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Proposal would turn ParkSide inside out
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
PINELLAS PARK -- ParkSide mall could be torn down in the next couple of years to make way for a modern shopping center, under a proposal unveiled Wednesday to Pinellas Park officials. Under the tentative plan, the 16-screen movie theaters would remain, but the ice skating rink and stores such as Dillard's, the JCPenney Outlet and Firestone tires would be gone, city officials said. The unveiling came during a "concept meeting" with a buyer for the mall, said Tom Shevlin, the city's assistant community development administrator and zoning director. Shevlin declined to disclose the buyer's name, saying only that the mall is under contract and, if all goes well, the sale should be complete in 45 days. He did not know the purchase price. The new configuration would be designed to make shopping more convenient. Unlike a conventional enclosed mall, the stores would be free-standing with doors opening to the outside, making it easier to park close to a particular shop. Internal corridors would be eliminated, though some stores would be connected. Most stores would be spread around the property in a design that would also ease parking. Gateway Mall on Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Street in St. Petersburg is designed that way. The change would reduce the amount of shopping space from about 880,000 square feet to about 525,000 square feet, Shevlin said. While some tenants would be gone, the goal is to retain some of the strongest tenants. The prospective buyers are meeting with tenants now to find who might be willing to stay. Those tenants would remain open while construction occurred elsewhere on the 64-acre site. When the new stores were completed, the tenants would move in and the existing mall would be flattened to make way for more stores. "It's going to take a number of years for this to happen," Shevlin said. "We're looking at two years, maybe three." The mall opened to great hoopla in 1977, but by 1996 most of the tenants had left. The original owners, DeBartolo Realty Co., turned the property over to John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance, which held a $13-million note on the mall. When Hancock took over, it promised great things: up to $20-million in renovations, an ice skating rink, a 24-screen movie theater, new stores, big tenants. The reality was less glossy. Tampa Bay Skating Academy opened its rink, bringing kids and parents. Some stores did well, and some restaurants seemed to benefit. But many stores continued to struggle. The theater was reduced from 24 to 16 screens. And though moviegoers showed up, many did not walk down the corridor connecting the cineplex with the rest of the mall. The renovations brightened the mall's interior, but the exterior remained uninviting. And a name change from Pinellas Square Mall to Pinellas ParkSide did little to erase the image of a struggling facility. Big new stores and tenants never materialized. By last August, the mall was only 62 percent occupied, and many occupants were unconventional tenants who provided little foot traffic: Amtrak, Time Warner Cable, the Pinellas Park/Mid-County Chamber of Commerce. In the end, continued promises of a better future frustrated city officials. That irritation showed Tuesday night when one council member refused to consider postponing revitalization efforts in an adjoining neighborhood until it was clear the mall would sell. "We've been waiting on the mall so many years, I'm tired of waiting," Pinellas Park council member Rick Butler said. "It's time we started worrying about our neighborhoods instead of ParkSide mall or Pinellas Square Mall or whatever they're calling it next week." Pinellas ParkSide 1977: Opens as Pinellas Square Mall, owned by DeBartolo Realty Co. 1996: DeBartolo turns mall over to John Hancock Life Insurance Co., the lender that held a $13-million note on the mall. Hancock sets out plans for an $18- to $20-million restoration. 1997: Tampa Bay Skating Academy opens ice skating rink; mall renovations proceed. 1997: Montgomery Ward files bankruptcy, decides to close mall store. 1998: Home Depot opens next door. Mall managers say that will help bring in shoppers. 1998: Name changed to Pinellas ParkSide. 1999: JC Penney closes retail store, reopens as a JCPenney Outlet Store. 2001: 16-screen cineplex opens.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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