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Ailing Echelon Mall in Voorhees will soon get a major boost with retail powerhouse Wal-Mart moving into space left by a former J.C. Penney store.
The planned 147,550-square-foot Wal-Mart store is expected to open in 2006, a company spokeswoman said. It will join Boscov's and Strawbridge's as anchor tenants. The plan is for a free-standing Wal-Mart to be built in the former Penney's parking lot.
Getting Wal-Mart's commitment represents the first step in a major redevelopment of the troubled mall, said Joseph Coradino, vice president of retail for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), which acquired the mall last year.
"We're very excited," Coradino said. "It really means the first step in repositioning Echelon Mall. Wal-Mart generates traffic and puts the center in position to resume a full range of consumer needs, from fashion to discount, and will enable the mall to attract other tenants."
Harry Platt, Voorhees Township mayor, who has championed Echelon Mall's revitalization, said:
"We're excited to see that the redevelopment is finally under way. This will generate a lot of new traffic for the mall, which will be a shot in the arm for the entire facility."
Platt said negotiations also are under way with retailers to occupy the top level of the former Sears, which closed in 2001. No leases have been signed yet for that space.
PREIT bought the mall in June last year from Rouse Co. - in an agreement that included five other malls - for $548 million. In addition to the Echelon Mall, the package included the Cherry Hill, Moorestown, Exton Square and Plymouth Meeting Malls, and Center City's Gallery at Market East.
The 34-year-old Echelon Mall, where the number of stores has declined steadily from more than 140 in the late-1990s, to fewer than 100, poses special challenges for PREIT. The mall is hemmed in by Somerdale and Burnt Mill Roads, both county roads, and has no direct access to high-volume highways.
The mall was the municipality's main taxpayer and employer for years before its decline. It still is among the township's highest taxpayers.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mia Masten said that having another store in the South Jersey-Philadelphia market plays well into the company's corporate expansion strategy.
"It's a growing area," she said. "You've got the demographics. You've got the infrastructure in place. It's been a successful market for us already, and we're looking forward to opening in Voorhees."
PREIT officials said tearing down the former Penney's will allow for reconfiguring the troubled mall throughout, such as new mall access and the shifting of some storefronts.
Opening vacant anchor space would be consistent with a growing trend, called "de-malling," said Larry Feldman, president and CEO of Feldman Equities Inc. of Manhasset, N.Y., which redevelops troubled regional malls.
"The proliferation of the discounters, the Wal-Marts and Targets, have had an impact," he said. "They are taking market share from a lot of the smaller and weaker malls.
"The only way to invigorate them is to either revamp the tenancy, or knock down a traditional or vacant anchor, and put in tenants, like a Wal-Mart or Target, or other unique, high-drawing tenants," Feldman said.
Echelon Mall has lost two anchors, Sears and J.C. Penney, since 2001.
The mall yesterday had 51 vacancies, 26 on the second floor, and 25 on the first floor.
Coradino said that eventually many of the stores would be replaced by high-end retailers.
"We're re-doing everything, from top to bottom," he said. "The mall is undergoing a complete renovation, including the paint and indoor lighting."
In December, PREIT confirmed plans to demolish 210,000 square feet of retail space, including the vacant 170,000-square-foot J.C. Penney store, to attract a specialty retailer that could custom design a store.
The current value of Echelon Mall had decreased because of its poor location and high vacancy rate. The tax assessment approved by the municipality allows PREIT to pay based on $23 million, down from $51 million last year.
Last year, the Echelon Mall generated $2.54 million in property taxes and accounted for 3.25 percent of the township's nearly $81 million levy for school, county, library and municipal taxes, according to records. This year, it will yield about $1.2 million under the new rate.
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