Mall of the Bluffs

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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

the1wags wrote:The new Target is open, I was in there last night. The end is near for Mall of the Bluffs.
I seriously doubt you'll see Mall of the Bluffs go under for quite some time.
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Post by the1wags »

Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.

Oh, and it's biggest advantage over Crossroads is that they aren't owned by Simon.  :mrgreen:
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S33
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Post by S33 »

Bosco55David wrote:
the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.

Oh, and it's biggest advantage over Crossroads is that they aren't owned by Simon.  :mrgreen:
I think the Bluffs Mall will go away. They already have alot of open storefronts and have converted many storefronts into non-retail type businesses.
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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

S33 wrote:
Bosco55David wrote:
the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.

Oh, and it's biggest advantage over Crossroads is that they aren't owned by Simon.  :mrgreen:
I think the Bluffs Mall will go away. They already have alot of open storefronts and have converted many storefronts into non-retail type businesses.
Seriously, I doubt that will happen for a very long time, if at all. The mall is not even 30 years old and it's the only indoor shopping mall in the area, which is very important in the midwest when winter comes around. Sure they lost an anchor, but they can get a new one and probably will in short order.

If Crossroads can hang on, so can Mall of the Bluffs.
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Post by Mr.Nuke »

Bosco55David wrote:
the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.
Given the present state of the retail market and the overall economy in general, bringing in other anchors isn't going to be a simple task.
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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

Mr.Nuke wrote:
Bosco55David wrote:
the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.
Given the present state of the retail market and the overall economy in general, bringing in other anchors isn't going to be a simple task.
Our economy isn't going to be in the dumps forever. Personally, I think it'll start to improve significantly by this summer.
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Post by Big E »

Bosco55David wrote:Our economy isn't going to be in the dumps forever.
Agreed.
Bosco55David wrote:Personally, I think it'll start to improve significantly by this summer.
No chance.  You don't recover from the number of jobs we've lost in the last 6 months that quickly - stimulus or no.  Now, the markets may begin to bounce back up, but that is a relatively poor indication of "the economy".  If we're at DJIA 8000 and 13% unemployment, that's not a good thing.
Stable genius.
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S33
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Post by S33 »

Big E wrote:No chance.  You don't recover from the number of jobs we've lost in the last 6 months that quickly - stimulus or no.  Now, the markets may begin to bounce back up, but that is a relatively poor indication of "the economy".  If we're at DJIA 8000 and 13% unemployment, that's not a good thing.
That is exactly right. If there is anything we have learned in the last 5 years, its that stock indexes are nearly impossible to make sense of. The entire market is so corrupted that any gain or loss is easy to ignore. In fact, the stock market as we know it may cease to exist and we will be just fine. (its happened before)

For the mall, I really don't see it hanging around as a "mall" much longer.
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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

Big E wrote:No chance.  You don't recover from the number of jobs we've lost in the last 6 months that quickly - stimulus or no.  Now, the markets may begin to bounce back up, but that is a relatively poor indication of "the economy".  If we're at DJIA 8000 and 13% unemployment, that's not a good thing.
I didn't say recover, I said show significant improvement.  :;):

Now as far as the mall goes, I still don't get how you guys can claim the mall is not going to survive. The structure itself is still fairly young, in good shape (as far as I know) and getting plenty of business.

Those anchors moving out to Metro Crossing are not going to kill the mall. New anchors can be brought in, and being Council Bluffs only indoor mall will keep MotB afloat.
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Post by Mr.Nuke »

Bosco55David wrote:
Mr.Nuke wrote:
Bosco55David wrote:
the1wags wrote:Losing anchors like Target and JCPenny isn't going to help anything. Next thing you know, it's Crossroads. Then a slow horrible change into Southroads.
Sure it don't help, but other anchors can be brought it. Plus, MotB isn't hampered by having two larger and nicer malls within 10 miles.
Given the present state of the retail market and the overall economy in general, bringing in other anchors isn't going to be a simple task.
Our economy isn't going to be in the dumps forever. Personally, I think it'll start to improve significantly by this summer.
At that point a strong argument could be made that economic recovery is irrelevant.  As others have noted, we've already seen this scenario play out twice in the metro over the past several years with Southroads and Crossroads.  Once you start loosing tenants it becomes very difficult to attract new tenants.
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Bosco55David
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Post by Bosco55David »

Mr.Nuke wrote:At that point a strong argument could be made that economic recovery is irrelevant.  As others have noted, we've already seen this scenario play out twice in the metro over the past several years with Southroads and Crossroads.  Once you start loosing tenants it becomes very difficult to attract new tenants.
And again, you're talking about two very different malls here.

Let's look at Southroads. They were doing pretty good until the road changes and freeway bypass happened, which effected the entire area there. Even with all that, they still held on with Ameritrade and some small local stores in there. Southroads might actually be making a comeback since Ameritrade is moving out (going to Old Mill IIRC) and giving $50,000 to help turn the mall back into retail.

Now Crossroads. It's located on one of the busiest intersections in Omaha, but has a reputation as a "high crime" mall and is saddled with seemingly horrible management. It also has competition from the larger and superior Westroads and OakView malls, all in relatively close vicinity.

Now when you look at Mall of the Bluffs, do they really suffer from any of that? They're in a busy part of town, no real worry of crime there, good management, almost right across the street from a high school and no indoor malls for competition in the immediate area.

Sure, they might lose those big anchors to Metro Crossing but they are not irreplaceable. Even if they have trouble replacing the anchors, there is still more than enough going on there to keep people coming back. That mall is not going to go under anytime soon.
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Post by icejammer »

S33 wrote:I think the Bluffs Mall will go away. They already have alot of open storefronts and have converted many storefronts into non-retail type businesses.
And what would those "non-retail" businesses be?  There's an H&R Block (seasonal, but they've been seasonal for many years at MOTB), and the only other non-retail is Kaplan U., which is in an area that at one time housed a everything-for-a-dollar store, and briefly a spa store.

That said, the mall is hurting with all the stores that have and will be relocated to Metro Crossing and The Marketplace, and with GGP in bankruptcy, it's not a stretch to see them dump this property in the next 3 months.
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Post by S33 »

Ed Spencer Real estate, Iowa DOT,Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Kaplan University. Some of them have been around for some time, but they are still examples of the decline of the mall in recent years. Not to mention, how long are they expecting Sears to stick around? I would put money on it that they are gone within the next 12 months or so.

They just seem to have a very high proportion of non-retail type businesses for such a small mall.
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Post by icejammer »

The recruiters have been at MOTB for a long time, I hardly think you can cite them as a recent example of decline; I can't recall when DOT moved to MOTB, but I think the same applies.  Ed Spencer took over the space that was formerly a satellite post office site and/or travel agent - that little nook of the mall has never had retail to my recollection.  The only other site that comes to mind is the former Walgreens spot that was briefly a Rod Kush outlet and is now a glow-in-the-dark mini-golf.

Still, as I mentioned above, the mall has some real challenges ahead with somewhere around 15 stores already or scheduled to depart in the first 6 months of this year.  GPP has been jerking other tenants around with leases that are due to expire soon, so it wouldn't surprise me to see GPP pull the plug on this mall while they're in bankruptcy proceedings.  For whatever reason, Sears just doesn't seem to do the business they should (ever since they opened several years ago), and Dillards as of late has had some poor selection, so I wouldn't be surprised to see both stores leave CB.
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Post by thenewguy »

if you look at the entrance to sears, you can sort of see why they aren't really that much to sneeze at.  Any electronics or "treasure hunt" items are located in the back side corner, and when you walk in it's bland boring clothes, with really no "wow".  They don't run very many good ads, the store is cluttered, and it's in a bad spot in the mall.  I am surprised they made it this long.
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Post by bargainhunter »

Skeeter Barnes closed last week without any notice.  The owner said he had to abruptly so the mall wouldn't know of his plans to close.  Not sure why it would matter if they knew he was closing.  You'd think they'd be happy to keep any paying tenant for as long as they are willing to stay.
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Post by nativeomahan »

Bummer.  they had a nice restaurant with really good food.
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Post by Ben »

bargainhunter wrote:Skeeter Barnes closed last week without any notice.  The owner said he had to abruptly so the mall wouldn't know of his plans to close.  Not sure why it would matter if they knew he was closing.  You'd think they'd be happy to keep any paying tenant for as long as they are willing to stay.
Anyone happen to know whether it was just this Skeeter Barnes, or the entire chain closing?  I know they have locations elsewhere....  Lincoln and Kearney, I believe.
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Post by bargainhunter »

They do have stores in Lincoln & Kearney and they are open.
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Post by Bugeater »

I recently heard from a good source that Skeeter Barnes will be opening another location to replace the one in MotB.
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Post by thenewguy »

good to hear.  It's getting bad for the mall.
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Post by bargainhunter »

http://southwestiowanews.com/articles/2 ... 342491.txt
The days are numbered for another retail store in Council Bluffs.

The Old Navy, located inside Mall of the Bluffs, will close Jan. 26.

“The decision to close a store is always a difficult one – a number of factors impact the decision, including store location, store performance and number of stores in the market,” Catherine Rhoades, a spokesperson for Gap Inc. corporate communications, said in an e-mail. “We are constantly evaluating our store fleet to ensure we have the right stores in the right locations to best serve our customers.”

Founded in 1993 as a division of Gap Inc., the Old Navy opened in the mall in November 1999.

At the time, it was only the second location in the metropolitan area, with the first being at Westroads Mall in Omaha. When the Mall of the Bluffs location opened, it was nearly twice as large as the Westroads store.

Since the opening, additional stores have opened at Oakview Mall and the Shops at Shadow Lakes in Papillion, Neb.

An employee at the store said they had not heard of any other closings in the metro area.

It is unclear if a stand-alone store will be open in Council Bluffs in the future, according to Rhoades.

“I do not have information to share about a new location at this time,” she said.
Very sad.  This was a great Old Navy.
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Post by icejammer »

I wouldn't be surprised to see them move to an available space at one of the other shopping centers, I know that The Marketplace was trying to lure them away from MOTB over a year ago.
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Post by thenewguy »

see, now that just sucks.  What is so bad about the mall?  So many people i know (me included) don't like the outdoor mall format.  It's a pain in the |expletive| in the winter and you have to drive from place to place if you plan on buying anything larger than a watch.  Because of JCPenney's leaving, there was no anchor on the southwest end.  Then the adjacent stores went under due to lack of foot traffic.  Skeeter barnes closed.  Then target left on the north end, which has/is having a similar affect on nearby stores.  I can't see dillard's and sears maintaining their hold at the mall for much longer.  

This a pipe dream, but something i've thought of a few times in the last while.  Wouldn't it be cool if they flipped the old mall with the new mall?  When the midlands was open, it wasn't big enough for what was going on.  Ive heard that if the midlands were larger, they would be able to secure more tenants.  So why not downscale the mall of the bluffs by moving it to the old midlands location, and upscale the omni center by moving it to the mall?  Right now, with all the outdoor malls, there isn't the need for a large indoor mall like we currently have, and it may help to increase some retailers that don't need the big space and don't want to pay the high rent to get it.  So why not do a massive flip, a few stores at a time?  The old mall could be restored to all it's former glory, and the new mall wouldn't end up being with the same fate as the midlands (and we wouldn't end up with zero malls, and 2 converted office complexes).  Let's look at it: It's got a movie theater (that would benefit from additional foot traffic), good design for a food court, has a parking garage, there are nearby bars and restaurants, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have that kind of retail near the core of council bluffs.  

Am i crazy?
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Post by Omababe »

bargainhunter wrote:Very sad.  This was a great Old Navy.
Although I really hate to see any shop close, it's kind of a very appropriate poetic justice considering what MOTB did to Midlands Mall (which I liked very much) maybe 20-some years ago!
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Post by bargainhunter »

Burger King @ MOTB is closing for business today at 2 PM.
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Post by nebugeater »

bargainhunter wrote:Burger King @ MOTB is closing for business today at 2 PM.

Radio this AM reported that three stores had not renewed their leases.  In addition to BK  I believe the other two were Old Navy and Radio Shack.  Please correct if this is wrong.
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Post by icejammer »

nebugeater wrote:
bargainhunter wrote:Burger King @ MOTB is closing for business today at 2 PM.

Radio this AM reported that three stores had not renewed their leases.  In addition to BK  I believe the other two were Old Navy and Radio Shack.  Please correct if this is wrong.
The radio report was maybe a little behind the times, Old Navy announced closing over a month ago, and I think it was only a matter of time with Radio Shack, as they're opening a new store at Metro Crossing (if not already open).
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Post by bbinks »

KETV reported yesterday that the 3 closings were Old Navy, Burger King, and Radio Shack.

It's been some time since I was near there, but I thought the Burger King was a free standing one?


Here is the brief news stroy,

http://www.ketv.com/news/22354432/detail.html
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Post by icejammer »

bbinks wrote:It's been some time since I was near there, but I thought the Burger King was a free standing one?
There is a free-standing BK across the way from MOTB, but there is also a BK in the food court at MOTB.
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Post by bargainhunter »

bbinks wrote:KETV reported yesterday that the 3 closings were Old Navy, Burger King, and Radio Shack.

It's been some time since I was near there, but I thought the Burger King was a free standing one?


Here is the brief news stroy,

http://www.ketv.com/news/22354432/detail.html
There is a free staniding BK across Madison Ave, but there was also one in the food court.
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Post by bargainhunter »

The Lunar Mini Golf place is now closed.
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

bargainhunter wrote:The Lunar Mini Golf place is now closed.

I think they closed a while ago?  We walked by one day and were going to go in but it said "closed for business" on a crappy sheet of paper.
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Post by Ankeny Husker Freak »

It's mind blowing to read about what's happening at the Mall of the Bluffs.  It wasn't that long ago when the Mall was THE place to go to for those in SW Iowa.
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Post by jhbenson »

Country and More is moving to Oakview.
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Post by nebugeater »

jhbenson wrote:Country and More is moving to Oakview.
What is Country and More?
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Post by thenewguy »

Ankeny Husker Freak wrote:It's mind blowing to read about what's happening at the Mall of the Bluffs.  It wasn't that long ago when the Mall was THE place to go to for those in SW Iowa.
And many in Omaha, too.  Many enjoy the fact that it's right off the interstate and used to offer many shopping alternatives.
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Post by bargainhunter »

Heard that Barnes & Noble is up next to close their doors at MOTB.   :(
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Post by Bosco55David »

bargainhunter wrote:Heard that Barnes & Noble is up next to close their doors at MOTB.   :(
Wow. It wasn't even a decade ago that they tore out the theater to build that add on.
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