Architects Learn How to Create Inviting Retail Spaces for Less Money
Oct 27, 2009 10:30 AM, By Elaine Misonzhnik
When New York City-based development REIT Vornado Realty Trust bought the 400,000-square-foot Manhattan Mall three years ago, the company had grand plans for the property. Vornado, which owned several million square feet of commercial space in the surrounding area, paid $689 million for the perennially underperforming mall and wanted to combine it, 250,000 square feet of air rights and some of the surrounding buildings to create a mega mixed-use center. The recession, however, threw a wrench in those plans. Still intent on redeveloping the mall, some time at the beginning of 2008 Vornado decided to go for a more modest upgrade.
One of the major issues with the property, for example, is its vertical five-level layout, which in the absence of a multi-level anchor did not make much sense. When Vornado bought the mall, long-term anchor Stern's department store had already vacated the property and, was replaced by smaller retailers, including Steve & Barry's University Sportswear and Charlotte Russe. But those brands, along with a food court, were not enough to entice shoppers to meander up and down the mall's five floors to visit the kinds of stores they could find elsewhere in Manhattan on street level.
Vornado solved the problem by signing a lease with mid-price department store chain J.C. Penney Co., which opened a store there this summer that spans through the mall's lower levels. Bringing in a traditional anchor provided a real draw for the shoppers to visit the center. Meanwhile, Vornado's architect, New York City-based GreenbergFarrow, renovated the core and atrium of the property, improved access and circulation, added new escalators and elevators and re-clad portions of the exterior façade to make the mall more appealing.
The changes were relatively cost effective—Vornado estimates that the redevelopment, including the construction of the new JCPenney store, cost approximately $84 million. By contrast, turning the property into a mixed-use development would likely have cost billions of dollars. By making Manhattan Mall easier to use, however, Vornado still achieved an important goal of the redevelopment, says Navid Maqami, principal with GreenbergFarrow. A large part of the project involved "paint work and refinishing—and probably, at the end of the day, they were right. Sometimes doing less is appropriate," he says.
Developers building new retail centers and repositioning old ones in today's market climate can take comfort in the fact that they can still create enticing spaces without spending a lot of money. Though there are signs the credit crunch may be easing, construction financing is still hard to come by. But customers are not likely to avoid a shopping center just because it doesn't have special mouldings or decorative columns that give it an extra oomph. What they care most about is convenience and ease of use, which means that an extra bathroom, better access to the property, some chairs in the common area or more natural light that make your center more attractive without costing a fortune.
"I think probably the biggest change between now and [a few years ago] is this trend toward minimalism," says Justin Hill, senior principal with MulvannyG2 Architecture, a Bellevue, Wash.-based architecture firm. "Not being overly ornate, not over-building. Before, you had to outshine the next person. Now the business model has to make sense."
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