"I would agree, the suburban mall era is starting to come to an end."

 

 

This is bad news for parents.  From my experience, malls served America as the week-end baby-sitters of teenagers.  What will parents do if there are no malls near-by?

I'm not a father yet but I don't think I'd want my kids becoming mall rats. Even if it is a good babysitter on weekends. TV screens are good babysitters too and I've wasted too much of my childhood glued to one.

"I would agree, the suburban mall era is starting to come to an end."

 

 

This is bad news for parents.  From my experience, malls served America as the week-end baby-sitters of teenagers.  What will parents do if there are no malls near-by?

 

Drop them off at the lifestyle center.

I don't think Tri-County is going anywhere, it lost one major store that has a new model and JCPenney stock price has reflected their change in business model. Now Cincinnati Mills and Northgate, who knows. Northgate seems old and outdated, not good with the new Towne Centre (SP? I don't know if we use old English or American English anymore).

but I actually think that the decent ones that can survive will continue to do pretty well (see Kenwood Towne Center).

 

^^^ That looks like it was the Columbus City Center Sbarro.

 

edit: On second thought, no it's not.

Now Cincinnati Mills and Northgate, who knows. Northgate seems old and outdated, not good with the new Towne Centre (SP? I don't know if we use old English or American English anymore).

 

In the Cincinnati area, "town" always has a silent "e" for some reason.

Mall opens up to vastly different uses

Amusement park fills department store space

BY LISA BIANK FASIG | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

November 23, 2007

 

IMAGE: The 50,000 square-foot Krazy City amusement park at Tri-County Mall occupies the second and third floors and includes carnival rides and a miniature golf course.

Courtesy of Krazy City

 

SPRINGDALE - Tri-County Mall is ready to take on the Tornado.

 

It's also prepared for the Velocity, a go-cart track and a 25-foot-high rock wall. That's because the Springdale shopping center, undergoing a massive renovation of a former anchor store, is in the midst of a whirlwind interior conversion.

 

Where its J.C. Penney anchor store once stood, architects and construction crews are reinforcing floors and blowing through ceilings. By late December, the Krazy City indoor amusement park, a $7 million undertaking that will include carnival rides, a miniature golf course, a 300-seat restaurant and a sand pit seeded with fossils - among other attractions - will open in the second and third floors of the former Penney.

 

And because Krazy City starts on the second level, its floors had to be strengthened to withstand the weight not only of the rides, but of the hundreds of people the 50,000-square-foot park can serve.

 

^Don't think they'll have to worry about that

^hahahah!

didn't forest fair mall also try to have an indoor amuesment park?

^ You'd think so by their carnival-style logo.

Yeah, they have Wonderpark which is like Chuck-e-Cheese minus the mascot and plus a little rollercoaster thing.

Tri-County also opened their new glass atrium.  NEW GLASS ATRIUM!!!

Springdale charts plan to revive aging retail row

City hopes ideas serve as road map for private investors

BY LAURA BAVERMAN | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

March 7, 2008

 

SPRINGDALE - A city of Springdale plan to revitalize its Tri-County retail corridor could spark as much as $100 million in redevelopment and include the repositioning of some properties as mixed-use centers.

 

Springdale nine months ago hired Covington architecture and planning consultant Kinzelman, Kline & Gossman to analyze demographic data and vacancy rates and to discuss the community's commercial viability with property owners, brokers and retailers. The firm and Springdale development director Jeff Tulloch will present initial findings and suggestions to City Council March 11. Officials hope to present plans to stakeholder groups by mid-April.

 

Among the ideas: provide new signage, streetscaping, transportation offerings, economic incentives and development guidelines to encourage private investment.

 

 

Mind-blowing stuff here.

 

Why don't they rename all of Sprindale "Krazy City" and have a bunch of carnival rides everywhere.  But then again, they'll have to reinforce the concrete floor to support 100s of customers.

I just visited Tri-County Mall and it's looking quite sad in there. There are a lot of vacancies, especially in the Sears wing. I was also puzzled by their decision to build new buildings on the outlots. Men's Warehouse and Starbucks have moved from inside the mall to one of the new buildings. If the mall is already starting to die, why would you build more retail space in front of the mall and poach your own tenants?

Starbucks probably wanted to open earlier than 10am and have a drive thru.

December 9, 2020:

 

Macy's to close this spring:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/macys-inc-will-close-tri-county-mall-store-by-april

#RIPTCM

Well, I guess I should go up and photograph this dead mall before it truly becomes abandoned or in some preserved zombie state like Cincinnati Mall/Mills.

I had to go in the Tri County Mall last week to go to LensCrafters.  LensCrafters is located in the (former) Sears wing of the wall.  It is literally the ONLY store occupied in that wing of the mall (on either floor). 

 

I briefly walked down to the Macy's wing while I was in there.  That wing appeared to be maybe 30% filled at most?

I'm a little confused why tri county is faltering.

 

The traffic in that area is quite large and their is large population density that surrounds the mall. 

 

It seems on paper that their is enough people living nearby to support this mall?

That doesn't matter if the inline tenants got bought into a private equity play in order to take on the debt of a failed biomedical investment then got taken down by said debt.

2 minutes ago, troeros said:

I'm a little confused why tri county is faltering.

 

The traffic in that area is quite large and their is large population density that surrounds the mall. 

 

It seems on paper that their is enough people living nearby to support this mall?

 

The whole retail corridor from Northland Blvd. over to I-75 is faltering.  There are many strip malls in the area with no major stores remaining.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just think, at one time (1983?) there were two other enclosed malls adjacent to Tri-County. Cincinnati has always been over-retailed.

7 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Just think, at one time (1983?) there were two other enclosed malls adjacent to Tri-County. Cincinnati has always been over-retailed.

 

I remember going to Markets International once.  It was packed.  The place only lasted 2~ years.  

 

We also went to the Music Palace once.  It was a two-level pizza place with an organ player who had special effects like fog and a bubble machine.  

 

I also remember the Swallen's, which was noteworthy for the concrete ramps that fork lifts drove up and down between floors.  I think fork lifts came out onto the department store floor kind of like when you're at Home Depot.  But as a boy the thought of driving a fork lift up and down those ramps was thrilling.  

 

 

 

 

 

Wal-Mart made people forget that retail is a show too, not just "fulfilling basic needs".

I wonder if tri-county and forest fair mall could be re-made into industrial sites. Both have awesome interstate access and tri-county is rail-adjacent. Both are on or near bus routes that could be used by workers from the city. They could re-use the parking garages to save land and build a larger industrial factory/facility or even multiple facilities on the sites.

Edited January 6, 20214 yr by thebillshark

14 minutes ago, thebillshark said:

I wonder if tri-county and forest fair mall could be re-made into industrial sites. Both have awesome interstate access and tri-county is rail-adjacent. Both are on or near bus routes that could be used by workers from the city. They could re-use the parking garages to save land and build a larger industrial factory/facility or even multiple facilities on the sites.

 

The former GE golf course, just north of Tri-County Mall, is now a pair of big warehouses.  

 

 

1 hour ago, troeros said:

I'm a little confused why tri county is faltering.

 

The traffic in that area is quite large and their is large population density that surrounds the mall. 

 

It seems on paper that their is enough people living nearby to support this mall?

 

Same reason Northgate Mall, Forest Fair Mall/Village, and Liberty Center are struggling (to differing degrees, of course). Not enough disposable income. Too many malls, strip malls, and lifestyle centers. Picture a small pie getting sliced into smaller and smaller pieces.

3 hours ago, troeros said:

I'm a little confused why tri county is faltering.

 

The traffic in that area is quite large and their is large population density that surrounds the mall. 

 

It seems on paper that their is enough people living nearby to support this mall?

Whoa! When is the last time we got a BILLION DOLLAR project proposal (you dont count Hollywoodland or what ever you were called) ? https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/12/21/tri-county-mall-redevelopment-planned.html?utm_content=1640120687&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook,twitter&fbclid=IwAR1pfaXT4eQ_l5OxnYajTRwWfDMzHUdtGRBuFpYm-bfoJ4bB1_VPWqJJdOI

$1 billion transformation of Greater Cincinnati mall planned

 

 

A pair of commercial real estate developers are planning to transform one of the region’s largest shopping malls into a mix of apartments, restaurants and retail space, recreation and education facilities, civic space, and science and medical space.

 

MarketSpace Capital LLC and Park Harbor Capital LLC, two Texas-based commercial real estate firms, plan to purchase and repurpose Tri-County Mall into more than 2,300 apartments, with complimentary retail and restaurant space, as well as other amenities and operations.

 

On Dec, 22, Springdale City Council will vote on a development agreement, a major modification to the Tri-County Mall planned unit development, and a memorandum of understanding to possibly relocate the Springdale Community Center to the mall property. The total estimated investment for the redevelopment is between $800 million and $1 billion.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/12/21/tri-county-mall-redevelopment-planned.html

 

How long has Tri-County been in the city of Springdale? I used to be under the impression that it wasn't in the city limits. It is now.

^No, Tri-County has “always” been in the city.

Site plan wasn't included in Business Courier Article but I saw it elsewhere:

Wow, That’s a lot of units! Here is the packet with all the details: https://www.springdale.org/publicfiles/2021 1507 Major Modification to PUD 11700 Princeton Pike City Council Information Packet PT 1 2021 12 22.pdf

I have to admit I've never been inside the Tri-County Mall. But comparing the aerial to the site plan, it looks like they are actually tearing down most of the mall? So not really a repurposing as much as a rebuilding/redeveloping. 

11 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

I have to admit I've never been inside the Tri-County Mall. But comparing the aerial to the site plan, it looks like they are actually tearing down most of the mall? So not really a repurposing as much as a rebuilding/redeveloping. 

I would imagine that they would repupose the department store frames while tearing down the remainder of the mall. The interior is a pretty open space (outside of the storefronts) Not quite sure how you could repurpose much of that into apartments. I can see the department stores being salvageable though as well as the parking decks. I would imagine the mall footprint is somehow worked into the new plan. The original mall was built in the 60's and then they added a second level around 90 as well as building the old Dillard's building.  

 

I could also see that part of the complex that they will "salvage" may be some of the other outbuildings that are currently rented and on mall property but not actually part of the mall. 

 

It will be interesting to see how this looks, but I am with you, I do not see how they salvage most of the actual mall space.

It looks like some of the longer storefront wings or hallways are gutted out and the roof structure kept intact to provide cover from the elements in some areas. Those parts of the mall were added when the second floor was added in the early 1990's in response to Forest fair Mall opening.

 

I've always envisioned Forest Fair being redeveloped like this. Maybe even focusing on a retirement style community with various levels of care and assistance available. A good chunk of the parking lot could become landscape and recreation focused.

1 hour ago, ucgrady said:

Site plan wasn't included in Business Courier Article but I saw it elsewhere:

so it looks like they are keeping the Macy's store, the parking garage and old Dillards int the footprint. It also looks as if they may be repurposing much of the original mall footprint along the main corridor but tearing down the corridor leading to the old Sears store. It also appears they are tearing down the building where BJ's currently is located. 

 

I dont know how they will be able to keep much of the existing structure labeled "residential pavilion" these were retail stores built in the 60's as open air and then a second level was added in the early 90s on top of it. It seems it would be a difficult conversion to apartments given how it was constructed. 

 

I imagine the biggest "cost savings" and benefit to the developer was the existing parking garages that they get to reuse. 

Given how many groups purchased this mall over the last 15 years trying to revive it, I am a little bit of "believe it when i see it" but at the same time, this appears to be the first tangible plan put forward that does not involve putting lipstick on the pig, which is what the past owners have proposed. 

 

I am curious as to the proposal because it seems like it is trying to compete with Liberty Center a bit (but with more apartments) and I tend to think that Liberty Center has the advantage demographicwise at this point. 

They mention salvaging 70% of the existing structure. I can see keeping the garages, out buildings and big department stores but I'm not sure how realistic it is that the indoor mall could be chopped up and converted to apartments but I've also never stepped foot in this mall so I have no idea what the structure is. 

Malls that started out as outdoor malls such as Tri-County are usually easier to chop up than ones that were always enclosed.

 

Some always-enclosed malls are indeed a bunch of separate buildings though. Dayton Mall is like that.

I didn't know it started as an outdoor mall but that makes much more sense.

16 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

They mention salvaging 70% of the existing structure. I can see keeping the garages, out buildings and big department stores but I'm not sure how realistic it is that the indoor mall could be chopped up and converted to apartments but I've also never stepped foot in this mall so I have no idea what the structure is. 

The existing mile structure was a straight shot from the old Macy’s to the BJ’s brewhouse building. It was built in the 1960s as an outdoor structure That was closed in the 70s along with an enclosed wing leading towards the old Sears store. It was a one story mall until the early 90s when I second floor was built on top of the existing structure and stores added on top of the original stores. The old Dillards store was built at that time along with the parking garage.

 

I Would guess it’s a bit like Kenwood where you have a 1960 structure that is wrapped around the 1980s expansion overlay.

Very interesting project. Anybody have old photos of the mall from the 60s or 70s? Would be curious to see what it looked like in its earlier iterations. 

 

 

 

53 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Given how many groups purchased this mall over the last 15 years trying to revive it, I am a little bit of "believe it when i see it" but at the same time, this appears to be the first tangible plan put forward that does not involve putting lipstick on the pig, which is what the past owners have proposed. 

 

I am curious as to the proposal because it seems like it is trying to compete with Liberty Center a bit (but with more apartments) and I tend to think that Liberty Center has the advantage demographicwise at this point. 

 

It looks like this is almost all apartments and restaurants, where Liberty Center is heavy on retail.

3 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

 

It looks like this is almost all apartments and restaurants, where Liberty Center is heavy on retail.

It does seem heavier on restaurants, I thought I saw hotel is part of the concept plan too, But I could be mistaken.