As online retail continues to grab market share from traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping malls, retail center owners are looking for ways to create an experience for shoppers. For many, this entails redeveloping portions of their centers to include dining, entertainment and event experiences to build a sense of community to their centers.
When retail owners plan these kinds of renovations, they should engage architects and general contractors early and come into the project with a realistic expectation of the costs and challenges that may arise.
Tim Hanifin, Graycor Construction Co.
Some suburbs are using their shopping centers as de facto downtown areas, complete with holiday events, festivals and farmers markets. Graycor Construction has helped three such centers in Richmond to improve their common area space to meet these needs.
Richmond Projects
At Short Pump Town Center, owner Forest City Enterprises engaged Graycor to demolish and replace a pedestrian bridge and fountain, replace brick pavers, relocate escalators and add a feature elevator, fireplace, pavilion and trellises. This made the center a more modern and attractive place for members of the community to gather, and Graycor was able to use its “live environment” approach to keep the mall and all of its stores open during construction. As a result of the renovation, stores now see more foot traffic from the community events within the mall.
At Chesterfield Towne Center, the Graycor team renovated an older mall built in 1975 for owner Rouse Properties. Inspired by Pocahontas State Park, the design elements include a fire pit and water feature. Accent lighting, ceiling finishes, seating selection and outdoor landscaping further complement the natural environment — all of which create a campsite setting.
Vacant space within a mall can often be put to better use with renovations like these. In the case of Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, upgrades are currently underway and, once completed, are expected to activate the retail and dining areas, add fire and water features and outdoor seating and create landscaping improvements. This renovation will help bring the mall from a center focused mostly on apparel to one with a wider variety of options for shoppers.
Thinking Ahead
Before a center undergoes a major renovation, there are many questions the owner should think about before contacting their architect and contractor. They should consider how they would bring utilities to the common area they plan to renovate. Parking and whether the center will have enough of it in convenient places also need to be addressed.
For mall owners creating a central green area, they should think about what kind of tenants they will want to locate in that area and make sure any vacant tenant spaces are suitable for the kinds of tenants they’d like to attract. For example, if the owner is hoping to bring in a variety of restaurants, will they have space for outdoor seating near the green? Will they complement other nearby tenants, such as entertainment venues or movie theaters?
Early in the process the owner should thoroughly investigate each of these issues, then assess the cost. This may require bringing in a contractor or design-build firm to assess the cost of redevelopment. A designer or contractor will be able to help the owner evaluate if it would be more efficient to tear down existing structures and rebuild or to remodel the structure that already exists on site. The contractor will also be able to advise on whether it will be possible for the owner to have the renovations completed “live” while the mall is open.
The design team should be able to adjust the hours of construction to best accommodate the mall’s busiest times, find the most efficient places to operate and store construction equipment and effectively conceal parts of construction that many not complement the mall’s aesthetic.
These renovations may seem like a lot of work up front, but in the long haul, they often attract new tenants with long-term viability. As more customers buy goods online and look to malls for experiences instead of essentials, owners should consider their options for renovation of vacant common areas or tenant spaces. Contractors and designers are already prepared with creative solutions for a variety of new mall uses.
— By Tim Hanifin, Vice President, Graycor Construction Co. Inc.