If Simon couldn't revive Lafayette Square Mall, what can be expected from an out-of-town company without the same mall
experience? Simon Property Group is selling the 1.2 million-square-foot Lafayette Square Mall to AAC Management. AAC representatives
who recently visited with tenants said the deal is scheduled to close Dec. 15. Simon spokesman Les Morris would not discuss
the matter. "Right now, we still own the mall," he told IBJ's Greg Andrews. Information on AAC is sketchy. The firm, which
is not a major mall owner, could not be reached for comment.
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Welcome to Property Lines, Indy's source for neighborhood real estate news. Your host is Scott Olson, IBJ's real estate beat
reporter. Edited by Cory Schouten.
If Simon couldn't revive Lafayette Square Mall, what can be expected from an out-of-town company without the same mall
experience? Simon Property Group is selling the 1.2 million-square-foot Lafayette Square Mall to AAC Management. AAC representatives
who recently visited with tenants said the deal is scheduled to close Dec. 15. Simon spokesman Les Morris would not discuss
the matter. "Right now, we still own the mall," he told IBJ's Greg Andrews. Information on AAC is sketchy. The firm, which
is not a major mall owner, could not be reached for comment.
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RKW's comments read like a modern "Chicken Little". As a Raintree resident for many years, "Yes, I'm ready for this." Matter of fact, I welcome The Farm because it's a development that compliments our town, brings new and desirable shopping & dining closer (specialty grocer, upscale shops, micro brew pub, etc), offers upscale condos for empty nesters who want to stay in Zionsville, is being planned and constructed by local, well-reputed firms and, of course, provides desirable non property tax benefits. We all knew the Pittman's were going to develop their property sooner than later. That one of the Pittman's will continue to live on the property helps assure The Farm will be everything promised. This also sets a standard for other developers as to the quality of future developments - which should keep an ugly Walmart at bay for decades. As we've no meglomaniac mayor, I seriously doubt Zionsville would ever aspire to over-priced statues or subsidized retail rents. And we already have a very nice public theater, the Zionsville Performing Arts Center, that meets our cultural needs quite nicely.
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Do we add (or subtract) these from the bounty we recieve from RTWFL, Daylight Savings Time, corporate tax giveaways, and the crack job IEDC is doing?? Or is Mike going to blame these on Mitch?
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Who makes Tater Tots? They would be a good sponsor, because $3 Million for the alleged "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" is taters. Tiny, tiny taters. But at least they are making up something of the losses accumulated over the years in this dying sport. Buttock in seat is certainly not doing it, nor eyeball on TV, as evidenced by the lack of both.
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We loved lakehouse and think the Arbor Village would be a great location. It is less than 2 miles from over 1000 rooftops in the 225,000 to over 1 million range. Many people could use the great fishers trail system to bike or walk there. Just an idea Scotty -- but maybe something closer to 3 Wiseman would good. The only microbrew in area is Ram (boring)
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True, it's an ESPN production, but ESPN is just another name for ABC Sports, or what used to be ABC Sports since ABC Sports no longer exists as a name. ESPN=ABC Sports= ESPN. ESPN is, according to Forbes "the world's most valuable media property" worth $40 billion. Despite that, they fired 400 people this week.
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I think it is obvious that it is time to Glendale the place, but it is just too bad this couldn't have been done before Wal-Mart was built. That really could have been a shot in the arm in that area.
Erich, the number of decaying shopping center will continue to grow as we sprawl further and further out. I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Washington and Lafayette shut down within 20 years and Castleton in an advanced state of decay.
Game over... kindly leave your Orange Julius at the door.
To put an IKEA there would be like putting an H&M in a strip mall somewhere in Avon. I do agree that Indy needs an IKEA because it's SUCH AN AWESOME RETAILER. But an IKEA won't fit there, the demographics of the area is not distinguished enough for IKEA's ideal customer base.
Where in the Real Estate Rule Book does it say that when Blacks (or other minorities) outnumber whites a shoping mall is endangered?
Dustin,
Median Income in Pike Township (where Layafatte Square is based) is $48,444. I make $80 grand a year and live ten minutes from that mall. Why shouldn't I be able to drive ten minutes to an IKEA, instead of 30 to 60 minutes to Hamilton County?
That magic threshold when blacks outnumber whites. I'd rather be in mall where the community is a black majority, than where it's running wild with whites. Just look at what happened at those surburan white malls in Omaha a couple weeks ago and Salt Lake City in February. Doesn't make me feel safe.
The last time I was at Castleton, I was shocked at the change. The clientele is definately changing and not for the better. I fear a good portion of those I saw wandering through it, were just there to hang out and to not actually purchase anything. Simon should really try to get a handle on the unruly unsupervised teens in addition to the thug wannabes. The first thing I saw when I walked into Sears was the asset protection manager kicking a belligerent guy out. Fantastic. If they don't stem the tide, more people will drive up the Hamilton Town Center or go to the Fashion Mall to avoid it. I know I don't want to step foot in the JCPenney at Castleton again any time soon.
Also, it's naive not to notice there are more black people at Lafayette Square than they're used to be, because there are. HOWEVER, this is one manifestation of a VERY complex problem that goes back over 300 years, and unfortunately there's a lot of people thinking the same thing that Seven said. What we need to be thinking is 'how can we fix this' rather than just sweeping it under the rug and forgetting that it's there. I'm getting a PhD in Education because I think this is a strong vehicle to promote racial equality, without losing cultural tradition, especially now with the Hispanic population increasing so rapidly. The problem is, how do you reverse 300+ years of racism and segregation?
okay...off the soapbox now...
If you're a teacher, you can teach kids to see value in every human being.
And you can make a commitment to the city and to IPS by living here and sending your kids to school here. Good kids with parents who care CAN and DO get good educations in IPS every day.
But then, I'm biased. I have a degree from a highly-regarded university. I live, work, and send my kid to school in Center Township every day. His friends are a rainbow coalition all by themselves, and all of them are decent kids.
This is true, but the area bordering Hwy 101 in East Palo Alto was completely razed and they built everything from scratch. A new Best Buy, Home Depot In-N-Out, new hotels, new office buildings, new condos/townhomes, the whole works. They literally bought out everyone & everything in that area, tore it to the ground and built it back up. Part of the reason something like this works in the Bay Area is the demand to live there and the lack of available space (not to mention all of the business up & down the 101 corridor. This would never work in Indy because there's too much space available in the outer areas and we just don't have anyone willing to stick their neck out to attempt such a development in that area. This is exactly why Venu will work...it's a much more desirable area and has the business/residental support.
I may be wrong and it's very possible AAC Management has a few tricks up their sleeve, but if you don't get buy-in and a change in mentality from the surrounding business/residents, then that area is totally doomed.
Just my 2 cents.
I think maybe you need to quit trying to analyze every person's post.
And while were at it, stop being so negative about anything positive that happens in Indy. Do you spend this much time on the Arizona sited bashing everything that happens there?
I'd like to ask you one very important question you might like to answer.
Who.... asked.... for.... your.... argumentative.... opinion?
I believe no one did. I pointed out what I thought, I did not ask for anyone to give me what their opinions were contradicting mine. Of course, we are all entitled to our own opinions, but at the same time you decided to take a jab at me for the thoughts I have about Indianapolis.
And wouldn't you like to know what I say about all things related in Arizona? I'm sure you would love to write a book about me, but I cost.
Have a great day :)
Rocky, After Seven and Dustin have duly noted same and were honest in so doing. Not racist, just honest.
Unless and until the current LS mall patrons stop wallowing in their own ethnicity and racism, conditions will continue as they are.
The posters also imply that the majority of Lafayette Square shoppers are Black. That is incorrect. Scarborough Research, an indepedent research firm, reports that just 32% of those shopping Lafayyete Square in a three month period were Black.
For all Black adults in the Indianapolis market, Castleton Square is the top mall destination, followed by Lafayette Square. Again, Scarborough data.
By the logic of some posters, that should mean that Castleton is a mall destined for failure.
The issue at Lafayette Square isn't the complexion of customers, its the willingness of a mall owner to understand the consumer base, be agressive in attracting retails and then marketing the hell out of the mall.
Furthermore, as far as I understand, Indianapolis has over twice the amount of retail per capital than the national average. Rather than a shortage of retail establishments, the city and metro area have far too much retail, which helps accelerate the process of older retail establishments falling into disfavor and then decay while developers build yet another grand new shopping complex farther out in the suburbs and exurbs.
Lafayette Square no longer serves the neighborhood it is in; instead, it merely brings the whole area down. Moreover, there are already plent of places to shop along the 38th street corridor and in the surrounding area. There are numerous stores offering every kind of merchandise and numerous services immediately surrounding the mall. In fact, there are literally millions more feet of retail surrounding the mall than in the mall itself.
The mall needs to be torn down and the location redeveloped into a mixed-use complex. There should be apartments, condos, townhouses, offices, and some smaller scale retail (primarily to serve the residents of the new housing by offering retail within walking distance). Also, public amenities should be built--there should be pocket parks, nice sidewalks, landscaped medians, etc. If a developer could team with the city to put in a small school or a library, it would complete the project very nicely.
The mall is simply an aging hulk which covers a huge amount of space that could be put to much better use. Hopefully, the new owners of the mall will do the right thing and tear it down.
I am not saying this area does not need improvement, but developers like Simon and Kite have their package solutions for this stuff and its really just jumping on the latest retail trend. Can something better or different happen to the area? Something that takes what has happened in the transformation of the area that is positive and amplify that?
I'm not sure the land value that far out from downtown is high enough to support the kind of density that would make a teardown possible. If the new buyer got a good deal, then maybe redevelopment is realistic.
But it is certainly true that there is too much retail in Indy and LS mall is surrounded by millions of feet of more accessible, more visible, variety-filled retail.