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jtfrogger · 10-01-2018, 10:37 AM

I find business stories fascinating. It will be interesting to see what will happen here.

I think some people will be able to turn this into a profitable situation. Not for the original investors, but someone that buys in at the low point and profits as it recovers to a functional mall. It will likely never come close to the original vision, but that doesn't mean someone won't profit.

It floors me that there doesn't appear to be a penalty to owners for having a vacant store. That was the big mistake from the developer. If it is run as a condo, I expect that they will eventually make a change to the by-laws to put this in place. It wouldn't be hard to implement something like this, other than getting the agreement that it is necessary. At some point, enough of the owners would realize that it has to happen to get approval. I expect that it will be hard for them to reach >80% occupancy without a penalty for vacancy.

Other than the articles posted here, I haven't read anything else. But it sounds like the developer is holding on to the anchor tenant spots. If they are not losing money on the rest of the mall being empty, they don't have as much of an incentive to fill those as a traditional mall would. The developer dropping their expectations to reality needs to happen. At some point, they'll sell them at a big loss or fill with a lease for nothing. It may have to be the smaller unit owners kicking in extra condo fees to subsidize some anchors.

I would think that the first wave of businesses going in would be things that have regular customers that don't rely on walk-in traffic. Some personal services could fit in this, such as health services (doctor, dentists, chiropractors, massage therapists), lawyers, accountants, tattoo artists, registry, etc. These types of things suck in a mall, but are still better than vacancies. Because they wouldn't rely heavily on walk-in traffic, it would take less of a discount to convince them them to move in.

My guess is that it will eventually become a functioning mall. But probably very low end stores. You'll get places like low-end importers and/or flea market type shops. The anchor locations will end up being places that use a bunch of space but not really draw people to wander though the rest of the mall. I expect the space will have entertainment locations such as indoor paintball, laser tag, kids gyms, locked rooms, etc.

Anyway, I do look forward to see how this turns out.

10-01-2018, 10:37 AM	#40
jtfrogger Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	I find business stories fascinating. It will be interesting to see what will happen here. I think some people will be able to turn this into a profitable situation. Not for the original investors, but someone that buys in at the low point and profits as it recovers to a functional mall. It will likely never come close to the original vision, but that doesn't mean someone won't profit. It floors me that there doesn't appear to be a penalty to owners for having a vacant store. That was the big mistake from the developer. If it is run as a condo, I expect that they will eventually make a change to the by-laws to put this in place. It wouldn't be hard to implement something like this, other than getting the agreement that it is necessary. At some point, enough of the owners would realize that it has to happen to get approval. I expect that it will be hard for them to reach >80% occupancy without a penalty for vacancy. Other than the articles posted here, I haven't read anything else. But it sounds like the developer is holding on to the anchor tenant spots. If they are not losing money on the rest of the mall being empty, they don't have as much of an incentive to fill those as a traditional mall would. The developer dropping their expectations to reality needs to happen. At some point, they'll sell them at a big loss or fill with a lease for nothing. It may have to be the smaller unit owners kicking in extra condo fees to subsidize some anchors. I would think that the first wave of businesses going in would be things that have regular customers that don't rely on walk-in traffic. Some personal services could fit in this, such as health services (doctor, dentists, chiropractors, massage therapists), lawyers, accountants, tattoo artists, registry, etc. These types of things suck in a mall, but are still better than vacancies. Because they wouldn't rely heavily on walk-in traffic, it would take less of a discount to convince them them to move in. My guess is that it will eventually become a functioning mall. But probably very low end stores. You'll get places like low-end importers and/or flea market type shops. The anchor locations will end up being places that use a bunch of space but not really draw people to wander though the rest of the mall. I expect the space will have entertainment locations such as indoor paintball, laser tag, kids gyms, locked rooms, etc. Anyway, I do look forward to see how this turns out.