Mall Talk

Despite changes in buying habits, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza continue to thrive

Belk will be demolished mid-2018 and the expansion will be opened in phases throughout 2020, she said. One of the city’s fire stations is located near the Belk and will be relocated closer to the center of the mall, Suggs said.

The overall trend of increased residential properties and hotels in the Buckhead area also has helped draw traffic to the malls, Suggs said. Rates to rent space in both malls are among the top 10 percent in the country, she said.

Malls across the country are bringing in more entertainment venues, including restaurant and video arcade Dave & Buster’s, concert venues and movie theaters to compliment the retail section, Suggs said. Phipps plans to join this trend by adding a raised stage in a planned outdoor common area that will be built during the expansion, Suggs said.

“The trend in the shopping center business is to develop an experiential opportunity — a reason for you to come to the mall and spend time with us,” she said. “It’s the wave of what’s to come.”

The stage is planned to be used to host concerts during the lunch hour or after business hours and for business events, she said.

Despite the decrease in malls’ popularity and the fact that several have closed across the country in recent years, Suggs said both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza are performing well. She said she still believes people prefer to buy things at physical locations.

“The majority of people want to see it, want to feel it, want to try it on and be around other people,” she said.

By Evelyn Andrews

The planned Phipps Plaza expansion is ushering in the “next generation” of malls by bringing a hotel, Robin Suggs, who manages its sister mall Lenox Square, said at a Buckhead Business Association breakfast Dec. 7.

Simon Property Group, which owns both malls, announced last month its plans to expand Phipps Plaza, located at 3500 Peachtree Road, with a Nobu hotel and restaurant, expansive fitness center and office tower. The expansion will be built where the current Belk store is located.

“When opportunity arises such as this where you can redevelop an anchor store, hotels have proven a very good investment,” Suggs said.

Hotels work well with malls because they bring visitors into the mall ecosystem and they are more likely to spend more time at the mall, she said.

“You’re bringing in the visitor and affording them the opportunity to spend as much time as they want in the shopping environment,” Suggs said.

Business Briefs

Gamma Real Estate has announced a $4 million renovation to one of Downtown’s iconic office buildings, The Hurt Building. Renovations will add an amenity floor to the building’s penthouse and revitalize the lobby’s original marble details while introducing a modern touch to the century-old property. Atlanta-based architects Plexus Research + Design are behind the renovation plans. Designed in 1913 by architect Joel Hurt, the 18-story building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Renovations are expected to be complete by first quarter 2018. In addition to a new Starbucks and Relay bike share station, Gamma is pursuing additional retail options to activate the building’s main level.

Re-usable packaging provider Tosca has relocated to Colony Square. Formerly located in Downtown, the company has moved its corporate headquarters to occupy an entire floor at Colony Square in Midtown.

Old Fourth Ward’s Ponce City Market and the award-winning HowStuffWorks podcast company have teamed up to launch the Question Booth. Every week, HowStuffWorks will post a different big question at the booth, collecting dozens of diverse answers from the public as part of a project to face our big dilemmas and celebrate our differing opinions. Producers from HowStuffWorks will be on hand at the booth to drive the conversation with thought-provoking prompts and follow-up questions, while large viewing windows on every side of the booth will allow visitors a peek into the live recording. The booth is free and open to the public.

Even retailers that first existed only online are beginning to move into malls, including Amazon, which has opened a kiosk in Lenox Square, Suggs said.

In response to a question about how this expansion may cause an increase in traffic, especially in the Wieuca Road and Phipps Boulevard intersection, Suggs said several initiatives are in the works.

Suggs works closely on these projects through her positions with the Buckhead Community Improvement District and Livable Buckhead.

In addition to other traffic calming measures, a roundabout has been proposed for the Wieuca/Phipps intersection. It has been met with some pushback from the community and may not ultimately be the chosen project.

“I’m not sure we’ll finally land on the roundabout, but there are initiatives in place because everybody recognizes there is tremendous gridlock in that particular area,” Suggs said.

The malls have just as much to lose as residents would if traffic worsens because increased gridlock could decrease visitors to the malls, Suggs said.

“If we are in gridlock, we’re all feeling the pain,” she said.

Hudson Grace has opened in the Westside Provisions district, 1210 Howell Mill Road #105A, offering modern dinnerware, glassware, table linens, napkins, flatware, candles, interior scent and other serving and entertaining products. The orginal San Francisco location was founded in 2012 by friends and cofounders Monelle Totah and Gary McNatton.

Capital Analytics annual business review guide, Focus: Atlanta, is out now. The yearly business guide reviews the business climate of metro Atlanta, analyzing the area’s top industries and interviewing leading local CEOs. The 160-plus page report is Atlanta’s first comprehensive yet concise view of the region’s ever-diversifying economy. To purchase a copy, visit capitalanalyticsassociates.com.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, one of the nation’s leading auction houses, will expand its regional reach to Atlanta. With headquarters in Chicago, this will be the firm’s eighth location in addition to Denver, Milwaukee, Naples, Palm Beach, Scottsdale and St. Louis. Mary Calhoun, who spent seven years at Sotheby’s New York, has been hired as director of business development for the location.