Swansea Mall is Closing, The First of Many?
GoLocalProv Business Team
Swansea Mall is Closing, The First of Many?
This is just the latest hit to the regional mall industry -- in Worcester, Massachusetts, some city officials have proposed using the Greendale Mall as a site for a new public safety facility.
On Thursday, Swansea Selectman Carreiro announced, "I am sad to report that I received a telephone call this afternoon from the President of Carlyle Partners, the owner of the Swansea Mall, and was informed that the Swansea Mall will be closing by March 31, 2019. I am confident that the Swansea Mall will be redeveloped and that the Town of Swansea will play a significant role in its redevelopment. I look forward to working with my colleagues, commercial real estate developers, Wal-Mart, and all stakeholders to bring the Swansea Mall property back to life. For more information follow Walmart Restrictions or www.WalmartRestrictions.com."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCarlyle Partners claims that the firm is a "value-driven, institutional quality real estate investment and development company established in 1982 on behalf of foreign family offices. Carlyle has since focused on acquisition of under-valued assets with strong potential fundamentals at a significant discount to replacement cost in nearly every major real estate asset class, and established itself as an astute and experienced national owner/developer by utilizing creative redevelopment strategies and focused management to achieve significant value creation."
GoLocal has reported extensively on the decline of the Providence Place Mall. Nordstrom at Providence Place closed on January 4, 2019.
See slides below of the potential reuse of the mall.
What is the Future of Providence Place - 5 Scenarios - Jan, 2019
Scenario 1: Experience
Real Estate Consulting Firm AT Kearney Predicts one potential future for malls is:
“Think of this as a take on the traditional “flagship store experience.” Instead of a retailer, the anchor here is a compelling social experience—perhaps an indoor ski slope, roller coaster, concert space, or museum providing immersive, experience-based entertainment. It could also be home to specialty anchors like Bass Pro Shop, Lowe’s, or REI, where discovery, education, and experience are key components of the brand experience. Destination centers in operation today include Xanadu in Spain, the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, and the American Dream Center under construction in New Jersey and Miami.”
Scenario 2: Residential
“Retaildential” spaces target a specific consumer segment: say, young urban hipsters, single-and-staying-that-way 40-somethings, or retirees. These highly curated “life-stage centers” will offer a demographic-specific and appropriate set of retail, restaurants, entertainment, and services. For example, in senior-focused malls, senior housing would be augmented by medical services, pharmacies, exercise facilities, lawyers specializing in age-specific law, accountants specializing in estate planning, and community rooms. In Japan, developers such as Aeon Co. are already repurposing some of their malls to address the needs of that country’s advanced aging population."
Scenario 3: Dead, Gone and Buried
Forbes cites the dismal decline of one of America’s largest malls
Randall Park Mall in Ohio. When it opened in 1976, Randall Park Mall was briefly the world’s biggest shopping center. It quickly lost relevance however, and by 2000, Randall Park Mall’s vacancy rate was 92%. Fast forward to 2017 when it was revealed that Amazon was constructing a 855,000 shipping center on the same site. Online triumphs over offline, or “software eats retail” as Netscape founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen memorably put it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Scenario 4: The Future
"Westfield’s Destination 2028’ vision, developed with the help of a panel of experts including a futurologist, fashion technology innovator, retail specialist and experimental physiologists.
As wellness becomes a top priority among consumers, the shopping centre of the future will include a ‘betterment zone’ where visitors can reflect in a mindfulness workshop, and tranquil green space both indoors and out. Meanwhile, allotments and farms will give visitors the chance to pick their own produce for their meal, while a network of waterways will offer not only an alternative route around the centre but access to watersports – one of the many recreational activities that will be available for visitors," writes Fashion Network.
Scenario 5: Mixed Use
Decision makers in RI and Brookfield need to begin to plan the future of the Providence Place Mall. The indicators are clear — the mall is dying. It is less of a hub. The future could be determined here in Rhode Island. Retain retail of the first floor, build a Providence Campus for the University of Rhode Island on the second floor, transform the third floor to residential or dormitories, and leverage the movie theaters for event space and auditoriums.
Or, make the first floor a sport arena or a …
Regardless, Rhode Island must begin to show some vision before reality determines the future unilaterally.
