Coastal Vision
F+F Development has a vision for Inlet Square. It involves serving the existing community that the center was built around, while also meeting the needs of a growing new population of both young families and retirees.
Randall Shearin

The open-air element of Inlet Square is part of a $29 million effort to redevelop Inlet Square in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

De-malling can be a tricky proposition, especially if the market needs mall-based retail. But if the mall is old — and big box and lifestyle retailers want to move into the area – owners know they have to do something before their mall is competing with a new power center or lifestyle center. With Inlet Square in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, a variation on that theme was in play when F+F Development — a partnership of shopping center industry veterans Chuck Fancher and Nate Fishkin — purchased the center in October 2005.

Located in the South Strand area of the Myrtle Beach MSA, Murrells Inlet is a community populated by mostly local full-time residents who serve the booming market, which also receives more than 14.5 million tourists per year.

“We were attracted to the center because it was clearly a victim of non-investment for years by the former owner, which was a capital group,” says Chuck Fancher, principal of Newport Beach, California-based F+F Development. “The center is correctly positioned in the market, and it is the only regional center that serves the South Strand. In addition, big box expansion is difficult because of zoning and wetlands issues.”

The interior areas of the mall will be renovated to bring Inlet Square up-to-date.

Identifying the center as under utilized, but one in which the anchors were having better year-over-year sales volumes, F+F decided to remodel and redevelop the center. While most of the center will remain a mall, a new open-air wing will be added to one side. Also, some tenants will get exterior entrances. In all, F+F is undertaking a $29 million construction project to redevelop Inlet Square.

The existing 433,000-square-foot center is currently anchored by Belk, JC Penney, Kmart, a 12-screen Regal Cinema and SteinMart. There are about 140,000 square feet of enclosed shops and restaurants. While the anchors were performing well, certain small shops had some trouble at the center, so it developed a reputation among retailers as an under-performing center.

“We realized we were going to have to dramatically reposition the center in order to get retailers to look at it differently,” says Fancher.

F+F is planning to demolish about 20 percent of the enclosed mall and convert that to an open-air component. This part of Inlet Square will lie between Regal Cinemas and Books-A-Million. It will create an upscale setting in a courtyard atmosphere that has trellises and outdoor seating. Near that, a freestanding expansion component with a new anchor and a new junior anchor will be added. When the addition is complete, the center will total 560,000 square feet. All of the existing anchors will remain in place at the center, and a new one added.

“The center will have a very different physical feel to it inside and out,” says Fancher. “About 20 percent of the roof will be removed, forming a hybrid indoor/outdoor center.”

A rendering of Inlet Square’s renovated center court.

“There will be a real emphasis to find quality tenants,” says Fishkin, also a principal of F+F. “Since we have limitedspace, and there is limited quality space in the market, we are looking for the best retailers who want to serve this area.”

The retail mix at the center is aimed at the middle market, since that is the primary demographic for this area of Georgetown and Horry Counties. There are also a number of affluent second home owners in the market, who spend a majority of their time there.  In addition, there are a lot of young families moving into the area. The center needs retailers that serve that middle-income demographic, since it can take residents 45 minutes to an hour in peak season traffic to drive to the next nearest regional center. The market surrounding the center is growing steadily.

“The market has vastly improved over the last 2 years,” says Nate Fishkin. “We are looking at middle to better lifestyle and contemporary tenants. We see the opportunity to contemporize the tenant mix. While we’re not shooting for high end, we do think the market wants better, more exciting tenants than it currently has.”

The hope of F+F in reformatting the mall is to give the trade area what it lacks.  The cinemas and core anchors are there. The developers want to provide the market with retailers and restaurants that it would otherwise have to drive into Myrtle Beach to get.

“Inlet Square should be a much more natural place for people in the South Strand to go to,” says Fishkin. “It should be their regular shopping place, as well as their regular entertainment venue.”

One of the changes that F+F has made since taking over ownership is to change the center’s management. Jones Lang LaSalle assumed management duties for the center in November 2006, and the company is also performing leasing duties for inline space.

Vratsinas Construction Company started construction on the refurbishment and renovation at the end of April. Demolition and construction of the new open-air wing will continue in phases until the center is complete in fall 2008. Design of the center is being handled by Cleveland-based Cupkovic Architects.

“Our objective is to do this expansion well,” says Fancher. “We want to make it resonate among the retailers. The location in the market will carry our mission through.”


©2007 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.