www.ketv.com wrote:OMAHA, Neb. -- Dillard's at Crossroads Mall is closing next month, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
Crossroads Mall has struggled over the years to keep retailers. Chili's Restaurant closed in April and Crossroads owner, the Simon Group, then told KETV NewsWatch 7 that they were committed to revitalizing the property.
A Dillard's spokeswoman said the Crossroads store is one of 13 Dillard's that will close this year.
"Dillard’s has been a good tenant at our mall for many years," Crossroads Mall said in a statement. "While we are sorry to learn that Dillard’s Department Stores has made the corporate decision to close a number of their stores across the country, including the Dillard’s at Crossroads Mall, we view this moving forward as an opportunity to enhance our retail offerings by bringing a new tenant to our mall that will continue to serve the needs of our shoppers.
www.ketv.com wrote:There is a lot of interest in what happens to the mall property.
"In the next five to 10, years the population in this immediate area should explode," Redfield said.
Omaha By Design has drawn up a vision of what the corridor will eventually look like. It includes high-density development that includes residential, apartments, condos and retail in a pedestrian-friendly area. The vision still includes Crossroads Mall, but there are concerns from city officials and other developers who said that Crossroads -- or at least the site -- needs to do well. Leaders said its success will have an impact on surrounding development.
michaelsjewel wrote:to me...i honestly think crossroads can be saved on one condition...and one condition only...
because it's so close to westroads, it makes no sense for crossroads to have the same exact stores as westroads....
i even think that the dillard court is quite pretty in crossroads.... so style really isn't it either....
crossroads needs NEW, DIFFERENT STORES! - stores that aren't found at westroads.... the management needs to work on attracting stores that omaha doesn't have...promising for remodel and getting tenants that would attract even more people....
what ever happened to MACY'S coming to omaha? dillards closing there would allow for macy's to go in.....that alone would bring in traffic!
or....what ever happened to the SAKS coming either? those 2 stores...would be HUGE!
then stores that would be attracted to that could follow suit...
turning crossroads into office space would be just plain dumb! if you're going to do that, tear the place down and build some office buildings. but i don't think crossroads is so bad that it needs to be torn down....
so.....TOTALLY remodel the thing! - make it modern....heck...westroads has that tacky torquose and mauve theme, sorta 80ish.... perhaps remodeling and making crossroads more upscale....with the addition of either MACY's, or SAKS, or both.....would improve it....bring in some other little stores that are unique...and viola....totally remodel the parking lots and make it more....green as well! (more grass)
it can be done, takes money and planning, but if they're serious about saving a mall....why not?
or.....my previous thought was to demolish crossroads.....
and also demolish some crappy property west of 480.....and turn that into an exit for a DOWNTOWN MALL! - at least then downtown area could thrive on high-class shopping therapy and bring more people to live down there.
michaelsjewel wrote:to me...i honestly think crossroads can be saved on one condition...and one condition only...
because it's so close to westroads, it makes no sense for crossroads to have the same exact stores as westroads....
i even think that the dillard court is quite pretty in crossroads.... so style really isn't it either....
crossroads needs NEW, DIFFERENT STORES! - stores that aren't found at westroads.... the management needs to work on attracting stores that omaha doesn't have...promising for remodel and getting tenants that would attract even more people....
what ever happened to MACY'S coming to omaha? dillards closing there would allow for macy's to go in.....that alone would bring in traffic!
or....what ever happened to the SAKS coming either? those 2 stores...would be HUGE!
then stores that would be attracted to that could follow suit...
turning crossroads into office space would be just plain dumb! if you're going to do that, tear the place down and build some office buildings. but i don't think crossroads is so bad that it needs to be torn down....
so.....TOTALLY remodel the thing! - make it modern....heck...westroads has that tacky torquose and mauve theme, sorta 80ish.... perhaps remodeling and making crossroads more upscale....with the addition of either MACY's, or SAKS, or both.....would improve it....bring in some other little stores that are unique...and viola....totally remodel the parking lots and make it more....green as well! (more grass)
it can be done, takes money and planning, but if they're serious about saving a mall....why not?
or.....my previous thought was to demolish crossroads.....
and also demolish some crappy property west of 480.....and turn that into an exit for a DOWNTOWN MALL! - at least then downtown area could thrive on high-class shopping therapy and bring more people to live down there.
Thats a good thought, but it is really unrealistic to think Macy's or Saks will set up shop on 72nd and Dodge.
OmahaJaysCU wrote:Thats a good thought, but it is really unrealistic to think Macy's or Saks will set up shop on 72nd and Dodge.
"Hey, Ma... now that we took advantage of the $99 recliner sale at The Mart, let's head across Dodge to try on some Bruno Maglis. Or maybe we can be first in line for the Manolo Blahnik outlet opening!"
Filene's Basement?! Now that brings back some memories!
Always a business-oriented city hungry for growth and focused on development with laser intensity, Omaha aimed high, reached for momentum and found critical mass.
I honestly think the only hope for that mall is to either renovate the heck out of it or tear it down and start over. With the new target I doubt they would do the latter.
CP Jensen was showing off the resent plans for 72nd and Dodge today - waiting to see what the owner of Crossroads wants to do. Maybe the city is trying to push its agenda now that Dillards is going and this failure will spur an impetus for this area.
Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but looks like another blow to crossroads. What is the other development, Beverly Hills Plaza they are talking about? http://www.ketv.com/money/16956292/detail.html
DTO Luv wrote:Wow Filene's Basement. I did a commercial for them the other weekend in Chicago.
Oh really?
I've been to two of their shops in Chicago, one on State right in the heart of the Loop district, and another up in the Mag Mile area. You never know what you will find there until you go. I've found some real bargains there at times!
That would be nice to have here.
I know I'm dreaming. I don't think Nebraska is even on their radar screen. The farthest west I've seen a Filene's is Chicago.
Even something like a larger Marshalls or maybe even a Kohls or Gordmans type of place might work to salvage the Crossroads.
I really can't see anything anywhere near upscale going in there, but if they capitalize on strong midscale appeal they could turn the place around! That HAS to be one of the most busy intersections in the area! They just need to turn some of those drivers into shoppers!
A good strong anchor in the old Dillards location could revitalize the north wing ghost town that's in there now!
I hope I don't get in trouble for reviving this thread, but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in as Crossroads is one of the places in Omaha I have some of my best memories. Being from the 41st and Ames area, we did most of our Christmas shopping there. As a kid my mom always used to take my brother and me to see the Santas there, and when I was at Fontenelle Elementary my dad used to take us over there after school a couple times a week to eat at the Stadium Dog in the food court, and we even went trick or treating there one year. My dad also bought most of his tools from the Sears there at Crossroads. I left the Omaha area in 2002 and the last few times I was there I remember the mall still being pretty busy with very few vacancies, so when I started to get serious about moving back to Omaha I was very disappointed to find out that Crossroads is struggling.
I believe that Crossroads is still a very good mall in terms of the building quality and location, so it can definetly be saved if the commitment is made to save it. There is really no need to tear down the building and that location is too prime to turn it into another Southroads. Here are, IMHO, some good steps to get the mall back on it's feet in the general order they would need to happen.
- Update/upgrade the mall. It was mentioned earlier in this thread that some of the stores had very dirty carpet. Those things need to be fixed. Put down new carpet and fix anything else that needs fixing. I haven't been to the mall in nearly 7 years so I have no idea how extensive that repair work would be, but obviously a mall needs to be in good shape for a revival. It was mentioned earlier that there was new landscaping and the parking area had been resurfaced so that is a good start.
- New and exclusive stores. As was discussed early, some of Crossroad's problem was that the higher end Westroads had alot of the same stores just a couple miles down the road. For Crossroads to get back on it's feet, it needs to offer some things that Westroads doesn't. Someone mentioned a Macy's and I think this is a great idea. Macy's has no locations in the state of Nebraska and would bring much needed traffic to Crossroads. If at all possible, getting a Bloomingdale's (owned by the same company as Macy's) at Crossroads would be a great bonus as well. The closest Bloomingdale's are in MN and IL and would bring in even more "higher class" shoppers to the mall. Obviously Macy's and Bloomingdale's are not the only option, but they are both big name stores that are easily recognized and that would give instant credibility to Crossroads again.
- A good PR campaign. Not much explanation needed for this one. If they're going to go to these measures to revitalize the mall, then they need to spend the time and effort to let the general public know it's happening. Some TV/radio commercials are always good, and maybe they could keep the news stations informed of any updates so that it gets reported on. Maybe have some type of event like a carnival or concert to attract people.
- A free/low cost trolley or shuttle to and from Westroads. Again, someone mentioned this earlier in the thread and I think it's a GREAT idea. It would be mutually benefical for both malls as it would encourage shoppers who normally visit just one mall to visit the other. The distance isn't far, so if the two malls could come to some agreement to split the costs, it could probably work.
Anyways, that is my take on the matter. Hopefully some or all of that becomes reality, as I'm sure many others have similar fond memories of the mall and want to see it saved. :yes:
OmahaJaysCU wrote:I honestly think the only hope for that mall is to either renovate the heck out of it or tear it down and start over. With the new target I doubt they would do the latter.
If they do the latter they should do sometype of mixed use development. There are a lot of businesses in the area, Crossroads is just a walking distance away.
I really would hate to see Crossroads get torn down, althought I really doubt it happens. It's going to take some work and commitment to save that mall though.
As an update, I was in there last week. The whole North side past Victoria's Secret was blocked off, as was the entire upstairs. Each time I go in there, I am shocked at the tenants. The sword store is gone, as I expected, but we now have a balloon store.
justnick wrote:What does one do in a balloon store that can't be done at the dollar tree down the street?
There were some interesting balloon animals. However, I will go to the Shriner's if I get an urge to have some balloon animals. I am not going to the mall to buy some.
joeglow wrote:As an update, I was in there last week. The whole North side past Victoria's Secret was blocked off, as was the entire upstairs. Each time I go in there, I am shocked at the tenants. The sword store is gone, as I expected, but we now have a balloon store.
joeglow wrote:As an update, I was in there last week. The whole North side past Victoria's Secret was blocked off, as was the entire upstairs. Each time I go in there, I am shocked at the tenants. The sword store is gone, as I expected, but we now have a balloon store.
I wonder what that is all about.
I could not tell if it was temporary or not. There were 2 store fronts in the food court (all others were boarded up) and they appeared to be functional. So, maybe it is temporary.
joeglow wrote:As an update, I was in there last week. The whole North side past Victoria's Secret was blocked off, as was the entire upstairs. Each time I go in there, I am shocked at the tenants. The sword store is gone, as I expected, but we now have a balloon store.
Any barriers have been removed as of today. The escalators are working at this time, although there is not a single tenant on the top floor, including in the food court. All food court restaurants have been shut down (it looks permanent). Sbarro's signage is gone, but the two oriental places still have signs up. The only thing up there was a temporary one-day AARP meeting in the old Zone 502 bay across from management (which is still there as well).
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Perhaps they have secret redevelopment plans up their sleaves and are waiting for everyone else's leases to run out before they spring them on us.
I think you may be closer than you think on your answer. This is going on all around the Country. The move by major retailers was made to the more "hip" outdoor shopping areas and it was the beginning of the end for indoor malls. Now, it's a retail circus side show. Westroads and Oakview are better but they are headed in the same direction. When you are "Dick's Balloon Shop" sure you will lease a bay for $200....there's a Target right next door. What if your Target? How long will you suffer being next to Dick's Balloon Shop. Let all the leases run out, redevelop and re-lease.
I think it would be cool to develop an indoor/outdoor mall. Imagine a Village Point with an even larger structure covering portions of the retail.
I've heard that it's not all that great. Plus during the DT Master plan meetings they said that we already have about 80% of what those places have and it's natural and not contrived attempt at organic urban recreation.
I think it should be torn down and developed into something else, perhaps a tall office building (20 stories or so) or an urban Aksarben-like village except larger and more dense.
I think it may be best if they kept the 3 anchors and parking garage and tore the rest down. Then build more of a urban lifestyle center including retail, apartments (affordable for UNO students) and public spaces. If they reconfigured the parking to allow an interesting building right on the corner and took over the adjacent space by blockbuster and included it as well, it could totally change the character of the corner.
MrPoloShirt wrote:I think it should be torn down and developed into something else, perhaps a tall office building (20 stories or so) or an urban Aksarben-like village except larger and more dense.
Screw that. Get some new (hopefully exclusive) tenants in there along with a decent renovation and Crossroads will be fine.
MrPoloShirt wrote:I think it should be torn down and developed into something else, perhaps a tall office building (20 stories or so) or an urban Aksarben-like village except larger and more dense.
Screw that. Get some new (hopefully exclusive) tenants in there along with a decent renovation and Crossroads will be fine.
Ummm. Please look at post number 4 in the thread almost 4 YEARS ago. I almost think the Center Mall has a better chance.
I'm also thinking that this mall is practically beyond saving. They should have offered free rent for a year or two for a few select retailers, something that would draw. Think the Apple store before it went into VP. Bring in a few (3-6) things like that starting about 5 years ago and we would be talking a lot differently about Crossroads.
the1wags wrote:I'm also thinking that this mall is practically beyond saving. They should have offered free rent for a year or two for a few select retailers, something that would draw. Think the Apple store before it went into VP. Bring in a few (3-6) things like that starting about 5 years ago and we would be talking a lot differently about Crossroads.
What makes it beyond saving? The only thing wrong with it is lack of care and and promotion by Simon. It could be brought back, probably fairly easily, if Simon would just commit to it.
What store is going to go in there now without HEAVY incentives, if even then? It's chicken and the egg. Need stores to bring traffic, now you need traffic to bring stores. The place is a ghost town.
