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Mall Talk
Despite changes in buying habits, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza continue to thrive
Courtesy Simon
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Belk will be demolished mid-2018 and the expansion will be opened
in phases throughout 2020, she said. One of the city’s fire stations is
located near the Belk and will be relocated closer to the center of the
mall, Suggs said.
The overall trend of increased residential properties and hotels in the
Buckhead area also has helped draw traffic to the malls, Suggs said. Rates
to rent space in both malls are among the top 10 percent in the country,
she said.
Malls across the country are bringing in more entertainment venues,
including restaurant and video arcade Dave & Buster’s, concert venues
and movie theaters to compliment the retail section, Suggs said. Phipps
plans to join this trend by adding a raised stage in a planned outdoor
common area that will be built during the expansion, Suggs said.
“The trend in the shopping center business is to develop an
experiential opportunity — a reason for you to come to the mall and
spend time with us,” she said. “It’s the wave of what’s to come.”
The stage is planned to be used to host concerts during the lunch
hour or after business hours and for business events, she said.
Despite the decrease in malls’ popularity and the fact that several
have closed across the country in recent years, Suggs said both Lenox
Square and Phipps Plaza are performing well. She said she still believes
people prefer to buy things at physical locations.
“The majority of people want to see it, want to feel it, want to try it
on and be around other people,” she said.
Even retailers that first existed only online are beginning to move
into malls, including Amazon, which has opened a kiosk in Lenox Square,
A rendering shows the planned hotel,
office and fitness center expansion at Phipps Plaza.
By Evelyn Andrews
T he planned Phipps Plaza expansion is ushering in the “next generation” of malls
by bringing a hotel, Robin Suggs, who manages its sister mall Lenox Square, said
at a Buckhead Business Association breakfast Dec. 7.
Simon Property Group, which owns both malls, announced last month its
plans to expand Phipps Plaza, located at 3500 Peachtree Road, with a Nobu hotel and
restaurant, expansive fitness center and office tower. The expansion will be built where the
current Belk store is located.
“When opportunity arises such as this where you can redevelop an anchor store, hotels
have proven a very good investment,” Suggs said.
Hotels work well with malls because they bring visitors into the mall ecosystem and
they are more likely to spend more time at the mall, she said.
“You’re bringing in the visitor and affording them the opportunity to spend as much
time as they want in the shopping environment,” Suggs said.
Suggs said.
In response to a question about how this expansion may cause an increase in traffic,
especially in the Wieuca Road and Phipps Boulevard intersection, Suggs said several
initiatives are in the works.
Suggs works closely on these projects through her positions with the Buckhead
Community Improvement District and Livable Buckhead.
In addition to other traffic calming measures, a roundabout has been proposed for the
Wieuca/Phipps intersection. It has been met with some pushback from the community
and may not ultimately be the chosen project.
“I’m not sure we’ll finally land on the roundabout, but there are initiatives in place
because everybody recognizes there is tremendous gridlock in that particular area,” Suggs
said.
The malls have just as much to lose as residents would if traffic worsens because
increased gridlock could decrease visitors to the malls, Suggs said.
“If we are in gridlock, we’re all feeling the pain,” she said, [d
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BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gamma Real Estate has announced a $4 million renovation to one of Downtown’s
iconic office buildings, The Hurt Building. Renovations will add an amenity floor to the
building’s penthouse and revitalize the lobby’s original marble details while introducing
a modern touch to the century-old property. Atlanta-based architects Plexus Research +
Design are behind the renovation plans. Designed in 1913 by architect Joel Hurt, the
18-story building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Renovations are
expected to be complete by first quarter 2018. In addition to a new Starbucks and Relay
bike share station, Gamma is pursuing additional retail options to activate the building’s
main level.
Re-usable packaging provider Tosca has relocated to Colony Square. Formerly located in
Downtown, the company has moved its corporate headquarters to occupy an entire floor
at Colony Square in Midtown.
Old Fourth Ward’s Ponce City Market and the award-winning HowStuffWorks podcast
company have teamed up to launch the Question Booth. Every week, HowStuffWorks will
14 January 2018 I DU
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