar at the Lake. The whole point of my comments on the first place were to describe why a number of places have already closed in the Mall, and why a lot of it still isn't rented. IMO opinion if they were attracting large numbers of affluent people, you would see a different mix of stores being supported there.

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Most of the stores that ended up closing were stores that looked like they were going to end up closing anyways.....they looked "temporary". And maybe the resturant that closed just didnt have good food? Who knows....I think Northlake is a waaaay better mall than Carolina Place even though CP has expanded and the food court looks great but still....IMO NL mall is 2nd best in Charlotte behind SP. I mean if Guess, Sephora, Steve Madden, and Aldo accessories have opened there...then thats proof right there that it is 2nd most upscale.....Carolina place doesnt even have a Banana republic.....the most upscale store at CP is probably Express or Cache.

This is how i rate the malls in Charlotte area from most upscale to least upscale:

SouthPark

Northlake

Carolina Place

Concord Mills

Eastridge(Gastonia)

Eastland

Carolina Mall(Concord)

Rock Hill Galleria

Edited by Temeteron
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Northlake should draw more shoppers as residential encroachment takes place around it.

But if the new developments are mostly starter homes and apartments, then yes I could see an "Eastland" or "Carolina Circle" future.

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He also said that they are operating as Macy's now, but they are waiting for the company to figure out what to do with them, since this is a new store, management doesn't know what will sell well yet.
Hecht's didn't really know what to do with Northlake either. It was a cool-looking store under May, but the merchandising was very bland.

What appears to be happening, is the mall has failed to attract much traffic from these areas and instead is pulling a lot of people in from University and parts of East Charlotte.

NorthLake really doesn't offer much that you can't already get at the Lake except for Belk, Dillards, etc. and the appeal of those places in Charlotte, IMO, is not that good. NorthLake needs a killer unique anchor store, sort of like Bass Pro Shops at Concord Mills, that will draw in people from a wide area. Run of the mill places like Belks and Dillards really don't do it anymore.

Northlake is taking its market share and demographics directly from Eastland. That's all I've got to say.

In terms of unique anchors, it'll be hard to come up with something that will resonate with Northlake's customers or solidly attract new ones that will fit in that empty anchor pad.

Northlake should draw more shoppers as residential encroachment takes place around it.

But if the new developments are mostly starter homes and apartments, then yes I could see an "Eastland" or "Carolina Circle" future.

I hope it won't fail...It's way too early to be invoking the name of Carolina Circle.
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It's not good, that bloggers here are already scratching their chins about Northlake's future.

You'd think that with as much money and planning went into it, how long Taubman persued this project, and with it being the "new" mall, it should be the one to beat. We should be reading stories in the paper, about how strong sales and walk-thrus are, and how Carolina Place and Concord Mills are responding to the lure of the new mall...

"Struggling" may be too strong a word for Northlake, but something in the neighborhood of "modestly successful" or "keeping pace with the market" may be apt...

I think the next Christmas may be the tale of the tape. Last year, one could perhaps argue the mall was so new, that a lot of people just hadn't adapted to keeping it in their shopping rotation.

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This is how i rate the malls in Charlotte area from most upscale to least upscale:

SouthPark

Northlake

Carolina Place

Concord Mills

Eastridge(Gastonia)

Eastland

Carolina Mall(Concord)

Rock Hill Galleria

I don't know if that is a shot at Concord or not; but I have to disagree with Carolina Mall being below Eastland or Eastridge. It is severely overlooked often due to its location near Kannapolis. They have undertaken some major renovations as of late. I believe they are also revamping the entire movie theatre there as well. Other than that, I have to agree with your "rankings," although I'm on the fence b/t Northlake and Carolina Place.

Northlake seems to be a joke to everybody I know in the University area. It is just another mall. Nothing special. It does have a few "hipper" stores like Fossil and Hollister for the younger crowds but nothing to cause a person to window shop the entire mall other than to just go to that one store and leave. There are plenty of upper scale stores in the mall; I feel it tried too hard to be South Park. That was basically the marketing strategy that it was supposed to be SouthPark-North. I'd rather drive to South Park for an extra twenty minutes from where I am than go to Northlake.

Edited by aussie luke
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I don't know if that is a shot at Concord or not; but I have to disagree with Carolina Mall being below Eastland or Eastridge. It is severely overlooked often due to its location near Kannapolis. They have undertaken some major renovations as of late. I believe they are also revamping the entire movie theatre there as well. Other than that, I have to agree with your "rankings," although I'm on the fence b/t Northlake and Carolina Place.

Northlake seems to be a joke to everybody I know in the University area. It is just another mall. Nothing special. It does have a few "hipper" stores like Fossil and Hollister for the younger crowds but nothing to cause a person to window shop the entire mall other than to just go to that one store and leave. To correct a previous statement, Concord Mills does have an Abercrombie. There are plenty of upper scale stores in the mall; I feel it tried too hard to be South Park. That was basically the marketing strategy that it was supposed to be SouthPark-North. I'd rather drive to South Park for an extra twenty minutes from where I am than go to Northlake.

There is no Abercrombie at Concord Mills.

http://www.concordmills.com/static/node1861.jsp

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Well, the one thing it has going for it is that it is not really crowded. The main thing I don't like about Concord Mills is the large number of people who seem to go there for nothing else but to walk very slowly, in groups stretched four or five people wide.

Also, if I want an Orange Julius, Northlake is the closest place for me :)

I see this area in general becoming more significant once 485 completes its 15 year lap around Charlotte.

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