Midwest Makers
Shopping Center Business takes a look at four major retail projects set to come online in the Midwest.
Nina Glickman

Major retail developments often share common factors, such as a good location, a strong residential base and a unique tenant mix. However, the catalyst for a new retail development can range from an economic redevelopment project, community needs, and a retailer’s eagerness to enter the market. Shopping Center Business details four major retail projects that are poised to break into various Midwestern markets.

Interstate 88 and Orchard Road Interchange
North Aurora, Illinois

Rubloff Development Group has a center underway near Orchard and Randall roads in North Aurora, Illinois.

Another major retail development at the I-88 & Orchard interchange is being spear headed by Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Rubloff Development Group   between Orchard and Randall Road along Interstate 88. The development, which will total more than 500,000 square feet, includes an 88,408-square-foot Kohl’s and a 123,700-square-foot Target that will be open by the end of the year. A hotel component is being considered for the development along with 20 outlot opportunities. South on Interstate 88 on Orchard is a new Home Depot and a Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. Construction of a Meijer location is pending. “Retail is driven by the interest of the retailers and the needs of the community,” notes Tyler Quast, executive vice president and principal with Chicago-based Zifkin Realty & Development, the exclusive leasing agent involved in both developments.

With a population of 146,668 within a 5-mile radius of Randall Crossing, the center is fulfilling a need of the region. “[There are] a lot of people who don’t have convenient services [in Kane and Kendall counties],” Quast says, noting that people in the neighboring towns of Sugar Grove and Aurora will now have convenient access to a major retail area. Quast adds that both Randall Crossing and the North Aurora Town Square developments will include restaurant components. Traffic counts of 29,900 and 22,000 vehicles per day on Randall and Orchard roads, respectively, indicate that the area is ideal for these developments. “Kendall County is the third largest growing county in the nation, Kane County has seen very significant growth as well during the last 10 years,” Quast says. “There’s been a tremendous amount of residential growth along the Randall/Orchard corridor.”

According to Quast, the regional interchange at Orchard and Interstate 88 caters best to big box users and the residential growth in the area has fueled the need for more retail developments. “A substantial amount of retail has come [online] in the last couple of years and will continue to for the next couple,” says Quast.

Metro Crossing Shopping Center
Council Bluffs, Iowa

“Council Bluffs is really becoming more of a regional site than a local site,” observes Dennis Hoth, vice president of CB Richard Ellis | MEGA in Omaha. “The capture rate for users or retailers is a radius running anywhere from a few miles to 50 miles.” With many people from Western Iowa working in Omaha and Council Bluffs, the area has become a shopping destination for people outside the immediate area. The Lake Manawa Power Center in Council Bluffs has been a widely successful development and includes big box tenants such as Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sam’s Club, The Home Depot, Best Buy, Menards and Gordmans, along with a variety of junior anchors, strip users, restaurants and banks.

Following the success of Lake Manawa, Mark Andersen of Council Bluffs-based Andersen Construction Company, Hoth and Kimco Developers Inc. (KDI) formed a joint venture to develop 81 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 29 and Highway 275 in Council Bluffs. The idea for the development was conceived when Mark Andersen approached Hoth seeking help with the leasing and development of the site. After some preliminary work on the development budget and the leasing, Andersen and Hoth brought in KDI.

“When we got to a certain point, we wanted to bring in a partner that had national connections and experience and excellent financing capabilities,” Hoth explains. “[KDI] came in and decided that this was the Number 1 site in the area, as compared to other potential sites.”

Along with Metro Crossing’s proximity to the Lake Manawa center, other factors show that Council Bluffs is transforming into a new retail hub. A polygon study of the area showed that people were coming from north, east and south of the site, as well as from East Omaha. Positive economic spin-off from the casino business has contributed to the expansion of the area. “There’s a new demographic shift in Council Bluffs,” Hoth says. “People that traditionally would have lived in Omaha are now crossing the river and moving up to the areas to the east.” Additionally, the commute from downtown Omaha is exhausting. “It’s much easier to commute to downtown from Council Bluffs than it is West Omaha, so a lot of these people are moving across the river,” Hoth adds. As a result, new homes are rapidly being built, thus raising the demographic of income and the local consumer base.

Metro Crossing, which will total approximately 600,000 square feet, will include unique features and amenities that will set it apart from the neighboring Lake Manawa center. “We decided to use interstate visibility as a real plus,” Hoth says.“We’ve decided to turn the anchor tenants outward toward the interstate rather than backing them up to the interstate and covering the center.” Ten of the 11 pad sites have frontage along Interstate 29, an amenity that nothing else in the area has. The site will also be raised 6 feet, bringing it to the best possible grade for visibility. Metro Crossing will also be directly accessible from Interstate 29 via an interstate ramp that leads right into the development. Additionally, the interstate exit ramp at this particular location forms a loop exit instead of a traditional ramp, thus allowing people to look at the site’s frontage along the interstate and make the decision to pull off and enter the site. A water feature is also planned for the center of Metro Crossing and will be surrounded by upscale sit-down restaurants. Pedestrian amenities such as walkways will allow people to interact with the lake.

Feedback from the community has been positive. “The people of Council Bluffs are eager to have new, national retailers come into the market; they’re eager for a contemporary and upscale shopping design,” Hoth notes. Hoth indicates that tenants not currently in the Council Bluffs market have been showing interest.  Numerous letters of intent have been signed and they are in negotiations on several purchase and lease agreements with national retailers. Construction is scheduled to begin on Metro Crossing this summer, with the first openings in fall 2007.

LaVista Pointe
LaVista, Nebraska

LaVista Pointe is an approximately 750,000-square-foot development at the Interstate 80/Harrison Street interchange in LaVista, Nebraska. The center will be anchored by Cabela’s, and is being developed by Westwood Development Group.

LaVista Pointe, an approximately 750,000-square-foot development at the Interstate 80/Harrison Street interchange in LaVista, will be anchored by a Cabela’s, and much of its tenant mix will appeal to the Cabela’s customer. “The [whole development] is going to be themed around Cabela’s,” explains Michael Bowen, chairman and CEO of Muskegon, Michigan-based Westwood Development Group, the developer and leasing agent of LaVista Pointe. “Their average store draws approximately 5 million people — it’s an unbelievable draw. It expands your trade area dramatically.” The Cabela’s location, out of the eight currently under construction, is the first to anchor a sizable development outside the Kansas City market.

The development will be what Bowen refers to as a hybrid center, which will have both lifestyle and power center components. In addition to Cabela’s, LaVista Pointe will include a movie theater and several restaurants, along with a mix of retail tenants. An 80,000-square-foot convention center will anchor the project and a Courtyard by Marriott and an Embassy Suites hotel will also be included, contributing approximately 600 rooms to the development. Springfield, Missouri-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts will build and operate the center and the hotels. The convention center will provide another added draw to LaVista Pointe. The Qwest Center in downtown Omaha is the area’s major convention center, but “[there isn’t] a facility of any kind of quality for smaller conventions [in the area],” says Bowen. “[This convention center] will be the best place in town for the smaller [conventions].”

The turning point for the LaVista Pointe came when Cabela’s approached the city about opening a location at the recently acquired 88-acre development site. Westwood had the property under contract from original owner Southport West Partners, and the city, according to Bowen, bent over backwards and created an incentive package to make sure Cabela’s signed on. “The city really deserves a ton of credit,” lauds Bowen.

The location at the Interstate 80/Harrison Street interchange is ideal for a development such as LaVista Pointe. “There are approximately 118,000 cars a day going back to the city — just a monster traffic count,” Bowen notes. For an area once considered more of an industrial sprawl, LaVista will set the benchmark for retail developments. “This is really a gateway for [the town of] LaVista,” Bowen says. “It will be the flagship project.”

The development broke ground in mid-March, and the Cabela’s has scheduled its grand opening for September 29th. The convention center and hotels will be under construction by early summer, and several restaurants are anticipated to begin construction around the same time. Bowen expects LaVista Pointe will be completely developed by the end of 2007.

Wichita WaterWalk
Wichita, Kansas

Wichita WaterWalk.

“WaterWalk has been designed as a very unique, one-of-a-kind destination,” says Tom Johnson, president of WaterWalk LLC. “It [will be] an enhancement of Wichita as a visitor and tourist destination.” With the metropolitan statistical area’s population of more than 550,000 people and a regional market of more than 1.2 million, WaterWalk is already in a strong demographic market. “[WaterWalk] has the ability to serve the entire market from a singe location,” Johnson says. The project is located within 20 minutes of anywhere in Wichita and is within the heart of the city’s central business district, where 25,000 people work.

Wichita WaterWalk, a 595,000-square-foot, $100 million mixed-use development located at Waterman and Main streets in the central business district of Wichita, Kansas.

The impetus to develop WaterWalk came from the desire to move forward with economic redevelopment to create jobs and enhance the tax base. The property, which is owned by the city, is in a highly visible and accessible location adjacent to Wichita’s U.S. Highway 54/400 thoroughfare.

Perhaps the most important component of WaterWalk is its dedication to the residents of Wichita. The public improvements will add amenities that are both welcomed and needed, such as the 1,000-seat amphitheater and the infrastructure improvements. Restaurant, retail and entertainment tenants will also bring vitality to the area and enhance the quality of life for residents by adding jobs and stimulating the local and regional economy.

“It’s Wichita’s next great gathering place,” Johnson says.