Taunton: Silver City Galleria will be losing JC Penney in April (Natick: for rent, buying)

[metalmancpa]

Amazon and online shopping is slowly killing the malls. South Shore Plaza is the busiest mall I know of south of Boston. The shopping scene in Natick is decent, mainly because people know when they drive there the choices are many. Silver City has been dying a slow death for a while.

[lrfox]

Two things:

1) South Shore Plaza Isn't just the biggest mall in New England, but one of the largest in the U.S. It's only about 600,000 sq feet smaller than the Mall of America.

2) I don't know that losing an anchor tenant is ALWAYS a bad sign. Providence place is losing JC Penny too. A lot of people were unaware that JC Penny existed there. JC Penny as a brand is struggling and it's been largely ignored and priced out of Providence Place. There's been a huge amount of interest in the vacated space and chances are it'll be filled up quickly by either a grocery store or another department store (target). JC Penny leaving is a sign that Providence Place is thriving and a struggling retailer can't keep pace.

In the case of Taunton, Silver City is struggling pretty bad. There are tons of vacancies and the attempt by the new owners to rebrand it isn't successful yet (idk if it will be). That spot will sit vacant for some time. They never really recovered from the closure of Bradlees (it's now a Dick's and the first level is a revolving door of places... Now a kids bounce house playground). This one could be crippling.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by Dm84

The tour buses to Wrentham still goes on and it's always packed on weekends and holidays.

Packed most days of the week, too. But those are different kinds of stores and a different clientele.

[9162]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I don't know that losing an anchor tenant is ALWAYS a bad sign. Providence place is losing JC Penny too. A lot of people were unaware that JC Penny existed there. JC Penny as a brand is struggling and it's been largely ignored and priced out of Providence Place. There's been a huge amount of interest in the vacated space and chances are it'll be filled up quickly by either a grocery store or another department store (target). JC Penny leaving is a sign that Providence Place is thriving and a struggling retailer can't keep pace.

How has JC Penney been "priced out" at Providence Place? JC Penney is the cheapest store of the three anchors. A better question is, how is an upscale mall surviving in Providence, when even the Atrium Mall couldn't survive in Chestnut Hill, when Chestnut Hill is an exceptionally wealthier area.

The real problem is, Providence Place is too close to the Warwick Mall (home to the original JC Penney anchor in the New England area) and the Emerald Square Mall. I'd be interested to know which other stores want to locate where the current JC Penney is currently at in Prov Place? BTW, it is absurd that a grocery store would go in to PP, this would be equivalent to putting a grocery store as an anchor at South Shore Plaza or Natick Mall.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by 9162

How has JC Penney been "priced out" at Providence Place? JC Penney is the cheapest store of the three anchors. A better question is, how is an upscale mall surviving in Providence, when even the Atrium Mall couldn't survive in Chestnut Hill, when Chestnut Hill is an exceptionally wealthier area.

Chestnut Hill is not a particularly easy area to get to. It's not really near any major interstate and therefore cannot draw much traffic other than local shoppers from Newton and Brookline. Providence Place is in a downtown location and off two major interstates. JC Penney has not been known to locate in urban areas, in fact the Providence Place location is the only one I can think of that is in an urban setting. I assume that they either didn't properly market themselves to urban dwellers or as a more discount oriented store, could not afford the higher rents that come with an urban location. Irfox is right too in that JC Penney is a struggling company all around.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by 9162

How has JC Penney been "priced out" at Providence Place? JC Penney is the cheapest store of the three anchors. A better question is, how is an upscale mall surviving in Providence, when even the Atrium Mall couldn't survive in Chestnut Hill, when Chestnut Hill is an exceptionally wealthier area.

You're misreading. Shoppers aren't priced out from JC Penney which is the cheapest of the anchor tenants. Rather, JC Penney can't afford to stay in an upscale urban mall with higher rents. JC Penney in Providence is A) hidden off the beaten path and B) empty most of the time because it's hidden and because most shoppers in Providence Place aren't seeking JC Penney (those shoppers, as you pointed out, go to Warwick).

The Atrium is a ridiculous comparison because it's a different situation entirely. Yes, Chestnut Hill is a wealthier area. However, there's no shortage of high end retail within a short drive or public transit trip from Chestnut Hill. You have all sorts of high end retail along Route 9, you have the Natick Collection, and (this is the main reason) you have an abundance of high end retail in Copley Place and along Newbury Street which negates the need for a suburban mall like the Atrium. Providence Place is an urban mall, downtown and it's really the only high end retail shopping in entire Providence metro area. That's why it survives (and continues to attract good retailers).

I'd be interested to know which other stores want to locate where the current JC Penney is currently at in Prov Place? BTW, it is absurd that a grocery store would go in to PP, this would be equivalent to putting a grocery store as an anchor at South Shore Plaza or Natick Mall.

TJ Max, Target and an undisclosed grocery chain are looking into the space. It's not at all absurd for a grocery store to go in there. The only absurd thing is comparing the Natick Mall and South Shore Plaza to Providence Place from a functionality standpoint. Yes, they're all malls but the comparisons end there. South Shore Plaza and Natick Mall are suburban malls near major suburban retail strips (which include grocery stores). Everybody drives to and from those malls. Providence Place is an urban mall in a city with tons of residential units recently constructed and currently under construction within walking distance. Those thousands of residents need grocery options within walking distance. It's similar to the trend you're seeing in major cities where supermarkets are cropping up in downtown areas as more and more developments in downtown areas contain a residential component. Grocery stores are coming to the North Station, South Station and Downtown Crossing areas in Boston as a result of major residential development. While Providence has tons of recent residential development near the mall (Waterplace condos, the lofts on the other side of 95, the new units at the Arcade, the recent condos near the station and the second phase of condos about to break ground, etc., there's no major supermarket to serve that population. That's why it makes sense. There's a major population group in downtown Providence that's significantly underserved when it comes to grocery options and basic homegoods (a niche that Target would fill).

[danii]

The Dartmouth Mall may be smaller than Providence Place or the Silver City Galleria but it has
acquired many customers from the cape and closer areas of Rhode Island such as Tiverton
and Bristol. It is also right next door to UMass Dartmouth which keeps the mall thriving.
The JC Penney in Dartmouth has the Sephora make-up line which is extremely popular.
Also, parking at Prov Place is a nightmare!

[mdovell]

Aaa yes malls.

I think Kingston is going to have issues with the lack of new tenants. Sears closed and radio shack is next. They have some interesting ideas in malls to try to bring a dave and busters like idea to it but I'm not sure if that's really the way to go. It needs a real restaurant. It had it for awhile but when it left it made it a bit empty. Since when does a mall McDonalds close anyway? They REALLY improved the movie theater. I'm very impressed especially with the audio. I'm not saying it's IMax but it's one notch lower.

Hanover I guess is OK but what keeps much of that going is the other things near it like the Panera Bread and Trader Joes. Trader joes can be a suburban madhouse when sales go on.

Sears gradually I think is going to close down. It will be sad but it's the next major chain to fade. Sometimes I find it isn't direct wealth that really makes a mall stand out. For example the the Holyoke mall relative to other merchants. Yes it isn't nearly as big as south shore plaza but the number of shops is roughly the same. Judge that difference with the city of the city and it's a huge difference it's polarizing to say the least. Westgate I think is doing OK but then again you can't simply judge foot traffic. I worked for a box store and we had a competitor that had a bus lot across the street. The bus lot charges for parking the competitor does not. So by default it is always at least half full at any point in the year.

I was recently in Hartford a bit and I thought westfarms was pretty good. Mall Map | Westfarms Their food court has this odd vibe to it because it feels more like an area to sit for awhile.

Malls have to start to provide more of a customer experience that cannot be standardized. I think in some cases there is the potential to get different clientel in by lowering rents. Kingston is getting a bit into this but I don't know how far it would really go. I had a friend that wanted to open up a comic shop there but the rents were so high. Another worked there and told me apparently the rents go up the more you make well why isn't it fixed then?

Was it emerald green or silver city that had that store that used to sell odd knives. I think he owner got in trouble because they clearly were weapons.

[Ben Warwell]

Westgate getting better.- darthmouth thriving - Swansea dead - harbor mall is closing (forever) - silver city is dying - and Dartmouth used to be real shh...

[MMS02760]

I live right near the Emerald Sq Mall. It has lost some smaller stores during this economic downturn but still has its three main anchors - Macy's, Sears, and JC Penney. The mall is located in a densely packed retail strip along route 1/1A that runs from interstate 295 in North Attleborough to 95 and the MBTA Commuter rail stop in S Attleboro at the RI (Pawtucket) state line. New development is still continuing in this area adding new options to the already existing nearby big box stores (Target/Super Walmart/Burlington Coat/Kmart/Best Buy/Bob's/Toys R Us/Dicks/Bed Bath&Beyond/Christmas Tree Shoppes/BJ's Wholesale/Lowes/Home Depot/Staples/Stop & Shop/Market Basket). The area has also become a destination for furniture shopping (Cardi's/Raymour & Flanigan/LazyBoy/Sleepy's/Bob's Furniture), car shopping (CarMax/Toyota/Subaru/Nissan/Buick/Kia) and chain restaurants. This strip of road has so much retail in close proximity that I don't see Emerald Square closing. The consumer foot traffic is there. My expectation is that Simon will right the ship as the economy rebounds.