MAJOR TENANT HAPPENINGS McLean, Va. - L.L. Bean, an outdoor gear and apparel retailer, is expanding its retail store presence to Tysons Corner Center in McLean. The 75,000 sq. ft. store will be designed to complement the company's mail-order business and also will feature L.L. Bean's Outdoor Discovery School, which will offer instruction in a variety of outdoor activities.
Construction on the store is slated to begin this fall, with a grand opening planned for July 2000. L.L. Bean will join existing anchors Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Hecht's and JCPenney as well as 230 specialty stores and restaurants at the 1.91 million sq. ft. center.
In addition to anchor L.L. Bean, several other new specialty stores and services will be joining the tenant mix as part of a year-long remerchandising effort. Initial plans will consist of the opening of 10 new stores and the expansion of several others. Tysons Corner Center is managed by L&B Realty Advisors Inc., Dallas.
REPOSITIONINGS Panorama City, Calif. - Work continues on the revitalization of the 89,000 sq. ft. Panorama City Shopping Center in Panorama City. The 40-year-old center is undergoing a $1 million renovation as well as retenanting from mom-and-pop stores to national chains. When completed next month, the shopping center will feature a California Spanish motif. Panorama City Shopping Center is owned by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Gold Realty; Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Charles Dunn Co. is the marketing agent for the center.
Fairfax, Va. - Bethesda, Md.-based First Washington Realty Trust Inc. recently completed its repositioning of Kamp Washington Shopping Center in Fairfax. The project began in 1994 when Giant Food closed its store, and First Washington replaced it with Borders Books and Music and began remerchandising. When Rite Aid closed its store in 1998, it was replaced with Gateway Country and The Leather Center. Other merchants that make their home there include Hallmark, Repp Big & Tall and Calico Corners.
CENTER OPENINGS Cobb County, Ga. - The Avenue East Cobb, a 236,000 sq. ft. open-air retail development in Georgia's east Cobb County, a suburb of Atlanta, opens this month. It will feature such tenants as Borders, Gap, Pottery Barn, Talbots, Smith & Hawken, Bath & Body Works and Johnny Rockets. It is a project of Atlanta-based Cousins MarketCenters Inc., which will be opening a similar development in California this fall and has plans for other Avenue-type centers in two Atlanta suburbs as well as in Augusta, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Little Rock, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Madison, Wis. developments
Knoxville and Pigeon Forge, Tenn. - Development plans are under way for Merchants Towne Square in Knoxville and The Shoppes at Eagle's Nest in Pigeon Forge. Both are projects of Knoxville-based Graham Development Corp. Merchants Towne Square will be a 400,000-plus sq. ft. enclosed outlet mall, featuring other entertainment/mixed-used retail, including a food court. It is part of a 30-plus-acre city block that includes an existing Kroger store. The Shoppes at Eagle's Nest will be a 200,000-plus sq. ft. entertainment/retail-themed shopping center located on the Parkway of Pigeon Forge, the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The center will feature a two-level, U-shaped design with each level providing patrons with a panoramic view of the mountains. Although no names have been announced, the development is expected to have a large anchor, 50 or more specialty retailers and at least two outdoor patio restaurants. Construction on both projects is expected to begin this fall with completion set for spring 2000.
Coon Rapids, Minn. - Construction is under way on Riverdale Village, a $76 million retail complex in Coon Rapids. Opening in 2000, the 950,000 sq. ft. power center will feature Kohl's, JoAnn Etc. and Linens 'N Things, among its many tenants. The project is a development of Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp.
Center Openings Repositionings New York, Pa. - The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., York, Pa., has reached agreements in principle to open stores at University Mall in Burlington, Vt., and Steeplegate Mall in Concord, N.H. At University Mall, The Bon-Ton will occupy an existing 60,000 sq. ft. building and join existing anchors Sears, JCPenney and Ames. At Steeplegate Mall, The Bon-Ton will occupy an existing 53,000 sq. ft. building as well as a 34,000 sq. ft. portion of another anchor building for a store size of 87,000 sq. ft. The mall is anchored by Sears and JCPenney. Both stores are expected to open in November.
In addition, the company plans to expand and remodel its store at Frederick Towne Mall in Frederick, Md. The company currently operates a 72,000 sq. ft. store and a 6,000 sq. ft. remote home store within the mall. Plans are to expand its presence by occupying a 26,500 sq. ft. building directly across from the existing store. The smaller, home store location will then be closed. The expansion will be completed by the holiday season, and the remodel finished next spring.
Culpeper, Va. - Construction is under way on a new 33,000 sq. ft. Food Lion supermarket at Culpeper Town Mall in Culpeper. The 131,000 sq. ft. center is being completely renovated and reconfigured to accommodate the building of the new grocery store, a new facade and other retail stores. The project is expected to be completed in mid-October, with an opening planned for mid-December. Owned and managed by Conshohocken, Pa.-based Kranzco Realty Trust, the center is anchored by Schewel's Furniture and Martin's Furniture.