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Greenspoint Mall Owner Makes First Dent in Dark Block

By K Pica Kahn

Last updated: Monday, August 30, 2004 07:55pm

HOUSTON-In an unusual play to fill an empty anchor spot, the Los Angeles owner of the 17-million-sf Greenspoint Mall has struck a 10-year deal with a health club operator. A $3-million finish-out is under way on 47,300 sf of a 116,695-sf hole that's been dark for several years.

"I don't know if this is the only fitness center in a mall, but it is unusual," Linda Clayton, leasing director for owner Triyar Cannon Group of L.A., tells GlobeSt.com about the latest lease for the 12300 N. Freeway mall. "We hope this is a trend and they will want to move into more malls." Triyar owns four malls in the metro region.

Clayton says the health club operator approached Triyar about the prospect of opening its first mall location. Scott Shillings, vice president for Dallas-based Staubach Co., represents New Fit Ltd., parent of Fitness Connection. The freshly inked lease includes two five-year options.

General contractor Drymalla Construction Co. Inc. of Columbus, TX, will have the space ready to go in early 2005, with owner and tenant sharing in the cost, according to Clayton. In the interim, Fitness Connection is operating out of 7,000 sf of temporary space in the mall, complete with a mock-up of the new facility. The health club operator also has set up kiosks in Greenspoint and San Jacinto Mall to promote the upcoming opening.

With the first tenant signed, Clayton says talks are well under way with a prospect for the 69,395-sf balance of the anchor spot, once held by Mervyn's. "We aren't ready to disclose the other tenant at this time," she says of a key catch for the 80%-leased mall.

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greenspoint mall itself could actually become a great mixed use location. the combination of residential, commercial, retail, north harris college, hotels, proximity to the airport, etc. is already represented in the area. with new urbanist type construction and a smart, affordable residential element added to the mall itself, a new breed of mall renovations could emerge. connecting the mall with the towers to the east via mall extensions and skywalks would further enhance a concentrated mixed use purpose.

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Actually, I prefer the I-45. It's not an architectural dynamo and can look seedy in areas (and to the urbanist, it's a nightmare of cars and strip malls) but it at least looks like it has life to it. US 59 and Hardy look pretty rural, like the NW arc of I-295 near Jacksonville. Doesn't look like you're heading into one of the largest cities in the country.

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  • 5 months later...
  • 1 month later...
Thanks. I always thought that building behind there was in greenspoint. I guess I was wrong. Next time I;m in Houston I am going to ride down Richmond Ave. and take a look.

You can grab a cone at the wonderful Stucchi's Ice Cream or have a cup of joe at Gordon's Coffee (used to be called Doc Java, a coffee bar as a repository for upward artists), eat some decent Italian at Corelli's, or slightly overpriced, yuppified Vietnamese at Cafe Asia....and then see a flick at that cool Edward's Cinema just behind.

I wonder why there is not a stream of folks who go back and forth between the eateries and the movie theater...it's very, very do-able that way. I've done that on some occasions when I lived in Houston.

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  • 1 year later...
April 21, 2006, 2:50AM

Greenspoint is dressing up

Mall will spend $32 million on new look, new features

By NANCY SARNOFF

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Greenspoint Mall, once one of the city's top shopping centers, is reinventing itself.

The owner of the aging mall, in north Houston at Interstate 45 and Beltway 8, is planning a $32 million renovation. It plans to attract new shops, restaurants and entertainment venues by updating the look of the mall and adding outdoor plazas, water features, pedestrian walkways and a stage with free performances for the public.

This first phase of what could be a much larger redevelopment of the mall will be called the Renaissance. It will be built on what's now a parking lot between the Sears and the former J.C. Penney department store.

The owner hopes the renovations will attract a lot more customers to the 1.7 million-square-foot mall, which is about 85 percent occupied but has two empty anchor stores.

It already has a large customer base nearby, including several hotels and office buildings where more than 50,000 people work.

"The chance to return is there," said Carl Esser, senior vice president of retail services for the mall, which is owned by Southern California investment firm Triyar Cannon Group.

"It'll be a different approach, a different look. It'll be indoor and outdoor. It'll be an exciting place to be," he said.

Architects are still fine-tuning the designs, but Esser said the renovations could begin early next year.

A portion of the redevelopment costs will come from the Greenspoint tax increment re- investment zone, which will contribute $8 million for the public improvements.

the article

Edited by Houstonian in Iraq
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So here's the critical question: do shopping malls need a high percentage of shoppers from their surrounding neighborhoods for the ultimate success/survival of those malls? If so, then an upscale mall will never be in the cards for Greenspoint...as long as the residential areas surrounding it are some of the poorest in Houston. If not, then they can hope to pull upscale shoppers from others locations.

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Saw a rendering on the news last night. It looks similar to the Marque E Center in design with large palms and bright colors.

...and we all know how well Marq-E leases out.

So here's the critical question: do shopping malls need a high percentage of shoppers from their surrounding neighborhoods for the ultimate success/survival of those malls? If so, then an upscale mall will never be in the cards for Greenspoint...as long as the residential areas surrounding it are some of the poorest in Houston. If not, then they can hope to pull upscale shoppers from others locations.

You are very correct to question the demographics. Good accessibility (I-45 @ Beltway 8) means something, but demographics mean everything.

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This will probably fail. The reason is not people are unwilling to drive long distances; if that was the case, anything downtown would be out of business. There is just too much competition from the Woodlands (Mall, Market Square, Pavilion, etc.) on 45, Deerbrook Mall on 59, and Willowbrook Mall on 249. Inside the Belt people are not rich enough to support an upscale development.

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This will probably fail. The reason is not people are unwilling to drive long distances; if that was the case, anything downtown would be out of business. There is just too much competition from the Woodlands (Mall, Market Square, Pavilion, etc.) on 45, Deerbrook Mall on 59, and Willowbrook Mall on 249. Inside the Belt people are not rich enough to support an upscale development.

Interesting. In the Bayou Place thread you said Downtown needed a movie theater because people did not want to drive long distances. Then, 5 minutes later, in this thread, you claim people do not mind driving long distances.

:huh:

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