Starting Strong
Two new centers — opened during the fourth quarter of 2008 — prove that there are still some markets waiting for retail.
Randall Shearin

While the prospect of opening a new shopping center in today’s economy might seem daunting, Forest City has opened two new centers over the last 6 months with some surprising results. The company opened The Shops at White Oak Village in Richmond, Virginia, in mid-October, and The Shops at Wiregrass, north of Tampa, shortly thereafter. Both centers are open-air — one is part lifestyle center and part power center, while the other has more traditional inline retailers with department store anchors. Mixing the different types of retail in open-air environments may be part of the centers’ success, but, say their managers, the real difference is that they were built in dynamic, yet underserved markets.

The Shops At Wiregrass

Since opening on October 30, 2008, The Shops at Wiregrass has seen traffic way above Forest City’s expectations.

Since opening in on October 30, 2008, The Shops at Wiregrass has seen traffic way above Forest City’s expectations.

“We averaged over 16,000 cars per day during December and a little over 13,000 cars per day in November,” says Greg Lenners, the general manager of the center.

The Shops at Wiregrass was developed by Forest City in conjunction with The Goodman Company over a period of years. One of the center’s anchors, JC Penney, opened its store several years ago, and has been strong since day one. The center was announced for many years before its development, and the anticipation is one reason it has seen a lot of success. Many residents have taken ownership of the center.

“Forest City spent a lot of time researching this market,” says Lenners. “What we discovered was that the area was severely underserved. The residents in this area had to drive 20 to 25 miles to get a similar line up of tenants. There was a lot of anticipation among the residents.”

As a completely open-air center in a half-moon shape, there are many outdoor features to the center that provide an equal attraction to the shopping. They include an outdoor performance space and many outdoor seating areas to enjoy the area’s warm climate. Complimenting the opening of the center was the opening a week prior of a new state highway that sits adjacent to the center. The center sits in an area of north Tampa known as New Town, and is the only retail hub around. The area was so underserved, Forest City considers the trade area a 10-mile radius around The Shops at Wiregrass.

The center has a main street running through its center called Paseo Drive. Immediately noticeable are the center’s three department store anchors, JC Penney, Macy’s and Dillard’s. Tenants at the 600,000-square-foot center include Barnes & Noble, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, American Eagle, Charlotte Russe, Hollister & Co., Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Lenscrafters and Coach. Restaurants at the center include Yamato’s, a Japanese Steakhouse, Grillsmith, an American grill, Cantina Laredo, a Latin concept, and quick service eateries like Moe’s Southwest Grill. Forest City was aggressive with its leasing. The center opened 75 percent leased and it is now up to 89 percent leased.

“We’re serving a market that had been underserved, with the type of retailers that hadn’t been here before,” says Lenners. “Shoppers are spending hours here, doing everything from shopping to having lunch.”

On weekends, Thursday through Sunday, there is an average wait of greater than an hour for the sit-down restaurants at the center. The center’s demographics span all age groups. Traffic studies show a lot of mothers with strollers. More than 400 children [and parents] showed up to the kickoff of the center’s Kids Club program. A special play area called Wiregrass Ranch — after the 5,000-acre property the center sits on — was created with replicas of the original ranch house and stables. Senior citizens are also a large group at the center. Lenners suspects that so-called snowbird residents, who migrate to the area in winter months, also have a positive effect on traffic counts. Nearby Zephyrhills, Florida, sees its population swell by 25,000 residents each winter.

“Studying the demographics and shopping patterns has been a learning experience for us,” says Lenners. “After all, we are a new property. Based on the research and forecasting that we did before opening, we’ve hit on all cylinders.”

The Shops at White Oak Village

Part power center, part lifestyle center, The Shops at White Oak Village was built on the site of a former manufacturing facility in an under-retailed area.

One of the greenest retail centers in the U.S., is also one of the newest. Developed on the site of a former manufacturing facility, The Shops at White Oak Village was a model for sustainable construction for Forest City. The company recycled a lot of the former building’s materials into the new center. For instance, it chipped old concrete into compact fill. And that’s just the beginning.

Since opening on October 13, 2008, the center has been busy.

“The center really reflects the needs and wants of the surrounding demographics of the area, as well as the residents of eastern Henrico County. They haven’t seen anything of this stature before in the community. For many in the community, this is a symbol of what they see as a new era here.”

The biggest aspect of this was that the center brought more than 1,000 new jobs to the working class community. The center’s manager, Terry Scott, points out that this figure is a net figure — it doesn’t include personnel that transferred from other stores.

“This center was a necessity. It gave the residents a place to gather as a community,” says Scott. “One of the comments I hear over and over again from residents is that they love it here, and I always hear, ‘Thank you for bringing this to us.’”

Part power center and part lifestyle center, The Shops at White Oak Village is, like Wiregrass, completely open-air. The 900,000-square-foot center has a number of value-oriented retailers, as well as big boxes and other uses. One of the unexpected anchors of the center is Ukrops, the top grocer in Richmond. Ukrops developed a state-of-the-art, two-story supermarket on the property. The store has meeting facilities and dining areas that the community can use.

The Shops at White Oak Village was developed so that the big box tenants form a perimeter along the outside of the center. A strip of lifestyle tenants sits on the interior portion of the center. While you would expect to see people driving between the stores in a power center environment, Scott says the relatively compact design of the center allows people to park their car in one spot and walk to the different tenants. In addition to Ukrops, anchors at the center include JC Penney, Target and Sam’s Club. Tenants at the center include Ashley Stew
center include Ashley Stewart, Dress Barn, Dots and Payless Shoes. Restaurants at the center include Cracker Barrel, Red Lobster, TGI Friday’s and Longhorn Steakhouse. There are also some fast casual restaurants like Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Qdoba and Firehouse Subs.

“This was a very underserved market,” says Scott. “Residents in this area, even though it was well established, had to drive 20 to 30 miles to the nearest regional shopping center.”

The center’s immediate trade area is middle- to low-income that didn’t hit the radar of many developers.

“The community has really taken ownership in the center,” says Scott. “They’ve waited a long time for something to come. They feel that this is their home.”

Tenants are reporting strong traffic and sales. Weekends at the center are very active, with the restaurants seeing brisk activity. The center opened at 75 percent leased, and a few more tenants have opened since to raise that number.

“There’s nothing around that can compare to White Oak,” says Scott.

While Forest City, like many developers, looks for upscale and strong markets, the company also focuses on under-retailed markets. At The Shops at Wiregrass and The Shops at White Oak, the company found underserved markets in strong, well populated areas that were still growing. That, says Scott, was the key to their success at opening.

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