Bridging The Shopping Gap
New town center keeps shoppers in Huntsville, Alabama.
Susan H. Fishman

Tenants at Bridge Street Town Centre will include a movie theater, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Los Angeles-based developer O&S Holdings, LLC is quickly leasing up its Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Alabama. With a number of national brands and specialty retailers already on board, the 2 million-square-foot center is expected to be more than 90 percent leased upon opening in August 2007.

Easily accessible from Interstate 565 and Highway 72 in Cummings Research Park, Bridge Street Town Centre is convenient to downtown Huntsville and Madison County residential areas. The nearest upscale shopping is 100 miles away.

“Right now in Madison County, the better shopper is going to Nashville and Birmingham,” says Gary Safady, managing partner of O&S Holdings, “and the overall general shopper doesn’t want to come here. With this project, you have all your experiences, from entertainment — we have the best movie theater by far in the market, if not in the Eastern United States — to dining to living. Everything we’re doing is programmed to be a true customer experience.”

Construction is underway on the Westin Huntsville, part of the Bridge Street project.

Since launching the U.S. space program more than 50 years ago, Huntsville has seen tremendous growth. The city currently has one of the highest concentrations of advanced degrees in the nation, and its major employers include 42 Fortune 500 companies. It has the fourth-highest average salary level in the Southeast.

“It’s a very sophisticated market,” says Rachel Forman, vice president of corporate marketing for the project. “Huntsville is highly educated, and our merchandising mix will certainly appeal to them.”

The European-style town center, which will ultimately reach between $325 and $350 million in cost, is pedestrian friendly with a bridge that rises at the apex of the project. Visitors and residents will be able to take a boat ride on the property’s scenic lakes.

“When we built this project, it was clearly going to be an anomaly in the market,” Safady says. “There’s not a bad view from the project. It’s not only a place to shop, it’s a place to walk and jog around the lake. It’s well thought out and very much an integrated town center.”

Bridge Street Town Centre is pedestrian friendly with a bridge that rises at the apex of the project. Visitors and residents will be able to take a boat ride on the property’s scenic lakes.

Currently under development is a 550,000-square-foot retail lifestyle center, which will include a movie theater, restaurants and entertainment venues. So far, leases have been signed with nationally recognized tenants, including P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Coldwater Creek, DSW and Banana Republic.  In addition, several specialty retailers and restaurants have committed to the project, including Barnes & Noble, Anthropologie, Ann Taylor Loft, Chico’s, White House|Black Market, Soma, J. Jill, Brighton Collectibles, Connor’s Seafood and Bravo Cucina. O&S Holdings is finalizing a major steak player and major Mexican player for the development and has just signed leases with The Dolce Group, based in Los Angeles. They will be developing Ketchup, its new Americana restaurant, as well as Ten Pin Alley, a bowling entertainment concept at Bridge Street Town Centre. Original plans also called for an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, which has been changed to the Westin Heavenly Spa.

“They rolled out a new spa program, which I think has been a plus for the project,” notes Safady. “It’s much more universal, whereas the Red Door Spa caters to more of a female clientele. We’re surrounded by 14 million square feet of research and technology where there’s a large male population, so I think it was a wise move by Westin.”

So far, leases have been signed at Bridge Street Town Centre with P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Coldwater Creek, DSW and Banana Republic.  In addition, several specialty nretailers and restaurants have committed to the project, including Barnes & Noble, Anthropologie, Ann Taylor Loft, Chico’s, White House|Black Market, Soma, J. Jill, Brighton Collectibles, Connor’s Seafood and Bravo Cucina.

The center will also feature a 150,000-square-foot Class A office tower and 210-room Westin Huntsville Hotel. Occupying the top five floors of the hotel will be 74 luxury Westin Huntsville Residences. Residential floor plans range from 750 square feet for a one bedroom to 4,300 square feet for the penthouse. The residences have several unique features, including high ceilings, hardwood and stone floors, state-of-the-art technology and exceptional views. With 50 of the 74 units currently reserved, O&S Holdings anticipates selling all the units by the time the residential component is complete in November 2007.

O&S Holdings and its affiliates own more than 80 properties in the United States, including the Louisiana Boardwalk — a 550,000-square-foot waterfront entertainment and outlet shopping center anchored by Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and a 14-screen Regal Theater. The company is taking the Town Centre idea to other cities with a Bridge Street Town Centre in Chicago, as well as one in Texas, that will feature many of the same tenants. The Chicago center is a 300-acre project with 800 residential units and is scheduled to open at the end of 2009. The 1.1 million-square-foot Bridge Street Town Centre in McKinney, Texas, will open sometime in 2008.


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