Nordstrom’s exit from Circle Centre mall leaves the downtown Indianapolis shopping center without its signature tenant.
But the 210,000-square-foot vacancy created when Nordstrom closed Sunday could provide a temporary fix for Super Bowl organizers
seeking space to accommodate numerous corporate events surrounding the Feb. 5 football game.
Mark Miles, chairman of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee, said more than 100 companies are searching for venues to host
Super Bowl parties, and the former Nordstrom store could be an ideal location.
Members of the host committee have been involved in discussions with downtown property owners and managers saddled with "significant"
vacancies, including Simon Property Group Inc., which operates Circle Centre, Miles said.
"I'm not in a place where I can discuss specifics," he said. "I hope we'll know something within two
to three weeks."
Indianapolis-based Simon, which has yet to sign a lease with another tenant or tenants to replace Nordstrom, declined to
comment on whether it will market the space for Super Bowl use.
Miles said the host committee won't get involved in financial arrangements between property managers and companies seeking
event space. Its role is to simply help match companies with property owners from a list of of available spaces.
Such temporary lease arrangements can be lucrative for property owners.
Jillian's, on the east side of South Meridian Street and across from the former Nordstrom store, expects to collect about
$500,000 from two entities who plan to use the entertainment complex for Super Bowl parties, Jillian's owners said in
July court documents as they reorganize under bankruptcy protection.
What makes Jillian's and the Nordstrom spaces particularly attractive for corporate gatherings is their proximity to
Georgia Street, which will be transformed into Super Bowl Village.
The street is in the midst of a $12 million overhaul that will feature a covered pedestrian mall in the median, sandwiched
on both sides by a lane of traffic and a wide sidewalk. The improvements will run from Conseco Fieldhouse to the Indiana Convention
Center.
The project, funded primarily with federal stimulus dollars, is scheduled for completion in October.
“This is prime real estate,” said Chris Gahl, spokesman for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors
Association.
Miles concurred, noting that the former Nordstrom space could serve as an indoor extension for visitors braving the cold
of the outdoor Super Bowl Village.
An estimated 150,000 people are expected to visit Indianapolis for the event.
"I don't think there's a chance that everything can be accommodated downtown; it will take the resources of
the region and the county," Miles said. "But the spaces that will be available downtown are most in demand. The
closer to the Village, the more sought after they are."
Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. announced in late May that it would close the downtown store,
which opened in 1995.
Sales had fallen by roughly half since Nordstrom opened its Keystone Crossing store at The Fashion Mall in 2008. In addition,
the upscale retailer will open its off-price Nordstrom Rack store in September at the nearby Rivers Edge shopping center at
82nd Street and Dean Road.
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A similar trend occurred in Minneapolis where the second floors of many of the downtown buildings, all interconnected by the Skyway system, drew all the retail up from ground level.
I think we'd be lucky if we got a Target or a higher-end retailer to fill the Nordstrom's space. I think the MSA siteswould be ideal for a Target, with apartments above, but maybe that thought is based mostly on hoping that MSA will be something other than surface parking.
Second, I wasn't COMPARING Indy to Chicago. I was merely stating that if something as simple as a Target can be put there, then it can be put in downtown Indy. There are basic retail needs severely lacking in downtown Indy, and you're blind if you don't see that.
Downtown Chicago had a 2009 population of over 160,000. This is on top of around 40 million visitors yearly to the downtown area.
Indianapolis 19,000 downtown pop with over 20 million visitors (this is the whole region not just downtown).
Indianapolis is not anywhere near like Chicago, do not compare
As far as outside the box, as "trashy" as some might think it would be, a Target makes perfect sense. If one can go in downtown Chicago on State St., then one can go in downtown Indy, and I, for one, would use it all the time, especially if it had a grocery store.