By Eileen Dallabrida
With the completion of a long, painful highway construction project, the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 1 at Christiana is poised to become a regional crossroads of retail.
At Christiana Mall, Cabela’s, the popular destination for the outdoor set, is in the final phases of construction. The grand opening is scheduled for May 1. Work also has begun on a Cinemark multi-screen movie theater.
A short hike away, construction is bustling at a 647,000-square-foot lifestyle plaza slated for a spring opening. After briefly being known as the Colonnade at Christiana, the center has reverted to its former name, the Christiana Fashion Center.
“We never really warmed up to new name so we decided to go back to the original,” says Jim Oeste, vice president of Allied Retail Properties in north Wilmington.
Allied owns and operates more than 6 million square feet of space in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, including Christiana Town Center, Concord Mall, Concord Gallery and Merchants Square. So far, the only tenant Allied has announced is Nordstrom Rack, the off-price division of the luxury retailer.
Nordstrom often sites its Rack concept a high-heel toss from its full-service stores. In South Jersey, the retailer opened a Rack store at the Garden State Park development, a few furlongs from its Cherry Hill Mall anchor.
Originally, a multi-plex theater was on Allied’s wish list. But Cinemark Holdings opted to build to a 12-screen, all-digital theater that will feature the company’ s new Cinemark NextGendesign concept at Christiana Mall at a site adjacent to a bus stop and park-and-ride lot. A fall premier is planned.
That doesn’t mean the Fashion Center is no longer entertaining the possibility of a recreational venue, Oeste notes. He won’t discuss specifics, but Dave & Buster’s, a restaurant, sports bar and arcade game venue, has been mentioned as a prospective tenant.
A site plan on Allied’s website lists such retail headliners as The Container Store, Saks Off 5th, Ulta and a PGA Tour super store. The center also will include several restaurants. Upscale grocers, Wegmans and Whole Foods are not listed, but continue to be on wish lists of shoppers.
Oeste declined to speculate on any additions to the roster while negotiations are in process. But he expects Allied will be making announcements soon.
“Every day, we push these deals a little closer to the finish line,” he says.
At Christiana Mall, Cabela’s is currently in the process of hiring 250 people to staff the 110,000-square-foot big box store. The mall also expects to expand, revamp or replace at least 11 stores in its lineup of 130-plus stores.
The mall is in the enviable position of having 100 percent occupancy and won’t be renewing the leases of underperforming retailers in order to make room for more popular newcomers, says Steve Chambliss, senior general manager. He won’t say which merchants will be making an exit. Among those joining the fold is Wilson’s Leather, which closed its mall stores in 2008 and is making a comeback with a concept that focuses on accessories, such as briefcases and travel gear.
There are no super luxury brands among the announced additions, but there is a bit of bling. Invicta, a specialty retailer in expansion mode, will sell trendy watches, fine writing instruments, art and eyeglasses in a 543-square-foot jot of a boutique.
There’s also an emphasis on the next generation of shoppers. Victoria’s Secret PINK, the little princess offspring of the undies queen, will open a 4,310-square-foot store selling relaxed loungewear and pajamas, in addition to foundation garments. A fall opening is planned.
Victoria’s Secret has moved the mother ship into a temporary location near Macy’s while the main store is under construction.
Other additions for young, active shoppers include:
Kids Foot Locker, the pint-sized seller of big-label athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for children will open in November in time for holiday shopping, strategically located next to the Disney Store.
House of Hoops scores with the latest designs from Jordan, Nike, adidas, Under Armour and others. The store opens in September. Vans sells skateboarding shoes, as well as footwear and apparel for the active set. The action starts in November. Zumiez is a mecca for the set who likes to skate, snowboard and surf. Starting in September, enthusiasts can buy gear and apparel there.
Gap also will relocate and babyGap and GapKids will join the roster. Express will revamp its apparel and accessories store, as well LoveSac, a seller of contemporary modular furniture. Other additions will be familiar to mall shoppers: Sprint’s mobile phone store and Zales jewelers.
