Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[cinco]

I just wish Eastland would get rid of that sun logo above some of the entrances.

i like the sun logo... guess it's just the heliocentric in me. RA makes me want to shop.

also, who can deny the symbolism of a sun logo underneath a sheet of ice @ the skating rink???

[csedwards72]

i like the sun logo... guess it's just the heliocentric in me. RA makes me want to shop.

also, who can deny the symbolism of a sun logo underneath a sheet of ice @ the skating rink???

This is that sun logo- it is from the '90s?

[DigitalSky]

I think the sun logo's been there since the mall was built. It looks very 70s anyway...

There's a bigger pic and some commentary about the logo on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastland_Mall

[StevenRocks]

The sun logo's a holdover from when Faison Associates owned the mall back in the day?

[DigitalSky]

Honestly I don't know. I've been trying to look for older pics of Eastland but have been unsuccessful

[StevenRocks]

Old mall pics are rare unless you know somebody in mall management.

Edited December 8, 2005 by StevenRocks

[DigitalSky]

Old mall pics are rare unless you know somebody in mall management.

that's so true. That's why it's up to us to document the malls of today for the future generations of retail geeks

[StevenRocks]

that's so true. That's why it's up to us to document the malls of today for the future generations of retail geeks

True dat

[DigitalSky]

Here's what Eastland's map should look like

[StevenRocks]

^Nice!

[NCMike1981]

I can't understand why the mall owners wouldn't want to update their directory. I mean it looks alot better to have the anchor space filled with something rather then just showing it empty....

[SmellyCat]

I can't understand why the mall owners wouldn't want to update their directory. I mean it looks alot better to have the anchor space filled with something rather then just showing it empty....

honestly, considering the mall is bleeding cash, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner cut the website design line item out of its operating budget. At this rate, I'd expect the site to go dark soon.

[monsoon]

I think the sun logo's been there since the mall was built. It looks very 70s anyway...

Yes, that has been Eastland's symbol all along starting when the mall opened in 1975. In its heydays, the stores would use the Sun in their advertizing and people knew it was at Eastland.

[dubone]

Apparently, SUV drivers are more of a threat around Eastland Mall than thuggy gun-toting teenagers.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/13386956.htm

Two pedestrians have been run over and killed in the last 6 months at a nearby intersection.

[monsoon]

The area around Eastland represents the pinnacle of 70's urban design.

[csedwards72]

honestly, considering the mall is bleeding cash, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner cut the website design line item out of its operating budget. At this rate, I'd expect the site to go dark soon.

Bleeding cash? What's the source on this? What is Glimcher spending money on? Not logo updates, at least.

[DigitalSky]

What is Glimcher spending money on?

they're not.

[StevenRocks]

Glimcher is collecting rent, performing only the most pressing maintenance, and hoping the real estate assesment will drop to a fraction of the mall's actual building value so their taxes will be next to nothing. I think the term for it is "slum lord."

[SmellyCat]

Bleeding cash? What's the source on this?

My own professional sources. I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.

Seriously, from what I hear they will have to drop their asking price considerably if they want to move this pig. Financials aside, with each new gunshot headline comes a 3-5% value drop, although I am not a MAI certified appraiser.

Edited December 14, 2005 by SmellyCat

[MZT]

Eastland is in a cash squeeze. They can't raise rents in this environment, and the cost of maintenance will only rise as the building ages.

[StevenRocks]

If Eastland drops to fire sale prices with at least BCF and Sears holding on long-term, it could be the real estate coup of the year. Someone could conceivably buy a mall for less than the price of the land it sits on. A savvy investor can do minor upgrades, get it back on its feet and make a tidy profit in the process.

[SmellyCat]

Agreed that an investor could find value here because Glimcher is a publicly traded company, therefore under heavy pressure to grow earnings and shed nonperforming assets. However, since valuations are ultimately a function of 10-year cash flow forecasts, this property would be particularly tough to predict cash flows 3 years out, let alone 10.

Steven....even though BCF and Sears are on long term leases and contractually required to pay rent, can't the tenants (or any subtenants) still "go dark" and get out of Dodge now that all the original mall covenants have burned off? If so, that would certainly create a cacading domino effect of in-line store closings.

Edited December 14, 2005 by SmellyCat

[csedwards72]

Agreed that an investor could find value here because Glimcher is a publicly traded company, therefore under heavy pressure to grow earnings and shed nonperforming assets. However, since valuations are ultimately a function of 10-year cash flow forecasts, this property would be particularly tough to predict cash flows 3 years out, let alone 10.

Steven....even though BCF and Sears are on long term leases and contractually required to pay rent, can't the tenants (or any subtenants) still "go dark" and get out of Dodge now that all the original mall covenants have burned off? If so, that would certainly create a cacading domino effect of in-line store closings.

It seems as if Eastland is adding in-line tenants these days rather than shedding them. I think that what's interesting re: retail is when malls compete with one another, so I was sorry to see that the number of vacancies at Eastland had declined prior to a recent visit.

[StevenRocks]

Steven....even though BCF and Sears are on long term leases and contractually required to pay rent, can't the tenants (or any subtenants) still "go dark" and get out of Dodge now that all the original mall covenants have burned off? If so, that would certainly create a cacading domino effect of in-line store closings.

I'm sure that a number of tenants will leave when they're not faced with the legal burden of Belk and Dillard's operating covanents, but if business is strong enough, the mall won't immediately empty out. Actually, some of the prime spaces that are occupied by underperforming national tenats could be more productive in new hands.

Anything that's done with Eastland's existing physical plant will be risky from now on, but if new owners can find a niche with the neighborhood, they're going to have a nice and satisfying payoff in the end, I think.

[csedwards72]

I'm sure that a number of tenants will leave when they're not faced with the legal burden of Belk and Dillard's operating covanents, but if business is strong enough, the mall won't immediately empty out. Actually, some of the prime spaces that are occupied by underperforming national tenats could be more productive in new hands.

Anything that's done with Eastland's existing physical plant will be risky from now on, but if new owners can find a niche with the neighborhood, they're going to have a nice and satisfying payoff in the end, I think.

I agree with that. I used to do real estate finance and anchors- particularly ones in older malls- often have minimal net direct economic benefit to landlords. The value they add is the shoppers they allegedly draw to help the in-line stores. For Eastland, Dillard's apparently isn't doing that well, and that Belk's doesn't seem to be thriving, either. Thus the mall's owner isn't directly making money from the anchor leases and the mall's in-line tenants probably aren't getting much from them, either. Thus if the department stores could be replaced with anchors that appeal more to the neighborhood's residents (e.g., maybe an Old Navy, Steve & Barry's, Magic Johnson Theaters, etc.?), both the landlord and the in-line tenants could be a lot better off.

Oddly enough, some stores will stick around in an unanchored mall. Greenville Mall lost its JBWhite/Dillard's, Proffitt's/Parisian and Wards anchors over the past four years but still has a few stores (Eddie Bauer, Finish Line, April Cornell, etc.) left in the inside. I don't know how on Earth they survive, but they are hanging on.