5 Reasons Why Regency Square Mall's Days Are Numbered

[pierre]

When you do not feel safe in a public place that should be for shopping, spending time with your family, etc...as a retail merchant your days are numbered.  I do not blame the businesses for leaving.  Ineffective management of shop lifting, displays and merchandise destroyed, gangs of hoodlums walking around swearing and acting out....what do you expect.  The Avenues Mall is suffering the same fate and so is JAX Beach.  My granddaughter and I went to JAX beach for the last Fair that was there, by 4:00PM we were literally being pushed off the side walk, knocked aside trying to get on rides and saw fist fights and heard swearing like an R rated film....I almost ran to my car to get her out of there.  I have not been back since and will only go if the beach is NOT having an event. We have a BIG time drug ad gang problem in this City that is not being effectively addressed. People simply will not go to places that they do not feel safe in, period.  My beloved City is rotting from the inside out.

The only thing I saw the Avenues overrun by when I was last there was hipster skater kids in nerd glasses.

[fsquid]

Can't say I've ever seen this "cussing" element at the Avenues

[thelakelander]

Belk closes Regency store, fixtures now for sale

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor

Belk Inc. closed its Regency Square Mall department store at 9 p.m. Wednesday, ending another chapter at the aging mall as well as setting up the closure of the connection between the mall's east and west wings.
Today, some employees will be back — not to sell, but to pack up the little that's left.

The only remaining major sales are the fixtures. For the next several weeks, Hilco Fixed Asset Recovery will be on-site to sell the furnishings and fixtures used by Belk.

The store will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.

Rex Killebrew, a consultant with Hilco, said the fixtures would be sold through March 12.

After that, mall management is expected to shut the store, which occupies the center of the Arlington mall at 9501 Arlington Expressway.

Mall visitors had passed through Belk to cross from one side to another, but when Hilco completes its sell-off, that connection closes and visitors will need to access the two sides from outside.

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=544875

[thelakelander]

I had the opportunity to walk through DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton last Friday night. Regency's new owners purchased this shopping center and announced their intentions to revitalize it in late 2012. DeSoto was a sad sight. Doesn't look like it's been physically renovated since the 1990s. Mason put a furniture in the closed Dillards, but it doesn't draw any type of foot traffic to support the smaller shops inside the mall. A few months ago, it got hit with another large blow when Macy's closed their store in the center of the mall. Now it's left with two major chains that already have one foot in the grave (Sears and JCPenney). Most of what's left is empty (like Regency's west mall) or occupied by places most have probably never heard of. Here's a few pics from my cell phone:


Closed Macy's


Dingy old tile throughout


Across from the Dillards, turned furniture store. Bittersweet for me, since I remember eating at a Morrison's/Piccadilly in this vicinity in the late 1980s.


Closed storefronts at a mall entrance.



The main corridor between Sears and JCPenney. Vacant storefronts are scattered throughout, however there are a few clusters of open shops and a food court that has seen better days.

With that said, if we're looking at DeSoto has a good example of revitalization, don't hold out much hope for Regency!

[CCMjax]

Am I missing something?  Why are we so concerned that an outdated, unattractive, sprawling shopping mall eating up tons of land with gigantic street-front surface parking lots may be living its last days?  Perhaps with the end of one life comes another with reuse/repurposing of the site.  Arlington could be a nice place to live if the eye-sore and ultra-imposing Regency Mall area was redeveloped.  Developers end up spending millions upon millions knocking down our forests around Jacksonville and building new because the policies in place make that the more attractive option.  Need to incentivize alternative growth patterns (infill) and start fixing up and redeveloping what's already there like Charlotte and Orlando are doing.

Also, for those who are complaining about the parking at the Town Centre, it is because too many high traffic and big box stores in one small area are relying too heavily on surface parking.  I'm not a huge fan of the Town Centre, many flaws including too much surface parking not enough garages hidden behind the stores, but certainly an improvement over Regency.  Garages cost a lot of money but if planned properly can add a lot of value to a large development.  The TC is also sandwiched up against the freeway with no way out in that direction which adds to the horrendous traffic issues.

[thelakelander]

Am I missing something?  Why are we so concerned that an outdated, unattractive, sprawling shopping mall eating up tons of land with gigantic street-front surface parking lots may be living its last days?  Perhaps with the end of one life comes another with reuse/repurposing of the site.  Arlington could be a nice place to live if the eye-sore and ultra-imposing Regency Mall area was redeveloped.

Or it could end up like Gateway. It's been over 20 years since JCPenney sent that mall into a downward spiral, abandoning it for an outdoor shopping center further out from the city. Norwood is still waiting for that big successful redevelopment scheme to become reality.

Developers end up spending millions upon millions knocking down our forests around Jacksonville and building new because the policies in place make that the more attractive option.  Need to incentivize alternative growth patterns (infill) and start fixing up and redeveloping what's already there like Charlotte and Orlando are doing.

Both of those cities are sprawling outward more rapidly than Jax could ever imagine. In 1995, there were only two interchanges and a load of orange groves on I-4 between US 27 and Lake Buena Vista. Now there's seven and development like Celebration, Championsgate, Reunion Resorts, Posner Park, etc. popping up around all of them. I travel back home to Central Florida quite often and it feels like every trip, I notice something fairly large going vertical that I hadn't seen before. With that said, although sprawling, both Orlando and Charlotte have found ways to avoid poisoning their downtowns during the same era.

[river4340]

Regency Square Mall seems to be heading in its only feasible direction: Half of it will remain a retail mall, the rest will be offices, schools, churches, etc. There's simply not enough retail to support the full mall now that we've got so many other options.

[CCMjax]

Developers end up spending millions upon millions knocking down our forests around Jacksonville and building new because the policies in place make that the more attractive option.  Need to incentivize alternative growth patterns (infill) and start fixing up and redeveloping what's already there like Charlotte and Orlando are doing.

Both of those cities are sprawling outward more rapidly than Jax could ever imagine. In 1995, there were only two interchanges and a load of orange groves on I-4 between US 27 and Lake Buena Vista. Now there's seven and development like Celebration, Championsgate, Reunion Resorts, Posner Park, etc. popping up around all of them. I travel back home to Central Florida quite often and it feels like every trip, I notice something fairly large going vertical that I hadn't seen before. With that said, although sprawling, both Orlando and Charlotte have found ways to avoid poisoning their downtowns during the same era.
[/quote]

True, those two cities do continue to sprawl, just like about every other city, but the difference is that it seems to be matched with just as much compact infill development in the heart of the city and inner neighborhoods if you have been to either one lately.  There is a lot of sprawling suburban style development in Jax but almost no smart infill going on (with the exception of the Brooklyn area).  Very few living options for young professionals other than suburban style apartments.  Not very attractive for young people who didn't grow up here (or even those that did).  This brings up a question I've had ever since moving to Jax . . . why are there not more apartment options in the north San Marco area between South Bank and the square?  Seems like a pretty cool place for a young professional to live, and there are some large vacant lots, but not many apartment options for its location.  I'm convinced that so many people live in the apartments in the Southpointe/Tinsletown area simply because there aren't any other options south of the downtown, not because they truly like the 8 lanes of backed up traffic on Southside Blvd, or because they really like having to get in their car and waiting 15 minutes in traffic to get to the other side of the street.

[thelakelander]

I'm convinced that so many people live in the apartments in the Southpointe/Tinsletown area simply because there aren't any other options south of the downtown, not because they truly like the 8 lanes of backed up traffic on Southside Blvd, or because they really like having to get in their car and waiting 15 minutes in traffic to get to the other side of the street.

This is how I ended up off Southside Blvd when I first moved to town. I wanted to stay in or near DT but the amount of available rental stock that I preferred was not available to my liking.

[thelakelander]

I had the opportunity to walk through DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton last Friday night. Regency's new owners purchased this shopping center and announced their intentions to revitalize it in late 2012. DeSoto was a sad sight. Doesn't look like it's been physically renovated since the 1990s. Mason put a furniture in the closed Dillards, but it doesn't draw any type of foot traffic to support the smaller shops inside the mall. A few months ago, it got hit with another large blow when Macy's closed their store in the center of the mall. Now it's left with two major chains that already have one foot in the grave (Sears and JCPenney). Most of what's left is empty (like Regency's west mall) or occupied by places most have probably never heard of......

With that said, if we're looking at DeSoto has a good example of revitalization, don't hold out much hope for Regency!

One more shot of DeSoto Square, from last Friday. This was Dillards. Mason filled this space with a furniture store:

[ProjectMaximus]

I was in Milwaukee last week and stayed in a downtown shopping mall that had portions of the attached buildings converted into apartments. The mall wasn't necessarily hopping but it seemed to be surviving alright with the fairly prime location and the inherent foot traffic under the same roof. I was intrigued and just did a little bit of research:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shops_of_Grand_Avenue
http://www.jsonline.com/business/shopping-for-an-apartment-development-planned-at-grand-avenue-uq6coqh-165347526.html

It's obviously not the same situation as Regency at all, but with the struggles of all enclosed malls, downtown or not, it's interesting to see how this place is treading water. Looks like there are ~230 rental units in addition to the office space, university classrooms, and YMCA. And I shopped at the recently-added TJ Maxx, which looked like it was originally intended for an open-air marketplace within the mall. Strangest store I've been in, but it works I guess. Also bought fruits and veggies from the fresh produce stand in front of the TJ Maxx.

[Adam White]

I always thought that, if downtown ever got its act together, Regency would be the perfect site for a big mixed residential and commercial development with a train station and possibly a bus station (kind of like Ørestad in Copenhagen).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ørestad

[bill]

I had the opportunity to walk through DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton last Friday night. Regency's new owners purchased this shopping center and announced their intentions to revitalize it in late 2012. DeSoto was a sad sight. Doesn't look like it's been physically renovated since the 1990s. Mason put a furniture in the closed Dillards, but it doesn't draw any type of foot traffic to support the smaller shops inside the mall. A few months ago, it got hit with another large blow when Macy's closed their store in the center of the mall. Now it's left with two major chains that already have one foot in the grave (Sears and JCPenney). Most of what's left is empty (like Regency's west mall) or occupied by places most have probably never heard of......

With that said, if we're looking at DeSoto has a good example of revitalization, don't hold out much hope for Regency!

One more shot of DeSoto Square, from last Friday. This was Dillards. Mason filled this space with a furniture store:

Just got a for sale flyer on this property. Claiming 71% Occ and $10 net rents. Does not sound like the pictures look.

[thelakelander]

Hmm. A 30% vacancy rate isn't exactly the definition of healthy for a 42-year-old enclosed shopping center. Especially, considering University Town Center just opened up on the other side of town (Macy's, DeSoto's largest anchor just closed and relocated to UTC) and that most of the specialty shops are high turnover makeshift storefronts (like the mall inside the Landing). You're essentially a Sears or JCPenney closure/relocation to the new mall from having that vacancy rate spike through the roof. If you have the cash to invest, there's better deals out there, IMO.

In a widely quoted report, Green Street Advisors has forecast that 10% of the nation's 1,000 enclosed malls will fail by 2022, eventually converting to uses other than retail. Age appears to be a contributing factor. Of more than 200 malls and large U.S. shopping centers with 250,000 rentable square feet or higher that are hampered by vacancy rates of 35% or higher -- a clear marker for shopping center distress -- 86.5% were built before 2000, according to CoStar Group data.

Of these distressed regional mall, power center and community center properties, 43.5% were built in the 1970s and '80s, another one-quarter were built in the 1990s, and 17.5 % were built in the 1960s and prior. The average center in the distressed group was built in 1983 and had a vacancy rate of 50.6%.

Full article: http://www.costar.com/News/Article/The-De-Malling-of-America-Whats-Next-for-Hundreds-of-Outmoded-Malls-/141980

[Adam White]

I had the opportunity to walk through DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton last Friday night. Regency's new owners purchased this shopping center and announced their intentions to revitalize it in late 2012. DeSoto was a sad sight. Doesn't look like it's been physically renovated since the 1990s. Mason put a furniture in the closed Dillards, but it doesn't draw any type of foot traffic to support the smaller shops inside the mall. A few months ago, it got hit with another large blow when Macy's closed their store in the center of the mall. Now it's left with two major chains that already have one foot in the grave (Sears and JCPenney). Most of what's left is empty (like Regency's west mall) or occupied by places most have probably never heard of. Here's a few pics from my cell phone:


Closed Macy's


Dingy old tile throughout


Across from the Dillards, turned furniture store. Bittersweet for me, since I remember eating at a Morrison's/Piccadilly in this vicinity in the late 1980s.


Closed storefronts at a mall entrance.



The main corridor between Sears and JCPenney. Vacant storefronts are scattered throughout, however there are a few clusters of open shops and a food court that has seen better days.

With that said, if we're looking at DeSoto has a good example of revitalization, don't hold out much hope for Regency!

My parents live in Sarasota and I usually visit them once a year. Last year we went to a mall - it may have been this one - that was practically empty. And it had an ice rink in one of the spaces. Weird. Very depressing.