 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shopping Centers Today -> June 2002
 PRINT THIS STORY: |
  CHANGE TEXT SIZE: |
AN OLD MALL 205 GETS A NEW LIFE
 |
| A new layout and anchors are rejuvenating Portland’s first enclosed mall. |
The loss of its anchor tenant, Montgomery Ward, threatened the very existence of 30-year-old Mall 205, the first enclosed center in Portland, Ore.
But the center’s owner, Gresham, Ore.-based Center Oak Properties, refused to give up on the property, which is located at the intersection of Interstate 205 and Southeast Washington Street. Instead, Center Oak reconfigured the center’s layout, drew in new anchors and completely changed its appearance. Now the future of Mall 205 is looking up.
Built in 1970, the 400,000-square-foot center opened as a small regional mall, anchored at one end by Montgomery Ward and at the other by a now defunct retailer called White Front. When White Front went out of business in the late 1970s, its space was converted to in-line mall space, a configuration that was kept for more than 20 years.
But a more radical overhaul was provoked by Montgomery Ward’s bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation early last year. The result is a new mix of tenants, most notably a 133,233-square-foot Home Depot that opened last November and a 176,000-square-foot Target that opens next month.
“This is a total renovation. … It is way overdue,” said Kim Maguire, Center Oak’s regional marketing director. “Since Home Depot opened, our other tenants have felt a big increase in traffic. And with Target opening in July, it’s really going to feed that cross traffic throughout the mall.”
 |
The mall has also added a 36,000-square-foot 24 Hour Fitness center along with new national and local in-line tenants, including Car Stereo City, Famous Footwear, Pizza Schmizza and Wildhorse Bakery Café. These are replacing Rite Aid and a second-run movie theater, among other former tenants.
Center Oak renovated the parking lot, installing a system of rectangular grids with 20-foot-wide sidewalks and 900 new trees. A ditch for catching parking lot runoff looks more like a park, complete with plantings and bird feeders.
Part of the overhaul was a complete change in the mall’s blank, walled exterior, giving it a downtown look complete with glass storefronts, colorful awnings and tree-lined sidewalks. Inside, the mall has a new food court, ceiling and floor.
The center also has three pad sites, one of which is home to a Red Robin chain restaurant. Overall, Center Oak says it has spent $32 million to remake the property, which has about 400,000 people living within a five-mile radius.
— D.B.
 | Current Issue November 2008 |