I've heard from several mall employees that the west/new side of Regency Square (left in the photo below) will be town down in 2013/2014. I spoke with a Sears employee, he said they have no plans to leave and that they will wall off and be a stand-alone building. That's not uncommon for sears, I believe Fernandina and Melbourne both have sears outside of malls.
So everything between belk to sears will be torn down. I don't have any info on what they're going to do with the space. The mall has ample parking so I don't think they'll do that.
(http://www.regencysquaremall.com/Content/Img/Maps/RegencySquareMall.jpg)
Makes sense to me.
If true, it shouldn't surprise anybody. That half of the mall has been the dead zone for years.
No surprise. I hope they can succesfully revitilize that area.
Will the Dillards Clearance store be closing? Or will they be freestanding as well?
If this happens, it's a good first revitalization step, imo. However, it must immediately be followed with a life-style component to replace it and provide connectivity with Sears and Dillard's.
Quote from: thelakelander on May 29, 2012, 12:41:17 PM
If this happens, it's a good first revitalization step, imo. However, it must immediately be followed with a life-style component to replace it and provide connectivity with Sears and Dillard's.
Youre right that is why Im anxious to see EXACTLY what they are going to do. They will have to do something similar to what you mentioned. Im sure they will. This has been a long time coming.
Thanks for checking Stephen - everything I've heard has been from mall employees. I do know that they're trying to get people on the west end of the mall to move.
I haven't heard anything as far as Dillards. I'm glad Sears will stay.
As far as transportation goes, that's already a JTA "mega stop" or whatever, it would be great if they could capitalize on that.
Quote from: stephendare on May 29, 2012, 12:57:33 PM
I just got off the phone with a representative from the mall.
Right now they don't have concrete plans in motion for the demolition, but it is what is heavily favored and anticipated from the chicago based management.
There is little chance of any of the property being redeveloped as mixed use, as the company has no appetite for adding that kind of property to its portfolio, although they would redevelop the demolished property, most likely for additional retail.
Sounds like either a lifestyle or power center. I can't imagine a power center working to well since the typical anchor tenants are already present in the Regency area.
Quote from: stephendare on May 29, 2012, 01:11:55 PM
you still have to walk a quarter mile, often in the rain in order to get in the mall.
Something with an internal stop would make a hella lot more sense.
stops internal to or directly next to the mall are often frowned upon by mall developers...transit agencies often have to fighjt just to get a stop on the priphery of the parking lot.
Quote from: stephendare on May 29, 2012, 01:11:55 PM
you still have to walk a quarter mile, often in the rain in order to get in the mall.
Walking outside in the FLA is the cool thing to do! Proof: SJTC :D
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 29, 2012, 03:15:28 PM
Quote from: stephendare on May 29, 2012, 01:11:55 PM
you still have to walk a quarter mile, often in the rain in order to get in the mall.
Something with an internal stop would make a hella lot more sense.
stops internal to or directly next to the mall are often frowned upon by mall developers...transit agencies often have to fighjt just to get a stop on the priphery of the parking lot.
That is certainly the case for the SJ Town Center. UNF has even faced some difficulty trying to get a stop for the internal shuttle out there.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 29, 2012, 03:33:09 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 29, 2012, 03:15:28 PM
Quote from: stephendare on May 29, 2012, 01:11:55 PM
you still have to walk a quarter mile, often in the rain in order to get in the mall.
Something with an internal stop would make a hella lot more sense.
stops internal to or directly next to the mall are often frowned upon by mall developers...transit agencies often have to fighjt just to get a stop on the priphery of the parking lot.
That is certainly the case for the SJ Town Center. UNF has even faced some difficulty trying to get a stop for the internal shuttle out there.
Same for the Avenues. The have a shelter out towards the end of the parking lot north of the parking garage.
For the Sunshine Bus Company (St. Johns County's transit provider) many stops are located at strip malls and often times the buses are allowed to drive through the parking lot and stop directly in front of stores. Some stores even allow for a bus stop sign to be put up (Wal-Mart allows this). I guess it really just depends on the tenant. Having a bus stop sign is one thing, putting in a full shelter is another.
Put it into the zoning code and they'll have no choice.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 29, 2012, 03:33:09 PM
That is certainly the case for the SJ Town Center. UNF has even faced some difficulty trying to get a stop for the internal shuttle out there.
The reason UNF has "difficulty" getting a shuttle stop over there is because the town center doesn't want students parking there, and taking the shuttle to class. Students would of course do this to save ~$100 (or whatever it is now) on parking.
Quote from: coredumped on May 29, 2012, 04:00:08 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 29, 2012, 03:33:09 PM
That is certainly the case for the SJ Town Center. UNF has even faced some difficulty trying to get a stop for the internal shuttle out there.
The reason UNF has "difficulty" getting a shuttle stop over there is because the town center doesn't want students parking there, and taking the shuttle to class. Students would of course do this to save ~$100 (or whatever it is now) on parking.
I don't doubt that the SJTC doesn't want students doing that but it seems a little shortsighted. They have a ton of parking and I would bet that many of the same students who parked there to ride to class, may also be more inclined to visit one of the shops at the SJTC on their way to or from class. Seems like it might be a benefit.
It is the same issue lots of transit agencies deal with doing park and rides at existing retail centers. Many will say no.
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 04:07:11 PM
They have a ton of parking...
Are we talking about the same SJTC? It's impossible to find parking there.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Quote from: coredumped on May 29, 2012, 04:44:30 PM
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 04:07:11 PM
They have a ton of parking...
Are we talking about the same SJTC? It's impossible to find parking there.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
He is technically right. They have a ton of parking. Most of it is filled by cars.
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 04:07:11 PM
Quote from: coredumped on May 29, 2012, 04:00:08 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 29, 2012, 03:33:09 PM
That is certainly the case for the SJ Town Center. UNF has even faced some difficulty trying to get a stop for the internal shuttle out there.
The reason UNF has "difficulty" getting a shuttle stop over there is because the town center doesn't want students parking there, and taking the shuttle to class. Students would of course do this to save ~$100 (or whatever it is now) on parking.
I don't doubt that the SJTC doesn't want students doing that but it seems a little shortsighted. They have a ton of parking and I would bet that many of the same students who parked there to ride to class, may also be more inclined to visit one of the shops at the SJTC on their way to or from class. Seems like it might be a benefit.
That is indeed why the SJTC balks at it, but it's silly. Not buying a UNF parking pass effectively means that you couldn't park on campus ever, and would instead have to rely on a mall shuttle that only runs periodically. In the final analysis not many students are going to do this, they're just being difficult.
This is something that would serve no other purpose besides bringing business to the Town Center, and it would be
no cost to them beyond the phantom threat of parking squatters - students would pay for the service entirely.
I never liked the mall shuttle idea, but this kind of thing just shows how entrenched these places are in their autocentric planning and philosophy.
Can definitely believe that west end is closing, it is practically a ghost town anyway. Would be interested to see how they are going to redevelop. Looked at Regency Properties web site but couldn't find any sites where this has been done before, obviously with having all of that empty retail space now I cannot imagine them doing a rebuild as solely retail.
^Regency is owned by General Growth Properties.
Quote from: coredumped on May 29, 2012, 04:44:30 PM
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 04:07:11 PM
They have a ton of parking...
Are we talking about the same SJTC? It's impossible to find parking there.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Really? Yeah, it might be hard to find parking on the main strip in front of Cheesecake or Maggiano's, but there is a ton of parking elsewhere. Oh, but that requires walking.
Quote from: thelakelander on May 29, 2012, 05:39:55 PM
^Regency is owned by General Growth Properties.
Thank you, yes they are ... that was my error in typing faster than thinking
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 06:04:41 PM
Quote from: coredumped on May 29, 2012, 04:44:30 PM
Quote from: cline on May 29, 2012, 04:07:11 PM
They have a ton of parking...
Are we talking about the same SJTC? It's impossible to find parking there.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Really? Yeah, it might be hard to find parking on the main strip in front of Cheesecake or Maggiano's, but there is a ton of parking elsewhere. Oh, but that requires walking.
True. I never have had problems finding a space in that bit near Target. Plenty of open spaces. Sure, it sucks walking around in the oppressive heat/flash flooding, but sometimes it's better to just find a spot and deal with it. It's also easier to get in and out of that area, as you're not dealing with lots of other motorists trying to fight for the few available spots near Barnes and Noble.