LYNNWOOD — About 20 percent of residents from South Snohomish and North King counties leave the area to shop in Seattle and Bellevue, according to past Alderwood Mall statistics.
Those people buy high-end merchandise and crave fine dining while they do it.
That economic leak has now been sealed, according to David Kleitsch, Lynnwood economic development director.
“The upgrade at Alderwood has changed its function from a mall to really a shopping, dining, entertainment experience – it’s much more than it used to be,” Kleitsch said.
There are new restaurants such as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and McGrath’s Fish House and more. Along with stores such as Williams Sonoma, Ann Taylor Loft, Ravenna Gardens, Pottery Barn, White House/Black Market and the new Gene Juarez Spa and Salon, those residents will no longer need to stray, he said. Adding the new Loews 16-screen, stadium-style seating movie theater set to open in March 2005 will give residents another reason to stay closer to home, he said.
Along with the increased spending will come
increased sales tax revenue for the city.
According to Lynnwood finance director Mike Bailey, the city took in $2.7 million in sales tax revenue in 2003.
“I have guess-timated a conservative 10 percent increase for 2005,” Bailey said. Adding he needs to be conservative because they won’t know what happens until it does. The construction itself also generated sales tax revenue but that will slow as projects are completed.
Also, it is hard to predict how some stores will do when many of them are the first in Snohomish County or the state, Kleitsch said.
As far as how much the mall is worth, mall officials keep these numbers “close to the vest,” he said.
According to the city building permits issued for the mall, the total building valuation is about $110 million, said Lynnwood community development director Jim Cutts.
While mall officials won’t tell their actual numbers, Tamera Wachter, senior marketing director for Alderwood said the owner and manager of the mall, General Growth Properties, is confident about the future and staying competitive in the region. Wachter said the new additions to the mall have created 1,500 more jobs as well.
The mall has a major financial commitment to the city of Lynnwood, Kleitsch said, “and it reinforces our position as the center of commerce for South Snohomish County.”
The upgrade with the merchandise in the new areas of the mall is showing a trend with other businesses that have recently decided to invest in Lynnwood, he said. Bio-tech businesses and luxury auto dealers such as Lexus and possibly Jaguar are either expanding or coming to Lynnwood.
“This positions us quite nicely for the future development and investment in the city center,” Kleitsch said. The City Center Project is a long range vision for a downtown area in Lynnwood to be centered on 198th Street SW.
“(The addition to the mall) is a true catalyst for our economic future,” Kleitsch said.
City, mall officials plan for traffic, parking issues
City officials aren’t planning on losing any sleep over traffic congestion in Lynnwood the night before the grand opening of Alderwood Mall’s new Village and The Terraces Thursday, Nov. 4.
“Everybody’s really ready to go. The mall has been planning for this a long time and we’ve done everything we can to get ready for this,” said Lynnwood Public Works director Bill Franz.
General Growth Properties, Inc., the owner and manager of the Alderwood Mall, anticipates upward of several hundred thousand customers over the opening weekend, said Tamera Wachter, senior marketing director for Alderwood.
While Alderwood draws about 17 million shoppers in a year, Wachter said, with the remodel and additions, they are now expecting to attract about 25 million throughout the next year.
Franz said that in a way, he hopes there’s a lot more traffic than predicted. “That means success,” Franz said. Public works, police and fire departments have been working cooperatively with the mall for more than a year preparing internally and externally for this increased wave of people.
Along with last minute work of adding signage around the area to channel drivers to different areas of the mall and sending out flyers to consumers educating them on easier, less congested ways to get to the mall and park, they have also done a lot of infrastructure work, Franz said.
Franz said that over the past year or so, the mall has added new signals, turn lanes, parking structures and more infrastructure preparing for the opening of the two new large sections of the mall.
All of this renovation to the streets will help steer the traffic to the mall, said Lynnwood Police traffic Sgt. Chuck Steichen, adding, “We’re not really going to know what’s going to happen until it does.”
Steichen said there will be about 12 more officers and police volunteers managing the mall area on opening day and weekend.
Steichen said police are ready if they need more help. He said this opening weekend will be a good test for this year’s busiest shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving.
Lynnwood transportation planner Carol Thompson looks at the opening day and weekend the same way.
“This is really a dress rehearsal for the upcoming holiday season,” Thompson said. The week before the grand opening, the city is streamlining its Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) which connects the traffic signals in the area of the mall and the rest of the city.
As far as parking, mall and city officials said there should be plenty.
Typically most of the mall traffic is concentrated on the north side, so mall officials have been sending out flyers to their customer base to try to channel more people to take different routes and park on the south and southwest side.
Wachter said the mall added 1,500 parking spaces for a total of 6,800. As of the opening on Nov. 4, all but 350 of those spaces will be available.
Those 350 spaces are still under construction and surround the coming 80,000-square-foot, 16-screen, stadium-style seating Loews movie theater which is scheduled to open in March.
Wachter said all employees will be required to park off site during the weekends and holiday hours and will be shuttled to the mall.
Also, valet parking will be available as of opening day on the Village side, in between P.F. Chang’s (currently open) and Borders Books for $4 and restaurants may or may not validate.
The second valet service will open on the Terrace’s side on Nov. 29.
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