Living at the Mall
Last week Thurman sent me an article from the East Valley Tribune about the growing number of shopping centers in greater Phoenix that combine housing with the usual mix of retail, restaurants, and entertainment. These developments in the Salt River Valley reflect a nationwide trend that promises to create environments far more complex and urbane than those provided by traditional malls in the past.
Westcor, which owns most of Phoenix's malls, has already recieved approval to add condominium towers to its Biltmore Fashion Park property and is considering adding housing to several other "mature" malls, especially those that will lose department store anchors once Macy's West absorbs Robinsons-May. Such a move would create a "built-in" customer base, increasing sales, and would allow the company (a division of Macerich) to derive more profit from its landholdings. Lofts are also planned for Westcor's brand new SanTan Village in Gilbert, an outdoor "hybrid" mall that will include big-box retailers and a supermarket along with department stores, a multiplex, numerous restaurants, and the usual retail offerings.
From an urban planning standpoint, the addition of residences to regional retail centers is a worthy concept whose time has come. Malls need to move beyond their role as "mono-functional centers" to become vibrant mixed-use hubs with 24-hour activity, especially in suburban areas that lack traditional "downtown" environments. The evolution of consumer preferences and the retail business has worked in tandem with the growing need for housing to create a new style of mall that is more relevant for today's lifestyles than its predecessors.
As a native of the East Valley, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that SanTan Village and Main Street Commons, a similar mixed-use development, are both being built in Gilbert, a relatively "far out" but fast-growing suburb. Indeed, when I left Phoenix in 1997, the area that will hold these two ground-breaking endeavors was little more than farmland. It's good to see more urbane environments coming to the suburbs of "Sprawl City, U.S.A."
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Malls being built with condos above stores
By Beth Lucas, Tribune
October 21, 2005
The malls of the future are coming to the East Valley. And for some people, they’ll become home — literally. Joining a recent national trend, local developers are building malls in Gilbert that have condos and lofts, and may add them to older malls such as Scottsdale Fashion Center and Fiesta Mall in Mesa.
It’s an attempt to rekindle a downtown-type atmosphere, especially in regions where sprawling suburbia has left behind the oldfashioned thriving main street of years gone by.
The trend has been building nationwide for about five years, said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Kierland Commons at the northwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Greenway Parkway was the first mall in Arizona to feature condos. The first 30 condos available opened in 2005 after all were sold on the same day two years ago.
About 3,000 eager buyers are on a list to claim 55 more condos that go on sale in January. At final buildout, the luxury shopping center will have 120 high-end lofts overlooking a courtyard and fountain.
"With the main street neighborhood, you feel very comfortable walking outside at night," said resident Trudy Hammond. "You’ve got everything from shops to restaurants to services, all within walking distance."
Her balcony looks down upon energy that can’t be matched in any typical East Valley community, she said.
"People love this. People want this," Hammond said. "They want more convenience in their lives. They don’t want to have to maintain a big house somewhere."
A similar retail/residential development called Main Street Commons is planned for the southeast corner of Pecos Road and Val Vista Drive in Gilbert. The Commons will be a pedestrianfriendly neighborhood with lofts above high-end retail, all built along roads meant to feel like neighborhood streets. Stores open in 2006, with homes expected to become available in 2007. Potential home buyers already are calling.
Westcor plans to build up to 400 condominiums atop stores, restaurants and parking structures at its SanTan Village near Williams Field Road and the Santan Freeway leg of Loop 202 in Gilbert — a mall that when completed in 2007 will have 3 million square feet of stores ranging from Dillard’s to a Wal-Mart.
Though the condos are at least three years from opening, already more than 30 buyers have expressed an interest, said senior marketing manager Karen Maurer.
Westcor also is debating whether to have lofts and condos at its existing malls, including Chandler Fashion Center, Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Scottsdale Fashion Square and Paradise Valley Mall.
Garrett Newland, assistant vice president for development with Westcor, said condos could be built in empty land outside the malls, or above new parking structures. Another option is tearing down anchor stores that will be left empty with the recent merger of Robinsons-May and Macy’s department stores.
"I think it’s a good idea. We’re seeing it more and more talked about," said Greg Tilque, Gilbert’s director of economic development. "Some people don’t want a house. They want to walk downstairs, right in an area they can do some shopping."
J.P. Ward, a manager at Dicks Sporting Goods in Huntersville, N.C., said he’s noticed a dramatic increase in regular customers at his mall, which is similar to the future SanTan Village. A recent survey found 78 percent of customers are from the immediate area.
"They took the concept of a New England kind of downtown — a turn of the century downtown," Ward said. "There’s a nice grassy area, with a fountain kids can play in. It’s created a customer base like I haven’t seen at any other retailer I’ve worked at . . . enables us to have a repeat customer base like you wouldn’t believe."
Westcor, which owns most of Phoenix's malls, has already recieved approval to add condominium towers to its Biltmore Fashion Park property and is considering adding housing to several other "mature" malls, especially those that will lose department store anchors once Macy's West absorbs Robinsons-May. Such a move would create a "built-in" customer base, increasing sales, and would allow the company (a division of Macerich) to derive more profit from its landholdings. Lofts are also planned for Westcor's brand new SanTan Village in Gilbert, an outdoor "hybrid" mall that will include big-box retailers and a supermarket along with department stores, a multiplex, numerous restaurants, and the usual retail offerings.
From an urban planning standpoint, the addition of residences to regional retail centers is a worthy concept whose time has come. Malls need to move beyond their role as "mono-functional centers" to become vibrant mixed-use hubs with 24-hour activity, especially in suburban areas that lack traditional "downtown" environments. The evolution of consumer preferences and the retail business has worked in tandem with the growing need for housing to create a new style of mall that is more relevant for today's lifestyles than its predecessors.
As a native of the East Valley, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that SanTan Village and Main Street Commons, a similar mixed-use development, are both being built in Gilbert, a relatively "far out" but fast-growing suburb. Indeed, when I left Phoenix in 1997, the area that will hold these two ground-breaking endeavors was little more than farmland. It's good to see more urbane environments coming to the suburbs of "Sprawl City, U.S.A."
<<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>>
Malls being built with condos above stores
By Beth Lucas, Tribune
October 21, 2005
The malls of the future are coming to the East Valley. And for some people, they’ll become home — literally. Joining a recent national trend, local developers are building malls in Gilbert that have condos and lofts, and may add them to older malls such as Scottsdale Fashion Center and Fiesta Mall in Mesa.
It’s an attempt to rekindle a downtown-type atmosphere, especially in regions where sprawling suburbia has left behind the oldfashioned thriving main street of years gone by.
The trend has been building nationwide for about five years, said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Kierland Commons at the northwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Greenway Parkway was the first mall in Arizona to feature condos. The first 30 condos available opened in 2005 after all were sold on the same day two years ago.
About 3,000 eager buyers are on a list to claim 55 more condos that go on sale in January. At final buildout, the luxury shopping center will have 120 high-end lofts overlooking a courtyard and fountain.
"With the main street neighborhood, you feel very comfortable walking outside at night," said resident Trudy Hammond. "You’ve got everything from shops to restaurants to services, all within walking distance."
Her balcony looks down upon energy that can’t be matched in any typical East Valley community, she said.
"People love this. People want this," Hammond said. "They want more convenience in their lives. They don’t want to have to maintain a big house somewhere."
A similar retail/residential development called Main Street Commons is planned for the southeast corner of Pecos Road and Val Vista Drive in Gilbert. The Commons will be a pedestrianfriendly neighborhood with lofts above high-end retail, all built along roads meant to feel like neighborhood streets. Stores open in 2006, with homes expected to become available in 2007. Potential home buyers already are calling.
Westcor plans to build up to 400 condominiums atop stores, restaurants and parking structures at its SanTan Village near Williams Field Road and the Santan Freeway leg of Loop 202 in Gilbert — a mall that when completed in 2007 will have 3 million square feet of stores ranging from Dillard’s to a Wal-Mart.
Though the condos are at least three years from opening, already more than 30 buyers have expressed an interest, said senior marketing manager Karen Maurer.
Westcor also is debating whether to have lofts and condos at its existing malls, including Chandler Fashion Center, Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Scottsdale Fashion Square and Paradise Valley Mall.
Garrett Newland, assistant vice president for development with Westcor, said condos could be built in empty land outside the malls, or above new parking structures. Another option is tearing down anchor stores that will be left empty with the recent merger of Robinsons-May and Macy’s department stores.
"I think it’s a good idea. We’re seeing it more and more talked about," said Greg Tilque, Gilbert’s director of economic development. "Some people don’t want a house. They want to walk downstairs, right in an area they can do some shopping."
J.P. Ward, a manager at Dicks Sporting Goods in Huntersville, N.C., said he’s noticed a dramatic increase in regular customers at his mall, which is similar to the future SanTan Village. A recent survey found 78 percent of customers are from the immediate area.
"They took the concept of a New England kind of downtown — a turn of the century downtown," Ward said. "There’s a nice grassy area, with a fountain kids can play in. It’s created a customer base like I haven’t seen at any other retailer I’ve worked at . . . enables us to have a repeat customer base like you wouldn’t believe."
Kierland Commons in Phoenix has 30 lofts above retail stores such as the Banana Republic and Bose. About 3,000 buyers are on a list to claim 55 more condos that go on sale in January. (Paul O'Neill, Tribune)
posted by Mitch Glaser @ 8:34 PM
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