EVERETT – A new 16-screen movie theater opens this week at the Everett Mall, the last big component of expansion and remodeling plans announced by the shopping center’s owner two years ago.
With the coming departure of one of the mall’s anchors and a renewed effort to attract new stores, however, more changes are on the horizon.
Patrick Cox, a partner with the mall’s owner, Steadfast Cos., said the new additions to the mall make it easier to attract tenants for the empty spaces.
“You have to fill in the large pieces before the smaller pieces come,” Cox said.
Regal Cinemas’ Everett Mall Stadium 16, which opens to the public Friday, boasts stadium seating and digital sound systems. It is a much larger replacement for a torn-down movie theater at the mall and the aging screens inside the shopping center.
In addition to the new theater, Steadfast has added The Village space west of the mall, attracted six major retailers and renovated portions of the mall’s exterior since buying the mall for $50 million in summer 2004.
More recently, Zumiez opened an expanded store closer to the front of the mall, and other new tenants have arrived.
With the movie theater’s completion, major construction at the mall will pause until next year. Then there will be more.
First, Mervyn’s will leave its anchor spot on the mall’s south side in early 2007. The hole left by that retailer, which is closing all its Washington stores, will be rebuilt and expanded into the mall’s south parking lot.
For that redeveloped space, Cox said, the mall has attracted a large apparel retailer that will occupy about 80,000 square feet. L.A. Fitness plans to open a new health club in the redevelopment.
Putting an exercise facility in a mall isn’t yet common in this region, but Cox said it’s worked well at shopping centers in California and elsewhere. It has the advantage of bringing potential mall shoppers to their workout spot several times a week.
“As malls have evolved, this type of use works well in tandem, not just with movies and restaurants, but also with general shopping,” he said.
Cox said the mall is interested in attracting a restaurant that would be convenient for movie theater patrons.
Additionally, Cox said, another clothing store has signed a letter of intent for a yet-to-be built space on the south end of The Village, which is home to Best Buy, PetSmart and other shops.
Steadfast also recently purchased six undeveloped acres on the south edge of the mall’s property. That overgrown area, known informally as “the jungle,” has attracted illegal activity in the past.
Cox said the mall plans to build there, though details are still under discussion.
As the mall’s owner and managers talk about big plans, they’re also trying to address a more basic concern: Empty storefronts remain in the mall right now. Some were left by businesses that left the mall or closed altogether in recent years, others by stores that moved to bigger or more advantageous locations in the mall.
Two spots in the food court are available, along with spaces in the mall’s north wings between Borders and Old Navy.
At the central crossroads of the mall’s wings, one prime corner spot is vacant. Between that central court and Macy’s, a gaping space created by the construction of Old Navy remains empty. That area won’t be rebuilt into new storefronts until next year, but it could host temporary tenants during the Christmas shopping season, said Julie Tennyson, the mall’s marketing director.
Cox acknowledged that shoppers sometimes focus on the vacant spaces, but Steadfast and the mall team have stepped up their leasing efforts in recent months. The company marketed the Everett Mall at this year’s International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas, which generated new inquiries from retailers.
“We’re looking at a lot of exciting deals that have been presented to us. We’ve taken a lot of energy from that convention,” Cox said.
He said the mall is talking to “up to a dozen new retailers” as prospective tenants. Assuming those stores make commitments, they could fill a total of 30,000 to 50,000 square feet inside the mall, he said.
Daniel Hanks, a commercial real estate agent for Coldwell Banker Bain, said he notices the empty spaces during his frequent visits to the mall, but he’s also noticed more shoppers.
“With the construction, it seems to be generating more traffic for the whole area,” said Hanks, who can see the mall property from his Everett Mall Way office.
Most of the mall’s new additions have been open only since last fall, so it’s still too early to tell how much of a long-term effect the mall’s improvements have had, Cox said. But they have attracted more people, he said.
“What we do know is that the retailers that have provided us with sales (figures) have either met or exceeded their sales projections for the Everett marketplace,” he said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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