Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Yes, it's happened here before: a once-bustling shopping mall forced to transform into other uses when large retail anchors move out.
Think the Center Mall near 42nd and Center Streets and the Southroads Mall in Bellevue.
But the performance of enclosed shopping malls most recently in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area is a mixed picture.
In west Omaha, both Oak View Mall and Westroads Mall are showing signs of growth.
Nearly 94 percent of Oak View Mall was leased at the close of 2011, according to data released Wednesday by General Growth Properties, a Chicago-based company that owns or has interest in 136 shopping centers across the country, including Oak View, Westroads and Mall of the Bluffs.
And that number will increase as new tenants already have signed on this year. Lids opened in January and Rue 21, Kay Jewelers and Earthbound Trading Co. (a multicultural clothing, accessories and home goods store that also has an outlet in Lincoln) will open later this year.
Also, Helzberg Diamonds, an existing tenant at Oak View, is planning to renovate its space.
"That type of activity shows the market has solidified. It's improving," said Ted Harris, general manager of Oak View near 144th Street and West Center Road.
He said sales also continue to improve and the majority of tenants reported good holiday sales.
In the 45-year-history of Westroads Mall, 2011 proved to be a big year. The shopping mall near 102nd Street and West Dodge Road achieved the highest ever sales per square foot at $420 and the highest ever mall occupancy rate at 97 percent, said senior general manager Jim Sadler.
"Our Omaha malls have performed well," said David Keating, a spokesman for General Growth Properties. "We are quite pleased with the growth we've seen over the past couple of years."
Drive a little farther east, though, and there's the Crossroads Mall near 72nd and Dodge Streets. While it's still hanging on to anchors Sears, Target and Barnes & Noble bookstore, the most recent data available from the Lerner Co. showed that nearly half of the shopping mall was vacant at the close of 2010.
But owners are plotting its new life with plans of transforming the mall into a retail, office and residential development.
Across the river at the Mall of the Bluffs, the future is uncertain. It lost two of its anchors to newer developments across town — J.C. Penney moved to the Marketplace in 2008 and Target moved to Metro Crossing in 2009 — and Barnes & Noble closed in 2011.
Only about 73 percent of the mall is leased, according to data from General Growth Properties. That's one of the lowest occupancy rates for the company. Numerous calls to the mall management were not returned. City officials say they want to see the mall succeed, though there are no immediate plans for new development nearby.
Keating said General Growth has a continued commitment to providing a great shopping experience at Mall of the Bluffs.
Even the better-performing malls are adapting. Both Oak View and Westroads were designed to have 12 restaurants in their food courts, but both currently have eight. Some have left, finding it too competitive to be profitable. "Twelve is just too many," Sadler said.
Keating said the shopping mall concept continues to evolve everywhere.
"We're looking at adding grocery stores, gyms and other amenities to our malls across the country," he said. "We are always looking at ways of improving the shopping experience for our customers."
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