Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[StevenRocks]

There is life in malls beyond the anchor stores, like you were saying.

[csedwards72]

There is life in malls beyond the anchor stores, like you were saying.

Definitely. If those dying malls on North Tryon (Northpark Mall, with the former Target and former grocery store now re-leased to moderately priced stores, and that Asian mall) can limp along for years after losing anchors, surely Eastland can as well.

[monsoon]

To be fair, those were much smaller malls that were really operated more like strip malls instead of a very large regional mall like Eastland. It would not surprise me if there is as much floorspace in just one of the anchor stores in Eastland as there is in all of the Northpark mall.

[DigitalSky]

Definitely. If those dying malls on North Tryon (Northpark Mall, with the former Target and former grocery store now re-leased to moderately priced stores, and that Asian mall) can limp along for years after losing anchors, surely Eastland can as well.

Surprised to see you've already got an entry for Eastland on DeadMalls http://deadmalls.com/malls/eastland_mall_nc.html

[StevenRocks]

Surprised to see you've already got an entry for Eastland on DeadMalls http://deadmalls.com/malls/eastland_mall_nc.html

I hope Eastland can pull out of its impending decline.

[csedwards72]

Surprised to see you've already got an entry for Eastland on DeadMalls http://deadmalls.com/malls/eastland_mall_nc.html

Absolutely, as that site tracks struggling malls in addition to truly dead ones. Eastland is a very interesting place. I think it will be around for a long time to come, but just with different anchors than now but a lot of the same in-line tenants (the urban-type stores).

[DigitalSky]

ah ok

[mallguy]

Eastland has a new mini-anchor: a store called Prime Time, in the old JC Penney space. I did not go inside so I do not know what it is. But, the mall was packed today and the parking lot was pretty full.

Eastland is strange in that it still obviously has a market. But its market has changed. My advice to Eastland is just to adapt to that market in order to survive.

[MZT]

I was driving by the Mall along Central, and came closer than I have in a long time to a traffic accident. Some fool just pulled straight out in front of me, trying to turn left out of the Mall.

Haven't even been to East Charlotte in months... would've been just my luck, to lose my car there.

Anyway, to make this a UP post somehow, I'll comment that East Side to me has a lot of that LA barrio feel now. Driving around in there and seeing the towers peek over the road occasioanlly, reminded me of how LA's skyline sometimes appears in those immigrant neighborhoods. The Spanish and Asian signs too.

People joke that South Blvd is a Latino area, but I don't think it is nearly as convincing as East Side.

Edited December 24, 2005 by MZT

[StevenRocks]

Eastland has a new mini-anchor: a store called Prime Time, in the old JC Penney space. I did not go inside so I do not know what it is. But, the mall was packed today and the parking lot was pretty full.

Prime Time is a rent-to-own store that sells furniture and appliances, along with other things like jewelry. It should be a good fit for the area.

Edited December 24, 2005 by StevenRocks

[mallguy]

Any news re: Eastland, in particular the possible shuttering of the Dillard's?

[DigitalSky]

Eastland has a new mini-anchor: a store called Prime Time, in the old JC Penney space. I did not go inside so I do not know what it is. But, the mall was packed today and the parking lot was pretty full.

Eastland is strange in that it still obviously has a market. But its market has changed. My advice to Eastland is just to adapt to that market in order to survive.

Interesting. So with Freds, Primetime and BCF is the JC Penney space all filled up?

[StevenRocks]

Interesting. So with Freds, Primetime and BCF is the JC Penney space all filled up?

No, there's still some empty space in the old JCPenney.

[dubone]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte.../09/story2.html

Looks like Eastland may be sold imminently. Any thoughts on what this will do for the mall?

[DigitalSky]

Serious questions ranging from what will happen to the anchor tenants such as Belk, how long the city will be wed to site's proposed transit center and whether high-density residential development in the property's future will all need to be answered, and soon.

It can go either way, really. It might be a cringefest with Belk and Dillard's and Harris Teeter leaving anytime between now and who knows when... if the mall at Stallings or Bridges at Mint Hill is built. Or there's the slight possiblity the mall could be revamped - whether it be "town center" status or whether a whole new mix of tenants comes in. Whatever it is - Eastland needs TLC - and hopefully it's an owner that cares.

"We had some interest in the property a few years back, but they blew us off," says Kyle Woudstra, co-chair of the East Area Strategy Team. "I know that someone wanted to put a Wal-Mart on that site too, but that will never happen."

I don't think this will happen (unless wal-mart is VERY agressive) since they're building a store now in Amity Gardens.

sales per square foot at Eastland Mall were running between $200 and $250 -- even with historically strong anchors such as Belk, Dillard's and Sears. ... "It's in a critical location with great accessibility and is a place name in its own right," Fields says. "All of those things suggest that with the right mix, that property could be a home run."

Dillard's is just itching to get out of the mall, already making their store a clearance center. If you look at the Dillard's ads in the paper, at the bottom in tiny print it says "Not Available at Eastland Mall." Basically the same thing JC Penney did before they bolted; "JC Penney Outlet."

We will see.

[StevenRocks]

Eastland's going to go down before it revives. At least I HOPE it revives.

When all the ghetto kids start heading for Northlake, that's when it will sink in that maybe something should have been done to save Eastland.

[xyhamiltonboi]

Ok, I was just in Eastland a few weeks ago. What happened to American Eagle Outfitters?

[DigitalSky]

They must have left

[StevenRocks]

They must have left

They looked ready to leave when I was last there.

[MZT]

Considering the bad press the mall received this last shopping season, I suspect Glimcher was eager to get Eastland off their hands. When the details of the sale leak out, we may learn they were very negotiable....

[Hotlanta]

I noticed that on Eastland's website, it had ALOT of independent stores and not that many traditional stores like abercrombie, amercian eagle, and others. Also noticed that it had alot of "urban" clothing stores.

[StevenRocks]

I noticed that on Eastland's website, it had ALOT of independent stores and not that many traditional stores like abercrombie, amercian eagle, and others. Also noticed that it had alot of "urban" clothing stores.

The easy answer is that the mall has been losing national tenants because its typical shopper has become more "urban" than "suburban." But it's kind of complicated, I think. Some of the national stores are actually doing well in that context, but they're overshadowed by the big names that have left the mall. I also think the leasing department at Eastland has really slacked up, allowing lookalike and marginal stores to occupy space just to get the rent, which inevitably leads to failure because the stores are too much like the other stores next door, or built on weak concepts.

[DigitalSky]

I noticed that on Eastland's website, it had ALOT of independent stores and not that many traditional stores like abercrombie, amercian eagle, and others. Also noticed that it had alot of "urban" clothing stores.

I could never see Abercrombie at Eastland!

[mallguy]

I did a quick visit to Eastland in mid-December and it was packed; the parking lot was pretty full and the interior of the mall was very crowded. Plus, I read a recent article in which Glimcher stated, I think, that sales per sf were I think up in the $300s. I don't see Eastland dying anytime soon, even if it loses some non-urban tenants.

[SmellyCat]

I did a quick visit to Eastland in mid-December and it was packed; the parking lot was pretty full and the interior of the mall was very crowded. Plus, I read a recent article in which Glimcher stated, I think, that sales per sf were I think up in the $300s. I don't see Eastland dying anytime soon, even if it loses some non-urban tenants.

On their 3Q05 earnings call (last official info on Eastland) sales per foot figures were reported in the low $200s per foot, VERY weak. Consider that Glimcher's weighted average mall sales ex-Eastland are $340 a foot. We won't hear any more sales info until Glimcher's earnings call in mid February.