Meadowood Mall finishes makeover

As the start of the holiday shopping season approaches that would be Nevada Day in these parts crews at Meadowood Mall are hustling to wrap up significant changes in the regional center.

The changes, the largest since Meadowood Mall was expanded in 1995, haven't been high-profile.

Mostly, they've involved new tenants, expansion of existing stores and some changes in store locations.

But by the time the work is completed, about 16 percent of the mall's 313,000 square feet of leasable space a figure that doesn't include anchor tenants will have been affected by the changes.

Twenty of the mall's 108 stores have been involved.

Total investment by retailers and the mall's owner? About $5 million.

"We're down to the final crunch of getting all these stores open," said Mall Manager General Tony Vail.

Even though the retail floor area in the mall was reduced throughout the year by ongoing construction projects, Vail said the property expects to post record gross sales figures for the year.

That projection is based on the mall management's assumption that holiday sales hold up an assumption based on the growing population in northern Nevada as well as continued economic strength in the region.

Vail said no single event spurred the flurry of activity within the mall.

Instead, he said, a number of leases came due at about the same time that a couple of medium-sized tenants music retailer Sam Goody and clothier The Limited departed Meadowood Mall.

That set off a series of domino-like changes within the mall.

The Buckle, a casual apparel store, opened in the space occupied by Sam Goody.

Charlotte Russe, a contemporary women's clothing store targeting the 15- to 35-year-old market, will occupy much of the space left vacant by The Limited.

Those two retailers are among 10 additions to the mall.

Already open are Anchor Blue Kids, Ecco Shoes, Finish Line and Guys and Dolls Shoe Repair.

Under construction are Devon's Jewelers, Aldo Shoes, Steak Escape and Bully's Sports Bar.

Vail said the addition of Bully's is particularly noteworthy because it provides a traditional sit-down restaurant to the mall's lineup.

The Sharper Image store in the mall, meanwhile, doubled its space.

Other stores that expanded or relocated in recent months include Limited Too, Clare's, Cinnabon, Hot Cats, The Watch Station, Things Remembered, Anchor Blue and Pacific Sunwear.

Both Sunglass Hut locations in the mall, meanwhile, were remodeled.

Vail said Meadowood Mall will be 99 percent occupied through the holiday season, although four smaller spaces will be on short-term holiday leases.

The mall's retail merchandising units those kiosk-like carts outside traditional stores also are fully leased.

The work, Vail said, was surprisingly complicated in some instances, particularly when shop sizes changed and needed different mechanical requirements.

"There was a lot of engineering work that's been done in the background," he said.

Cynthia Moore, the mall's marketing director, said customers appear to be accepting the changes.

"The word has been very positive because they have so much more to choose from," she said.

The mall, with a total leasable area of 890,000 square feet once the space of its anchor stores is included, is owned by Taubman Centers Inc.

of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

The company owns 31 malls in 13 states.