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The new owners say they'll renovate the center and rename it Crossroads Mall.
By MARK ALBRIGHT
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 17, 2000
A Miami partnership has purchased the Bay Area Outlet Mall and will give it a makeover.
The partners will rename it Crossroads Mall and pour more than $1-million into the property at East Bay Drive and U.S. 19, one of the busiest corners in mid-Pinellas County. Price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Built in 1984 at the beginning of the outlet mall craze, Bay Area Outlet Mall never caught on despite its location. Few of the stores were true factory outlets. Empty storefronts have been one of the biggest problems at the mall, which has been only about 75 percent occupied since it was last sold in 1996.
"We're going to reposition this mall as a value-oriented mall which is really what it's been all along," said Rob Oppenheim, president of Gulfside Development Co., the managing partner of the new ownership group that also owns two once-troubled outlet malls in the Carolinas.
Bay Area Outlet Mall has 288,000 square feet of leaseable space on 34 acres. About 200,000 people live within 5 miles.
Renovations will include a new paneled wood floor in the common areas, floor-to-ceiling windows for all storefronts and a new ceiling. The entrances will be spruced up. Gulfside says it has five of seven tenants lined up for a new food court.
"We intend to invest in and hold onto this mall for a long time," Oppenheim said.
Clearwater car dealer J.O. Stone built the mall. Aetna Life Insurance Co. took over in 1996 and went through several management companies in search of a winning formula.
With sales of about $180 a square foot, Bay Area Outlet Mall has performed decently but lagged behind regional malls in the Tampa Bay area that typically generate twice as much sales productivity. Its anchors include such off-price discounters as TJ Maxx and Ross Dress for Less. Beall's Outlet is the third anchor. Two of them recently extended their leases. And Beall's Inc. also is moving its Cottage Gate gift store from Clearwater Mall.
Gulfside hopes to woo more disenchanted merchants from Clearwater Mall. Five miles north, Clearwater Mall has lost two department store anchors, and the new owners plan to eventually convert the mall into a large shopping center for stores the size of Home Depot and Toys "R" Us.
Largo officials voted in December to annex Bay Area Outlet Mall.