Tag: Malls

Dickinson
01/13/11 12:29pm

The Galveston Outlet Mall Coming to Texas City

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La Marque, Malls, Proposed Developments, Texas City
6 Comments

The company behind the Houston Premium Outlets way up off 290 near Fairfield in Cypress has announced plans to build a similar outlet mall on the opposite side of Houston. Simon Property Group, also the owner of the Houston Galleria and the Katy Mills Mall, plans on calling the new 100-store, 350,000-sq.-ft. complex the Galveston Premium Outlets, but it’ll be located well north of the island in Texas City, just south of the Holland Rd. exit off I-45 and north of the Walmart Supercenter, on the west side of the freeway. From the drawing the company is passing around, the place should look a whole lot like its Cypress cousin, logo-tattooed tower and all.

The site is a 55-acre chunk of the stalled and probably flopped Lago Mar, a 7,000-home development announced 6 years ago.
The Galveston County Daily News‘s Laura Elder reports there are rumors another outlet mall is coming to the area as well, a couple of exits north on a 20-acre lot north of Cross Colony Dr. and west of FM 646 in Dickinson — this one from another national mall developer: Tanger Outlet Centers.

What’s the deal with the malls already in the area?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Downtown
01/04/11 6:16pm

Books-A-Million at Houston Pavilions: Back from the Dead!

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Leasing, Malls, Openings and Closings, Retail
12 Comments

A source tells Swamplot that “an even sweeter deal” has just been struck between Books-A-Million and the management of Houston Pavilions, and that the bookstore chain has decided that its Downtown Houston store will remain open. “It seems the story has forced the company’s hand,” says the source. Swamplot reported yesterday that Books-A-Million had decided to close its store in the mall at 1201 Main St., even though the company was paying only $3,000 a month for the 2-story, approximately 23,000-sq.-ft. space.

Photo: Flickr user Holcombe of Hidalgo

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Comments
01/04/11 3:18pm

Comment of the Day: How To Pour Crowds into Houston Pavilions

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Downtown, Quicklink, Restaurants
3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO POUR CROWDS INTO HOUSTON PAVILIONS “. . . What usually gets me downtown is free weekend street parking, beer specials at certain bars, and discounted or free (handed-down) arts and Astros tickets. Oh – and formerly, the Angelika. I like to think most middle-class Houstonians share my tastes, summed up by: cheap Mexican food and free parking. Put that into the mix and the number of visitors would double.” [Superdave, commenting on Comment of the Day: How Tough Would It Be To Turn Houston Pavilions Inside Out?]

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Comments
01/03/11 6:09pm

Comment of the Day: How Tough Would It Be To Turn Houston Pavilions Inside Out?

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Downtown, Malls, Quicklink
11 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TOUGH WOULD IT BE TO TURN HOUSTON PAVILIONS INSIDE OUT? “This was mentioned before with the Pavilions…but worth mentioning again—who designed the layout? I agree with other posters—if you drive by you hardly notice the Pavilions exist. The stores face inward so things may be noticeable if [you’re] passing (i.e. walking) through it….but not if you’re driving by from the streets. This is Houston…we don’t exactly walk outside. If the Pavilions had the resources, they should spend it on revamping the outside so people can see what businesses are there from the streets.” [Chris, commenting on Books-A-Million Bailing out of Houston Pavilions; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Pavilions model: Jim Porter [license]

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Downtown
01/03/11 12:46pm

Books-A-Million Bailing out of Houston Pavilions

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Leasing, Malls, Openings and Closings, Retail
16 Comments

Update, 1/4: Reverse! Books-A-Million is gonna stay put.

Southeastern U.S. chain Books-A-Million has decided to close its Downtown Houston store on January 15th. The decision has left management of Houston Pavilions feeling rather put-out: Managers at the downtown mall reportedly had lowered the bookstore’s rent on the 2-story, approximately 23,000-sq.-ft. space facing the light rail line at 1201 Main St. to just $3,000 a month — in hopes the concession would prevent it from shutting down. A source insists the store “wasn’t a huge flop,” but says that the Katy Mills Mall Books-A-Million typically brought in more than 5 times the sales of the Downtown store — even though the 2 locations are about the same size.

Another factor that may have played a role in Books-A-Million’s decision to close: A pending lawsuit filed against the company after the location’s former manager reportedly kicked a man and his wheelchair-riding, apparently mentally disabled son out of the store. “At some point [the son] soiled himself and the [manager] took this as a vagrance and kicked them out. Needless to say the boy’s family were outraged,” a source tells Swamplot. The manager is no longer with the company, though reportedly for “unrelated” reasons.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Downtown
12/02/10 1:45pm

Successor to Scott Gertner’s Skybar Coming to Houston Pavilions

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Leasing, Nightlife, Openings and Closings
7 Comments

Skybar owner Scott Gertner has found a new space for his jazz club. It’ll be on the 3rd floor of Houston Pavilions — one block west of the House of Blues and Lucky Strike, and directly across the open-air mall from “swing space” originally planned for retail but now being leased as office space by an energy company. Scott Gertner’s Skybar, on the 10th floor of the office building at 3400 Montrose, closed over the summer, after Gertner tired of dealing with building maintenance issues left unaddressed by a new owner.

Houston Pavilions’ 3rd floor is pretty high up there, but Gertner says the new venue will drop the SkyBar name for the multi-level space (it’ll just be called Scott Gertner’s). At 13,000 sq. ft. (and a capacity of 700), it’ll be slightly larger than the old club too. He tells Chronicle reporter Joey Guerra the new interior, designed by Uptown Sushi architect Isaac Preminger, will feature 3 outdoor patios, an “arena-style” stage, and a full kitchen. Directly downstairs from the club, at the corner of Dallas and Fannin: BCBGMaxAzria and McCormick & Schmick’s, shown above.

Photo: Flickr user sabotai

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Malls
09/20/10 11:55am

Where Short-Term Leases Are Available

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Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail
No Comments

WHERE SHORT-TERM LEASES ARE AVAILABLE Last year’s temporary store in the Galleria (one of 90 nationwide) worked out well for the company, so Toys “R” Us is trying it again, in 7 sites throughout the Houston area. Lucky them: A number of malls have space available this year. Toys “R” Us Express stores will open soon at the Galleria, in the West Oaks Mall, Pasadena Town Square, Greenspoint Mall, Katy Mills Mall, Baybrook Mall, and the Outlets at Conroe to handle the holiday toy rush. But all are scheduled to close in January. Nationwide, 600 new 4,000-sq.-ft.-or-so short-time Express locations this year will double the number of Toys “R” Us stores for the real part of the retail season. Half of those stores have already opened. [Houston’s Hiring]

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First Colony
07/30/10 9:55am

First Colony Mall’s Used-Car-Dealer Valet

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Malls, Parking, Quicklink, Retail, Sugar Land
2 Comments

FIRST COLONY MALL’S USED-CAR-DEALER VALET Your keys, please? A local used-car dealership is the new sponsor of the “free” valet parking service at First Colony Mall in Sugar Land. Independent used-car giant Texas Direct Auto, which has its roots in eBay (and still sells most of its cars online), now has its blue and white umbrellas parked in front of the Cheesecake Factory and on the mall’s interior street near Kona Grill, with valets ready to take your car. The company’s main dealership is just 5 miles north of the mall, on the 59 feeder road. And yes, the company does take trade-ins. [Ultimate Fort Bend]

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Bankruptcies
05/18/10 11:01am

Waiting for the Renaissance: What Could $32 Million Buy at Greenspoint Mall?

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Greenspoint, Malls, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Renovations
34 Comments

The Triyar Cannon Group has been threatening to give shopworn Greenspoint Mall a $32 million makeover since 2006. Most of what appears to be planned shows up in this knock-’em-down video: a new outdoor plaza at the mall’s east entrance, and a connected 22-story office building off Greenspoint Dr., designed by Ziegler Cooper. Just last week, demolition began on the vacant JCPenney building, site of a proposed Premiere Cinema multiplex that’s supposed to share a new parking garage with the tower. Not in the plans, but already happened anyway: the closing of Sears.

When will the rest of this happen?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Crime
05/12/10 2:41pm

Comment of the Day: The Report from Greenspoint Mall

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Greenspoint, Malls, Quicklink
1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE REPORT FROM GREENSPOINT MALL “. . . A huge swath of it is basically closed (the part near Dillards)– storefronts with lots of signs letting you know they are available. There are still quite a few mall staples, as well as an unusual number of mom-and-pop operations. I was there today just after 1 pm. There were people around, including folks apparently from nearby offices doing some lunch shopping or eating in the food court. But the number of people seemed sparse. That said, it is a long haul to any other movie theater from there, and there are a lot of people who live and work in the area. And I’m fairly sure the mall is one of the safest places around–it has a large Harris County Sheriff/HPD station in the mall! The parking lot is full of police cars.” [RWB, commenting on Before the Movies Start: What’s Eating JCPenney at the Greenspoint Mall]

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Demolitions
05/10/10 3:32pm

Before the Movies Start: What’s Eating JCPenney at the Greenspoint Mall

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Greenspoint, Malls, New Construction
22 Comments

A new Premiere Cinemas multiplex is now under construction at Greenspoint Mall — if, that is, you count demolition as part of the construction process. Early this morning, demolition crews began their assault on the long-vacant JCPenney building standing rudely in the way of the new theater.

The new theater is expected to be part of a $32 million facelift for the mall. The Greenspoint District Facebook page reports that the original plans for the theater called for a total of 20 screens.

Photo: Greenspoint District

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Commercial Real Estate
02/17/10 10:04am

The Great Big Mall-and-Sprawl Get-Together

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Malls, Quicklink, Sprawl
No Comments

THE GREAT BIG MALL-AND-SPRAWL GET-TOGETHER What do The Galleria, the Houston Premium Outlets mall in Cypress, the Katy Mills mall, the Deerbrook Mall, The Woodlands Mall, the Baybrook Mall, First Colony Mall, the Willowbrook Mall, the 11,400-acre Bridgeland development way out 290, and 42.5 percent of The Woodlands Operating Company have in common? They’ll all be owned by the same company — if the Simon Property Group completes the proposed $10 billion buyout of bankrupt General Growth Properties it made public yesterday. That would make 550 Simon malls in all — more than a third of the U.S. total. [Developments]

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Alief
12/23/09 3:27pm

The West Oaks Mall $87 Million Backward Flip

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Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Malls, Retail
5 Comments

Who was it again that bought the West Oaks Mall out of bankruptcy earlier this month, for the bargain price of $15 million? Just an L.A. investment group called Pacific Retail Capital Partners. That firm’s principals, then with a company called Somera Capital, are the same people who sold the 1.1-million-sq.-ft. mall at Westheimer and Hwy. 6 in 2005 to Investment Partners of America, the “investment” vehicle of high-rolling 1031 Exchange king Edward H. Okun, after a quick 2-year spiff-up.

Okun paid Somera $102 million. Yes, that Edward H. Okun.

This time, the mall’s a whole lot cheaper, but it’s not in such good shape, either. Mervyn’s and J.C. Penney are gone. The rest of the mall is at 60 percent occupancy. “Over the past couple of years, several tenants tried to renew,” Somera Capital’s (and now Pacific Retail’s) Stephen Plenge tells Globe St., “and no one would return their phone calls.” The new owners say the Mervyn’s wing is likely to be redeveloped.

Photo of West Oaks Mall visitors: Joel Barhamand

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Malls
12/02/09 1:17pm

Straits at CityCentre: Courtyards Are the Devil’s Playground

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Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Town and Country Village
16 Comments

New westside restaurant doesn’t face onto a parking lot. Chaos ensues:

The dining room of Straits, the swank new Malaysian restaurant at City Centre, looks chaste and serene in its Web site photos. So I was dumbstruck by the maelstrom that greeted me on a school night the week before Thanksgiving, when the restaurant felt more like a thunderous Vegas nightclub.

The bulk of the floor plan was given over to bar/lounge seating, and outdoors–looking upon the grassy City Centre mall plaza ringed with fire pits–tented pavilions held still more tables for the cocktail crowd. A live band on an outdoor stage blared R&B standards as ice-blue holiday lights swayed, wind whipped the fire-pot flames high and merrymakers clustered on the chilly lawn.

“It looks like the Devil’s Playground out there,” murmured my dinner guest as he found me at a table beside the sleek open kitchen. We were both a little shellshocked. Judging by the avid crowds, far west Houston, out by I-10 and the Beltway, has been hungering for a capital-S-Scene, and the restaurant- and bar-heavy new City Centre development has provided one readymade.

Photo of CityCentre courtyard: Misha Govshteyn

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Financing
08/26/09 12:40pm

Redevelopment Brawl at the Sharpstown Mall

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Malls, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Sharpstown
9 Comments

REDEVELOPMENT BRAWL AT THE SHARPSTOWN MALL Developer and former Sugar Land mayor David Wallace now says his firm’s $350 million proposal to redevelop the Sharpstown Mall — approved in early July by the Southwest Houston TIRZ over the objections of the mall’s owner and manager — isn’t likely to happen: “R.D. Tanner, a partner in the firm, resigned from the TIRZ board the day his company [Wallace Bajjali Development Partners] submitted its vision for the mall. The board voted to support his firm’s bid that same day. The board is tasked with overseeing the site’s redevelopment and distributing up to $20 million of public money to assist in that effort. The mall’s owner and manager — whose own redevelopment plan was rejected by the authority in May — filed suit last week, alleging that Tanner and the TIRZ board’s subsequent requests for information were “a subterfuge” to obtain “confidential, proprietary information” they could use to make their own bid. The allegations highlight a widespread problem in Houston: that developers on TIRZ boards are often able to make decisions about tax abatements — and the use of public dollars for economic development — that ultimately benefit themselves or their projects, according to Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, an advocacy organization that promotes openness and accountability in government.” [Houston Chronicle]

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