Death Of MetroCenter (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler: for sale, amusement park, house)

[Desertspiritsteve]

The Fry's Signature Marketplace is at Tatum and Shea. What an amazing store that is. I guess I was southbound on Tatum from the PV Mall area one evening and stumbled upon it.

[43north87west]

The story of Metrocenter has been played out across the country. Those old 60s and 70s malls are dinosaurs in this country anyway (IIRC, none have opened in the US since '06). The trend is now toward storefront shopping areas like Kierland, Desert Ridge, etc. Outdoor shopping areas don't punish shoppers by making them park six miles away just to get one or two things, instead splitting the shopping into the storefront type shopping areas that exist in big cities anyway. Plus, shoppers aren't forced to navigate narrow indoor caves with a high concentration of aimless teens and retail attitude, while being forced to inhale the swampy stench of really bad food.

The other problem with malls like Ghettrocenter, is that the areas around them have taken a dive. Nobody wants to go to a dumpy area to walk across a big parking lot full of cars with booming stereos and shady looking people who have staring problems.

[Bondurant]

I went to MetroCenter today. Prior today I had been there twice (briefly on both occasions). I always hear about it but today was the first day I "experienced" it. More tenants than empty spaces, no gangbangers, no riffraff. Very dull around but that is how I view most malls. Perhaps I will return on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon to see if the experience is any different but as of now, as with most of lot of the hype about Phoenix, I say "hyperbole".

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

I went to MetroCenter today. Prior today I had been there twice (briefly on both occasions). I always hear about it but today was the first day I "experienced" it. More tenants than empty spaces, no gangbangers, no riffraff. Very dull around but that is how I view most malls. Perhaps I will return on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon to see if the experience is any different but as of now, as with most of lot of the hype about Phoenix, I say "hyperbole".

If that's the case, then occupancy is higher than it was when I was in there last. That said, with only one anchor store, and a lot of the retail on the outer border now vacant, it is still not anywhere near a thriving property.

[randian]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Outdoor shopping areas don't punish shoppers by making them park six miles away just to get one or two things, instead splitting the shopping into the storefront type shopping areas that exist in big cities anyway.

Only if your "one or two things" are right next to each other. And you must frequently park "six miles away" anyway, unless you're going to an unpopular shop. Other than that it sucks to be at an outdoor mall anywhere in the Sunbelt or Southeast during their long hot seasons. Shoppers there are punished with blistering heat and/or humidity you must suffer going from storefront to storefront in an outdoor mall. Outdoor malls in those areas make no sense until you realize it it's all about A/C costs, not any alleged convenience for the shopper.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by observer53

If that's the case, then occupancy is higher than it was when I was in there last. That said, with only one anchor store, and a lot of the retail on the outer border now vacant, it is still not anywhere near a thriving property.

One major tenant is gone but I'm not sure what it was. There was a Sears and Macy's.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

I went to MetroCenter today. Prior today I had been there twice (briefly on both occasions). I always hear about it but today was the first day I "experienced" it. More tenants than empty spaces, no gangbangers, no riffraff. Very dull around but that is how I view most malls. Perhaps I will return on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon to see if the experience is any different but as of now, as with most of lot of the hype about Phoenix, I say "hyperbole".

I don't care how many tenants they have. It's the quality of the stores that matter. There is a big difference when your tenant is an Apple Store versus "Fly"

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I don't care how many tenants they have. It's the quality of the stores that matter. There is a big difference when your tenant is an Apple Store versus "Fly"

It's the same crap you find in any mall outside of Scottsdale.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

It's the same crap you find in any mall outside of Scottsdale.

and Chandler and Gilbert and the Biltmore and.....

Look if you feel Metrocenter is on par with malls like Chandler Fashion Center, San Tan Village, the Biltmore Shopping center etc, you are entitled to your opinion but just know that 90% of the population in the Valley will probably disagree with you.

[Rick Lee]

I went there once around Xmas '09 because something I needed was supposedly only available locally there. Didn't find it and I thought the place was total ghetto. I kind of think the quality of a mall is as much a function of the kind of people who go there as it is the quality of stores. I hate all malls and crowds anyway, but found Metro Center to be particularly bad. Never again.