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From the
Daily News:
A brazen Memorial Day stickup at the tenant-challenged Atlas Park mall in Glendale is once again raising questions about how its owner plans to lure businesses there.
Macerich, the nationwide firm that owns the Cooper Ave. shopping complex, is still staying mum on its immediate plans to turn the struggling mall around.
But it promises big things are on the horizon.
On May 28, a man and woman stopped by a parking kiosk, claiming to need information, police said. The two attendants opened the booth door just as the man and woman and a third suspect forced them inside. The perps demanded money at gunpoint, tied up the staffers and made off with an undisclosed sum of cash, according to police.
No arrests have been made in connection with the crime, which occurred just before noon. Mall officials stressed that it was an isolated incident, though they declined to offer further comment on the crime or its plans to make the mall less empty.
From the
Daily News:
More than a year after mall giant Macerich bought the Shops at Atlas Park, business owners there say the struggling mall has yet to turn a corner.
But they are are holding onto hope the high-profile firm can turn it into bustling center, even after the announcement of the most recent closure, women’s clothing store Coldwater Creek. A spokeswoman confirmed that store will leave the Glendale shopping center on March 15.
A few storefronts have opened in the past year, but none have filled the hole left by anchor store Borders, tenants said.
Boris Sorin, an attorney who has represented store owners throughout previous rent negotiations, said landlord-tenant relations are much better under Macerich.
From the
Daily News:
A high-profile firm that recently bought the Atlas Park mall wants to turn around the struggling Glendale complex "as quickly as possible" with new stores, a top executive told the Daily News.
Macerich company bigwig Timothy Steffan said the firm, which also runs the Queens Center Mall, is in talks to lure new shops to the embattled center.
Macerich wants to secure "a collection of merchants that fit the merchandising needs of the community, that create a sense of place," he added.
Steffan would not reveal which stores Macerich is targeting. The mall's patrons have long pressed for a Gap or Banana Republic.
In what may be an early step towards reconfiguring Atlas Park, Macerich met with City Planning officials last week. Steffan said the powwow was mostly about "getting to know each other."
Crowley said Macerich wants to apply for a special permit that would allow it to lease above-ground space of 10,000 square feet or more to a single retailer.
A City Planning spokeswoman said Macerich has not yet filed any application relating to Atlas Park.
From the
Times Ledger:
It has been four months since Macerich took over The Shops at Atlas Park, and there have been few noticeable changes on the surface at the beleaguered mall.
Many of the storefronts still remain empty, and two additional stores have even closed since the Chicago-based realty group purchased the property in a February foreclosure auction.
An organic market on the first level of the mall and a wine and liquor store on the second level have closed, while a Square One Shoes has opened. But otherwise it is business as usual for the shops, the employee said.
[An] employee lamented the loss of higher-end stores like Amish Market, which sold artisan food products, but another business manager welcomed the change, and said Macerich was working behind the scenes to turn the fate of the mall around.
From the
Daily News:
The firm that runs Queens Center Mall, among the nation's busiest shopping centers, landed a struggling rival complex at a recent foreclosure auction.
Sources revealed yesterday that mall giant Macerich was the mystery bidder that snared the Shops at Atlas Park for about $54 million at a highly anticipated sale last week at Queens Supreme Court.
That places two of the borough's largest malls in the same hands.
Though Macerich President Edward Coppola attended the sale on Friday, the group's involvement was initially unknown because it had created a shell corporation named WMAP LLC to bid.
Atlas Park was unveiled in 2006 as an outdoor "lifestyle center," but its mix of restaurants and boutiques slumped through recent years. Some residents complained the stores were too upscale in the middle-class area.
Its owners, the family of ex-MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger, defaulted on a $128 million loan to two French banks in 2009, initiating foreclosure.
Storeowners hope Macerich can turn around Atlas Park by employing the same strategies it used to lure tenants to Queens Center after buying the mall in 1995. It now boasts the highest revenue per square foot of any mall in the U.S.
