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(HARRISBURG, PA – December 2004) – Feldman Equities of Arizona, LLC, a re-developer of underperforming enclosed shopping malls, has announced the successful grand opening of the new 225,000 square-foot Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World at the Harrisburg Mall in Harrisburg, PA. The world's leading supplier of outdoor products celebrated its 26th store's Grand Opening on November 18th. The store is one of two new anchor tenants that have signed new long term leases at the Harrisburg Mall, located at the intersection of I-83 and Paxton Street.
The opening of the new Bass Pro Shops follows the Spring 2004 opening of a new 185,000 square-foot Boscov’s Department Store in the former JC Penney space at the Harrisburg Mall. The addition of Bass Pro Shops to the space vacated by Lord & Taylor in 2003 marks the latest triumph in this remarkable turnaround project at the once faltering 900,000 square-foot regional mall acquired by Feldman Equities in late 2003. The Bass Pro Shops store is a super store of hunting, fishing and camping equipment.
"It is truly gratifying to see so many people turn out for the grand opening of this fantastic new store," said Larry Feldman, president and CEO of Feldman Equities. "This remarkable shopping destination is a retail marvel and the centerpiece of our $47 million renovation of the Harrisburg Mall."
In addition to the extensive interior upgrades, Feldman Equities has completed significant exterior renovations as well. The mall facade has been completely refurbished; the entrances to the mall have been rebuilt and renovated; sharply increased lighting has been added to the parking lot and facade; the entire parking lot has been repaved and re-striped; and the mall’s signage has been upgraded. The food court, restrooms and cooling systems of the mall also have been extensively renovated to the standard of a first class mall.
In addition to the improvements made by Feldman, the state of Pennsylvania, together with the township of Swatara, the Central Dauphin County school district, and Dauphin County all collectively contributed $8 million dollars in economic development aid to the property, including funds to upgrade the mall's Paxton Street access road and exit on Interstate 83.
Anticipation of the new store opening was so great that a traffic advisory was issued for the surrounding area during the morning rush hour. Over 100,000 shoppers visited the mall during the first four days, but despite the throngs of people, the recently improved signage and access roads to the Harrisburg Mall kept traffic flowing.
The new store itself was very well received. Bass Pro Shops expanded the former Lord and Taylor site and extensively renovated the massive 225,000-square-foot space, which sports an Adirondack hunting lodge theme, complete with knotted pine pillars and hundreds of wildlife mounts, a 60,000-gallon aquarium with 200 native fish, a rock climbing wall, murals by Pennsylvania artists and antique fishing tackle. Feldman Equities is proud that it is the first developer in the country to work with Bass Pro Shops on the placement of a live trout stream that runs through the middle of the mall corridors. A Fine Gun Room features guns from the 1800s to the present for sale and viewing. For shopping, separate departments are set up for fishing, fly fishing, hunting, archery, clothing, camping, NASCAR, golf, marine and boating. Shoppers can climb a 40 foot rock climbing wall, test their archery skills in an indoor archery range, test fly fishing equipment in the store’s ponds, and experience what it’s like to drive NASCAR race cars in the store’s side-by-side simulators. Excluding its flagship store, the Harrisburg location is the largest Bass Pro Shops in the nation.
Festivities at the Bass Pro Shops grand opening included special exhibits, celebrity guests, storewide savings and fantastic giveaways. Shoppers could visit with experts on fishing, hunting, dog training, boating and more, see huge displays from the industry's top manufacturers and talk with factory representatives to get the latest information on new products.
The store offers nearly three football fields of outdoor excitement including the area's largest selection of quality gear for fishing, hunting, camping, boating and marine. However, Bass Pro Shops is much more than a hunting and fishing store. It offers equipment for hiking, backpacking, outdoor cooking and more. Shoppers will find outdoor apparel for men, women and children, along with a fine selection of outdoor, casual and athletic footwear. A gift and nature center serves up a wide variety of outdoor-related items from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture. Known for bringing the outdoors indoors, visitors will also be treated to outdoor art, state record fish and game mounts and various area fishing and hunting artifacts.
Interested in learning a new outdoor skill or improving existing ones? Watch for the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Skills Workshops schedule. These are free classes that will be offered on a regular basis and will include topics like outdoor cooking, nature photography, fly fishing, camping, archery and more. Widely recognized for their efforts in conservation and outdoor education, Bass Pro Shops has received more conservation awards than any other outdoors retailer.
"The grand opening, which was marked by a fund raising event, 'An Evening for Conservation,' was successful not only for Bass Pro Shops but for all of the mall's retailers," said Mark Nobile. "Since Bass Pro's opening, the Harrisburg Mall has experienced a significant increase in mall traffic prompting store managers to report dramatic increases in sales. Bass Pro also reported that their original sales projections were surpassed."
Bass Pro Shops, with headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, currently has 26 locations across the United States and attracts some 66 million visitors a year. Other stores scheduled to open this year include Las Vegas, NV; Toronto, Canada; and Myrtle Beach, SC. More locations are planned for 2005 and 2006. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops store locations, products or special events, visit www.basspro.com .
Feldman Equities is the modern business entity that encompasses a century of success in commercial real estate development, management and ownership throughout the United States. In the last 25 years, Larry Feldman and his father Edward Feldman, together with their partners Jim Bourg and Scott Jensen, have developed or acquired over 10 million square feet of office and retail properties with an aggregate value in excess of $1.3 billion. Feldman Equities is a standout, recognized for its hands-on approach to turning around distressed assets. Today, Feldman Equities owns a portfolio of enclosed retail shopping malls in Arizona and Pennsylvania and is in contract to acquire an additional property in Albany, New York.
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