Stay Informed
If you want to know what's being planned for your hood or what is being targeted for demolition next in the Austin area, read The Austin Business Journal
In 2004 this article was printed but no one in the surrounding hoods were reading therefore questioning and planning. I did read this and I did lil research that day but nothing came up at the time regarding the mall and renovations:
Northcross Mall to undergo makeover
Multimillion-dollar renovation will include return of ice rink
Austin Business Journal - May 28, 2004
by Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
After a stint as a high tech center, Northcross Mall will return to its original retail roots.
The property is about to undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation -- transforming the site into a modern-day version of what it used to be. Part of the shift includes bringing back Northcross Mall's best known tenant: Chaparral Ice.
"We are repositioning Northcross in preparation for restoring the excitement and the retail component. Retail and entertainment are (among) the highest and best uses for the Anderson Lane/Burnet Road location of Northcross Mall," says Robert Townsend of San Antonio-based Robert Townsend Retail Consulting, a mall consulting firm hired this spring to assist with the repositioning.
Northcross Mall, built in 1975, was purchased in 1998 by Midland Red Oak Realty Inc. Back then, sources said the mall was purchased for less than the $18 million sought by the seller, and the deal marked the Midland company's foray into Austin.
After an initial upgrade, the decision was made to turn the property -- in the heart of North Central Austin -- into a high tech business center.
But that was in the late 1990s, when the office market was king. Fast forward to 2004, when office space is in ample supply and retail is the hot thing.
Already, new tenants have signed up or have spoken for 40,000 of the mall's 326,000 square feet.
Roughly $1.5 million in transformations are planned for the new tenants. Other improvements, such as exterior upgrades, will be made, but a price tag hasn't been set. All together, the multimillion-dollar transformation is expected to take two years.
Gone are tenants such as Hooters.
Norris Conference Centers, an existing tenant, plans to expand by 15,000 square feet by renovating an old Furr's restaurant into a new ballroom, Townsend says. Go Dance, a dance studio, has signed up for 6,000 square feet. But the most visible change will be the return of Chaparral Ice, which was bought out of its lease in 2001. The ice rink is set open in early August.
Townsend says the ice rink will be a crucial component in the success of the revitalization.
Chaparral Ice will keep its current location, off I-35 and Wells Branch Parkway, which primarily caters to skaters involved in sports such as hockey and figure skating.
"While we think we have made playing and skating opportunities for everybody who wants to skate or play, they have not necessarily been able to skate or play as much as they'd like to or need to, depending on their level," says Charles Collins, general partner of Chaparral Ice Center Austin LP.
The numbers speak volumes. At the current location in North Austin, the rink serves about 2,000 regular customers and 40,000 recreational customers each year. That compares with 400 to 500 regular customers and 200,000 recreational skaters a year at the previous Northcross location, which operated for 30 years.
Collins says there's plenty of demand for two locations.
Lucian Morehead, founding partner of Austin-based Lucian Morehead & Partners Real Estate Group, is the former leasing agent for Northcross Mall.
"Northcross Mall is on some of the best dirt in Austin, Texas," Morehead says.
"I think that leasing to retailers on the Anderson Lane and Burnett Road sides and bringing back Chaparral Ice will bring traffic back ... and help economic viability of Northcross Mall," he says.
Another retail expert agrees.
"From visibility and a parking perspective, it [the high tech center] was an interesting experiment," says Harry Scott, vice president of retail for Trammell Crow Co. in Austin.
Now, he says, the mall offers "a great opportunity for interior retail development."
The mall's consultant says the only way for it to remain economically viable is to keep up with the times.
"A retail center like Northcross may not compete head-to-head with all of the exciting new retail developments, but we believe we can develop a niche component that makes Northcross an exciting and successful retail environment," Townsend says.
Email MARY ALICE KASPAR at (makaspar@bizjournals.com).
Then came this article:
Changes set for Northcross
Austin Business Journal - March 31, 2006
by Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
A major redevelopment of the Northcross Mall site in Central Austin is in the works.
Dallas-based real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. has put under contract a 27.8-acre site at the southwest corner of Anderson Lane and Burnet Road, according to the seller's representative.
Lincoln's plans include demolishing the western two-thirds of the existing mall structure and renovating the remaining one-third, according to plans filed with the City of Austin's planning department. The site features a total of 387,559 square feet. The redevelopment proposal comprises 373,110 square feet of retail space and a parking garage, filed plans show.
Robert Dozier, executive vice president of the retail group for Lincoln Property, is listed in the filing as the new owner's contact. He couldn't be reached for comment.
Jim Schissler of the Austin office of Houston-based Jones & Carter Inc. is listed as the project's engineer. A recent letter submitted by Schissler details Lincoln's plans for construction of five new retail buildings and a three-level parking garage.
One of the larger retail buildings will be two stories tall, and the most recent site plan calls for the inclusion of the popular Chaparral Ice skating rink, according to Schissler.
Northcross Mall was built in the mid-1970s and purchased by Midland Red Oak Realty Inc. in 1998. Then, sources said the mall was purchased for less than the $18 million sought by the seller. The deal marked the Midland company's first foray into Austin.
In the spring of 2004, Midland Red Oak tapped Robert Townsend of San Antonio-based mall consulting firm Robert Townsend Retail Consulting to help reposition the property.
A roughly $1.5 million overhaul was planned for the new tenants, including the return of Chaparral Ice. The transformation was expected to take two years.
Now, Townsend confirms Lincoln Property is under contract to purchase Northcross Mall.
Townsend says the repositioning made it "a more viable atmosphere to get a redevelopment buyer to the table."
The repositioning was designed to aid a major overhaul. Leases gave the landlord a one-time termination right in the event of a redevelopment, and this January the lease with Oshman's Supersports was reduced to 24 months.
Townsend says Midland Red Oak, the real estate arm of an oil company, decided to sell Northcross because it determined the project could be done better by a more experienced company.
"You've got to have the confidence to invest the dollars, [and] experience and expertise to be able to determine the upside and feasibility of the redevelopment," Townsend says.
makaspar@bizjournals.com (512) 494-2519
So, if you are concerned with your hood and what's coming next I highly suggest you read the ABJ and be aware. Stay informed, inform and ask questions at your neighborhood meetings.
In 2004 this article was printed but no one in the surrounding hoods were reading therefore questioning and planning. I did read this and I did lil research that day but nothing came up at the time regarding the mall and renovations:
Northcross Mall to undergo makeover
Multimillion-dollar renovation will include return of ice rink
Austin Business Journal - May 28, 2004
by Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
After a stint as a high tech center, Northcross Mall will return to its original retail roots.
The property is about to undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation -- transforming the site into a modern-day version of what it used to be. Part of the shift includes bringing back Northcross Mall's best known tenant: Chaparral Ice.
"We are repositioning Northcross in preparation for restoring the excitement and the retail component. Retail and entertainment are (among) the highest and best uses for the Anderson Lane/Burnet Road location of Northcross Mall," says Robert Townsend of San Antonio-based Robert Townsend Retail Consulting, a mall consulting firm hired this spring to assist with the repositioning.
Northcross Mall, built in 1975, was purchased in 1998 by Midland Red Oak Realty Inc. Back then, sources said the mall was purchased for less than the $18 million sought by the seller, and the deal marked the Midland company's foray into Austin.
After an initial upgrade, the decision was made to turn the property -- in the heart of North Central Austin -- into a high tech business center.
But that was in the late 1990s, when the office market was king. Fast forward to 2004, when office space is in ample supply and retail is the hot thing.
Already, new tenants have signed up or have spoken for 40,000 of the mall's 326,000 square feet.
Roughly $1.5 million in transformations are planned for the new tenants. Other improvements, such as exterior upgrades, will be made, but a price tag hasn't been set. All together, the multimillion-dollar transformation is expected to take two years.
Gone are tenants such as Hooters.
Norris Conference Centers, an existing tenant, plans to expand by 15,000 square feet by renovating an old Furr's restaurant into a new ballroom, Townsend says. Go Dance, a dance studio, has signed up for 6,000 square feet. But the most visible change will be the return of Chaparral Ice, which was bought out of its lease in 2001. The ice rink is set open in early August.
Townsend says the ice rink will be a crucial component in the success of the revitalization.
Chaparral Ice will keep its current location, off I-35 and Wells Branch Parkway, which primarily caters to skaters involved in sports such as hockey and figure skating.
"While we think we have made playing and skating opportunities for everybody who wants to skate or play, they have not necessarily been able to skate or play as much as they'd like to or need to, depending on their level," says Charles Collins, general partner of Chaparral Ice Center Austin LP.
The numbers speak volumes. At the current location in North Austin, the rink serves about 2,000 regular customers and 40,000 recreational customers each year. That compares with 400 to 500 regular customers and 200,000 recreational skaters a year at the previous Northcross location, which operated for 30 years.
Collins says there's plenty of demand for two locations.
Lucian Morehead, founding partner of Austin-based Lucian Morehead & Partners Real Estate Group, is the former leasing agent for Northcross Mall.
"Northcross Mall is on some of the best dirt in Austin, Texas," Morehead says.
"I think that leasing to retailers on the Anderson Lane and Burnett Road sides and bringing back Chaparral Ice will bring traffic back ... and help economic viability of Northcross Mall," he says.
Another retail expert agrees.
"From visibility and a parking perspective, it [the high tech center] was an interesting experiment," says Harry Scott, vice president of retail for Trammell Crow Co. in Austin.
Now, he says, the mall offers "a great opportunity for interior retail development."
The mall's consultant says the only way for it to remain economically viable is to keep up with the times.
"A retail center like Northcross may not compete head-to-head with all of the exciting new retail developments, but we believe we can develop a niche component that makes Northcross an exciting and successful retail environment," Townsend says.
Email MARY ALICE KASPAR at (makaspar@bizjournals.com).
Then came this article:
Changes set for Northcross
Austin Business Journal - March 31, 2006
by Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
A major redevelopment of the Northcross Mall site in Central Austin is in the works.
Dallas-based real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. has put under contract a 27.8-acre site at the southwest corner of Anderson Lane and Burnet Road, according to the seller's representative.
Lincoln's plans include demolishing the western two-thirds of the existing mall structure and renovating the remaining one-third, according to plans filed with the City of Austin's planning department. The site features a total of 387,559 square feet. The redevelopment proposal comprises 373,110 square feet of retail space and a parking garage, filed plans show.
Robert Dozier, executive vice president of the retail group for Lincoln Property, is listed in the filing as the new owner's contact. He couldn't be reached for comment.
Jim Schissler of the Austin office of Houston-based Jones & Carter Inc. is listed as the project's engineer. A recent letter submitted by Schissler details Lincoln's plans for construction of five new retail buildings and a three-level parking garage.
One of the larger retail buildings will be two stories tall, and the most recent site plan calls for the inclusion of the popular Chaparral Ice skating rink, according to Schissler.
Northcross Mall was built in the mid-1970s and purchased by Midland Red Oak Realty Inc. in 1998. Then, sources said the mall was purchased for less than the $18 million sought by the seller. The deal marked the Midland company's first foray into Austin.
In the spring of 2004, Midland Red Oak tapped Robert Townsend of San Antonio-based mall consulting firm Robert Townsend Retail Consulting to help reposition the property.
A roughly $1.5 million overhaul was planned for the new tenants, including the return of Chaparral Ice. The transformation was expected to take two years.
Now, Townsend confirms Lincoln Property is under contract to purchase Northcross Mall.
Townsend says the repositioning made it "a more viable atmosphere to get a redevelopment buyer to the table."
The repositioning was designed to aid a major overhaul. Leases gave the landlord a one-time termination right in the event of a redevelopment, and this January the lease with Oshman's Supersports was reduced to 24 months.
Townsend says Midland Red Oak, the real estate arm of an oil company, decided to sell Northcross because it determined the project could be done better by a more experienced company.
"You've got to have the confidence to invest the dollars, [and] experience and expertise to be able to determine the upside and feasibility of the redevelopment," Townsend says.
makaspar@bizjournals.com (512) 494-2519
So, if you are concerned with your hood and what's coming next I highly suggest you read the ABJ and be aware. Stay informed, inform and ask questions at your neighborhood meetings.
posted by Tera at
4/08/2007
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