Builders of the new mall will flatten the ground, fatten a charity fund, and possibly force moviegoers to delay gratification.
By ANNE LINDBERG
Published May 16, 2004
PINELLAS PARK - Bulldozers may begin tearing up asphalt this week now that City Council members have given the go-ahead to demolish ParkSide mall.
Their unanimous decision Thursday to allow mall owner Boulder Venture South LLC to remove the dirt under the steeply sloped parking lot and flatten the site was only one item in a week packed with news about the changes to come:
The 16-screen movie theater might close temporarily during construction. Until now, Boulder Venture had said the theaters would remain open during construction. Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler complained that closing the theaters even temporarily would cost jobs and profits.
The theaters will be barred from adding three screens. The mall's major anchor nixed the idea to prevent parking conflicts, said John Sabow, Boulder Venture's development director.
The new mall will create an estimated 800 new jobs, Sabow said. That number does not include construction jobs during the next 18 to 24 months.
Boulder Venture offered to deposit the fee that Pinellas Park charges to remove dirt - which Sabow estimated at $28,000 in this case - into the city's Angel fund, which is for residents who need one-time help.
"Once I heard about the Angel fund and what it was going to do, there was no question what we wanted to do," said Sabow, who credited mall owner Bob Schmidt with the idea.
The most longed-for information - the names of the tenants, especially the mall anchors - remains a secret. Sabow said the tenants wanted to make their announcements in their own time.
But Sabow released a picture showing what the theaters will look like after reconstruction as well as a more detailed site map. The two images give tantalizing hints about the future of the mall, which will be called Shoppes at Park Place.
The site plan, as before, shows the mall being blown inside out. The main structure is gone, replaced by parking. Stores and restaurants are clustered around the outside.
The theaters are on the south side. The anchor tenant is east of the theaters; the bus transfer area, south of them.
Along the eastern edge of the property are two restaurant spaces, a place for a bank, another for retail or restaurant, and more retail space.
On the north are spaces for retail, fast food and the Applebee's that's already there.
On the west are more retail sites. Residential development is planned behind that, and on mall property on the south side of 70th Avenue N.
The theater would undergo a significant redesign. Currently, folks enter from the east side of the building and descend an elevator to get to the first-floor lobby.
The new entrance will be on the north side near the video game room - or the side that currently faces into the mall. The entry will be on the first floor.
An architect's rendering shows a mostly glass facade topped by a trellislike structure. A giant screen atop the building will show movie trailers to mall visitors and passers-by.
Sabow said bulldozers could be on the property as early as this week to begin scraping up asphalt in the parking lot. Demolition of the building will begin shortly after the June 30 mall closing.
The removal of 350,000 to 400,000 cubic yards of dirt is expected to take about 38 weeks, with workers toiling six days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. When they are done, the property should be flat, as it was before the mall was built in the mid 1970s.
The mall could be gone by July 10, Sabow said. Construction on the $70-million new one is scheduled to take about 18 months, he said.
Some of the "thousand pieces" of equipment will be auctioned off, Sabow said, and the remainder given away. The mall already has donated display pieces, oversized props, holiday items and window dressings to the Pinellas school district.
Leftover toys are earmarked for families in the Healthy Families program. Office equipment has been given to the Youth Park neighborhood homeowners group. A spinet piano and commercial sound system will go to Nina Harris Exceptional Student Educational Center on Monday.
Boulder Venture bought the mall, in trouble since the early 1990s, last May for $12-million. Schmidt also spent about $8-million buying the Dillard's and the JCPenney Outlet store.
Gone are the Dillard's, the JCPenney and Waldenbooks. The ice skating rink at center court is hanging on until the very end.
As stores were closing, Boulder Venture was working on designs and getting approval for changes from various agencies. Last week, the developers made their first appearances before the Pinellas Park council.
At Tuesday's workshop meeting, Ed Taylor said: "You guys are painting yourselves like saviors to this community ... You're not."
But on Thursday, when it came time to vote, council members gave their unanimous approval.
Taylor even praised the proposal to use the waived excavation money for the Angel fund.
"It's a wonderful use for the money," Taylor said. "He's trying to show he has a best foot forward."
Mall owners must come before the council again for zoning changes and other items - likely in the next few months - before construction can begin.
