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There was an outdoor mall on Hanes Mall Blvd towards Jonestown Rd. When I worked in that area several years ago development had slowed. Did development get back on track? Has the place built out?
There was an outdoor mall on Hanes Mall Blvd towards Jonestown Rd. When I worked in that area several years ago development had slowed. Did development get back on track? Has the place built out?
I think you might be talking about Shoppes at Little Creek. And yes, it has been built out significantly in the last year or so.
Yeah, I've noticed that, too. I don't know if Winston has the economy to sustain a more modern outdoor shopping center at this point. They have small ones like Thruway and Reynolda Village, but neither offer the variety of retail, service, restaurants, and movie options of a Friendly Center or Southpoint.
Uh, it's illogical to think Greensboro can sustain a lifestyle center, but not Winston-Salem.
Something I've noticed about the owner of Hanes Mall (CB&L Associates) is that they are uneven in how aggressively they promote certain properties in their advertising and don't promote other ones. I mentioned in the Oak Hollow Mall (High Point) thread that a few years ago, they were advertising Hanes Mall and Friendly Center, but neglecting Oak Hollow. Could the same thing be starting with Hanes Mall?
As for "lifestyle centers", I have to wonder how long that trend will last, especially since NC's climate isn't particuarly suited for outdoor activities year round the same way that say, Southern California's is? Fundamentally, these lifestyle centers seem like glorified strip shopping centers with a fancier facade that makes them superficially appear a little more like an older downtown business district. Yet, few people can or do actually walk to them. So, for example, in the pouring rain, they force people to drive from store to store even more than enclosed malls. Friendly Center isn't exactly easy or pleasant to navigate if you're trying to get from one end to the other. Take going from the Apple Store to Barnes and Noble/Old Navy on a rainy day. It would be much more doable if it were in an enclosed space that used more than one floor.
Something I've noticed about the owner of Hanes Mall (CB&L Associates) is that they are uneven in how aggressively they promote certain properties in their advertising and don't promote other ones. I mentioned in the Oak Hollow Mall (High Point) thread that a few years ago, they were advertising Hanes Mall and Friendly Center, but neglecting Oak Hollow. Could the same thing be starting with Hanes Mall?
As for "lifestyle centers", I have to wonder how long that trend will last, especially since NC's climate isn't particuarly suited for outdoor activities year round the same way that say, Southern California's is? Fundamentally, these lifestyle centers seem like glorified strip shopping centers with a fancier facade that makes them superficially appear a little more like an older downtown business district. Yet, few people can or do actually walk to them. So, for example, in the pouring rain, they force people to drive from store to store even more than enclosed malls. Friendly Center isn't exactly easy or pleasant to navigate if you're trying to get from one end to the other. Take going from the Apple Store to Barnes and Noble/Old Navy on a rainy day. It would be much more doable if it were in an enclosed space that used more than one floor.
Friendly Center is not really a lifestyle center in the way most of the lifestyle centers are actually set up. Friendly Center, while nice, does fit the description to me of being a glorified, super shopping center. GSOboi brought up a great example with Peninsula Town Center in Virginia. I used to live there and it's basically a mall, but no roof and there are a few roads you can drive around. It was actually built on the footprint of a dead enclosed shopping mall (Coliseum Mall). That said, PTC isn't doing as well as it may look at first glance. A lot of the shops ARE full, but turnover has been crazy there. I know of several store fronts that have changed hands 3 or 4 times in the 10 years PTC has been there. On top of that, one of their two anchors just closed (Macy's... which was the lone remnant of the old mall).
I think a better blueprint for Winston Salem though may be Short Pump Town Center in Richmond. It really is set up more like a mall, just without a roof. Period. Granted, I don't see Winston-Salem bringing in a Nordstrom or anything, I think a setup like that would work well.
Friendly has been around for 50 years and it's seen much growth in recent years so the concept isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The path you describe was never intended seeing how Apple is located at the Shoppes at Friendly, added several years ago, and B&N is in Friendly Center. Technically they are not the same shopping center. The Shoppes portion is very walkable while Friendly is walkable although a bit cumbersome.
Like others have said, it's basically an "outdoor shopping center" that sometimes looks like a faux downtown with stores tightly packed together along pedestrian streets. Examples would be the outdoor part of the The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, the outdoor part of Triangle Town Center in Raleigh, and Park West Village in Cary.
"Lifestyle Center", reminds me somewhat of the switch that occurred years ago from "used" cars to "previously owned" cars. While most/some of these centers can be really nice and the developers go above and beyond to create the faux downtown like atmosphere, it's still just a name for an outdoor/open mall or group of stores/restaurants not connected inside.
Perhaps Hanes Mall is in need of renovation. But it still has major anchors Belk, Dillard's, Macy's, and JCPenney. Unless these stores close down or relocate, I think the mall will be around for a while. In most regions, one strong destination mall is still surviving. But additional subpar malls are declining or closing, and Macy's and Sears are reducing their store count by closing underperforming stores.
Think fancy Strip Mall!
...it's still just a name for an outdoor/open mall or group of stores/restaurants not connected inside.
I'm old enough to remember when such "lifestyle centers" were the norm...
and were then enclosed and covered and heated and air conditioned...
to make them more appealing to shoppers.
As to Hanes Mall (and probably most malls) the problem is access TO the space not how the space
is laid out or being enclosed once there... and the perception of price gouging with the selections.
I'll go out of my way to avoid the stretch of Stratford Road and Hanes Mall Blvd immediately nearby...
especially so during the sort of regular business hours they need customers to come in.
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