Center Court: We had a lot to be proud of in 2017, but here are our Top 5 Proudest Moment
The New Year brings new exciting opportunities to continue to transform our portfolio, and while we are excited to look ahead at what’s to come, we want to reflect on our accomplishments of 2017. From numerous redevelopment projects, to record leasing activity, to remerchandising across our portfolio, 2017 has been an action-packed year! With the start of 2018, let’s take a look back at our five proudest moments of the past year:
Woodland Mall kicked off high-impact redevelopment plans
In January we proactively recaptured three Sears stores across our portfolio and just a month later, announced lead replacement tenants for each of those locations. As part of the transformation at Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, MI, we revealed that Von Maur, a first-to-portfolio retailer, would join our mall roster to replace Sears. In addition, an array of high-quality retail and quality polished casual restaurants will open in 2019, cementing the property’s position in the growing Grand Rapids market. This large-scale remerchandising initiative, coupled with the expansion of the Apple store and several other key stores in the works, continues to solidify Woodland Mall’s position as a premier property in PREIT’s portfolio.
The 9th LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in the country opened at Plymouth Meeting
April marked an exciting milestone for us with the grand opening of LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Philadelphia, an indoor family-friendly LEGO® play experience, at Plymouth Meeting Mall. A first-to-market attraction (just the 17th in the world!), this family-friendly destination reinforces the mall’s transformation into a leisure and entertainment destination in the Greater Philadelphia region. Today, dining and entertainment makes up nearly 50 percent of our retail space at Plymouth Meeting Mall – highlighting the unique nature of the experience this property offers and the market-specific solutions PREIT deploys.
Viewmont Mall’s anchor improvement program was completed
Over the past few years, Viewmont Mall in Scranton, PA has undergone robust remerchandising to diversify its tenant mix as the retail landscape evolves. In September, we completed the multi-year program with the opening of DICK’S Sporting Goods, Field & Stream and HomeGoods in the proactively-recaptured former Sears’ space. The openings of these new popular retailers – just 14 months of Sears’ closing – demonstrated our expertise in securing quality, high-performing anchors and strengthened the property’s tenant portfolio, following the addition of national tenants including Ulta and Forever 21.
New-to-portfolio, coveted international fast fashion retailer, Zara, opened at Cherry Hill Mall
In September, we welcomed one of the largest international fashion retailers, Zara, at Cherry Hill Mall – the brand’s first location in suburban Philadelphia and a first-to-portfolio retailer for PREIT. Fast-fashion is one of the hottest retail segments, and the addition of this in-demand brand further elevates the curated mix of concepts at the mall. In addition to Zara, new prototype store designs for five other retailers opened, further refreshing the mall experience for local shoppers.
AMC theater announced for Fashion District Philadelphia
This fall, we announced that Center City Philadelphia’s first movie theater since 2002 will make its debut at Fashion District Philadelphia. AMC Theaters will feature eight screens with reclining seats and in-theater dining, including two premium auditoriums and AMC’s MacGuffin’s Bar. Fashion District Philadelphia will be the largest cohesive retail project in downtown Philadelphia – offering a dynamic mix of flagship brands, designer outlets, destination dining and entertainment and arts & culture in an emerging East Market neighborhood – and the addition of AMC Theaters is a milestone for the project.