Mall developers descend on Las Vegas to shop for retail

LAS VEGAS – With three malls in Northern Colorado ready for redevelopment, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual RECon trade show and conference was the place for retail officials to seize opportunities that could transform the regional shopping scene.

Developers who will be transforming malls in Longmont, Greeley and Fort Collins, as well as city officials from Erie and Firestone, went to Las Vegas in mid-May to mingle with 33,000 other brokers, retailers, financiers and developers.

Allen Ginsborg of NewMark Merrill Mountain States, the new owner of Longmont’s Village at the Peaks, formerly Twin Peaks Mall, was at the conference with a team from his company.

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The overall attitude at RECon has vastly improved over previous years, according to Ginsborg, whose company was at RECon marketing several different projects, but focusing on Village at the Peaks.

A team of five employees from NewMark Merrill met with representatives from casual dining establishments, apparel retailers, specialized boutiques and entertainment companies, Ginsborg said.

Village at the Peaks has announced two large anchors for the Longmont project, Sam’s Club and Whole Foods, but NewMark spent much of RECon searching for other tenants, including smaller anchors.

In recent years at RECon, retailers and developers were hesitant, even fearful, as they dealt with the Great Recession and the fallout that can still be felt today. There has been enough recovery, though, that the level of interest in new projects is back, Ginsborg said.

Along with the interest, there is also a level of caution, he said, because everyone at the conference remembers the pain of the recession that followed the no-holds-barred attitude in 2005-2007.

Moonbeam Capital Investments, developer of Greeley Mall, also attended the conference to market its recently acquired shopping center to potential tenants.

Moonbeam, as well as Bruce Biggi, Greeley’s economic development director, were on the hunt for stores that will meet the needs of younger consumers.

“The Greeley Mall is still a well-desired location for retailers,” said Shawl Pryor, senior vice president of real estate at Moonbeam. “We had a great meeting with a national department store that showed tremendous interest in Greeley and filling an anchor space.”

Moonbeam officials also met with smaller national retailers and junior department stores to fill in other space at the mall, according to Pryor. As of April, the occupancy rate at the mall was 65 percent.

Two days after the end of RECon, Moonbeam already had been contacted by three retailers for follow-up discussions, Pryor said.

But marketing Greeley Mall has not come without challenges, Pryor said.

One of the biggest hurdles is overcoming the stigma of the partially vacant mall, largely neglected by the former owners and purchased out of foreclosure in 2012.

Another mall emerging from years of neglect is Fort Collins’ Foothills mall. A planned $312 million overhaul of the property, recently approved by the city, is well under way.

Alberta Development Partners, Foothills’ owner, was actively courting retailers in Las Vegas. Don Provost, founding principal at Alberta, said the indoor-outdoor nature of the redesign is opening the door for several potential tenants.

“We met with all of the retailers we are actively engaged with at Foothills,” Provost said. Provost echoed Ginsborg’s thoughts about the tenor of RECon.

“General sentiment is extremely positive, but at the same time, measured,” Provost said. The caution most companies are exercising will “temper new deals and keep a heightened focus on repositioning neglected assets like Foothills,” he said.

Firestone town officials attended RECon for the third year in a row, intent on attracting commercial real estate development to meet the needs of its rapidly expanding population.

The need is greatest in retail and office space, according to Bruce Nickerson, town planner.

Residents of Firestone want retail close to home so they don’t have to travel to such cities as Boulder, to shop or eat. Mayor Chad Auer and Town Manager Wes LaVanchy focused on “nonstop” meeting with retailers and the brokers that represent them while at RECon.

Nickerson called 2013 the “most productive” Firestone has experienced so far. Town officials have scheduled meetings with companies to visit Firestone and do site visits.