Trolley Square launching renovation
By Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret Morning News
The first signs of Trolley Square's $40 million renovation are going up this week, as workers prepare the mall for redevelopment.
Artist Rendering, Scanlan Kemper Bard
N. Thomas Bard, principal of mall owner SkanlonKemperBard, said Wednesday that barricades are now up to steer traffic away from construction areas in the mall's main building.
"We have received our demolition permit and expect to receive the building permits within the next couple of weeks," Bard said. "Work will start very soon."
SKB and its Trolley partner, Blake Hunt Ventures, announced last fall a $40 million redevelopment at the historic retail site. The plans call for a new building in the northeast corner of the Trolley Square block, which will house a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods store; a $6 million renovation of the main building; a new parking structure; and the possibility of new upscale residences.
Ahead of the various demolition phases, some of the mall's tenants have been or will be asked to relocate, Bard said. In the first phase, those include Ypsilon and Casa Bella. The Brass Key and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory have closed temporarily and will return midsummer.
Mall management will provide store locator maps, updated as needed.
"Our initial work is going to be in the southeast corner and the northwest corner" of the building, Bard said. "So, we had a couple of folks we needed to relocate to free up that space.
"We recognize there will be some inconveniences and changes in the mall as we embark on our restoration plans. The long-term outcome, however, will be an even more exciting and dynamic gathering place, rich with historic integrity and all the elements of a premier destination where the community can socialize, live, work and play."
The mall will remain open during redevelopment, Bard said. Most of the mall's local tenants, and all of its restaurants and national retailers, have chosen to stay at Trolley Square through the renovation.
In addition, Trolley is in lease talks with several national retailers, many of which will be making their first entry into the Utah market. Bard declined to name names Wednesday, saying an announcement could come in 60 to 90 days.
"There will be some that will be new to the market," Bard said. "We've gotten feedback that a number of them are really interested in one location in the Salt Lake City market and that they'd like it to be at Trolley Square. Others already have locations in Utah and would like to add Trolley Square. But for most of our strong local retailers, this is their only location, and we are thrilled to find so much enthusiasm on their part in staying."
Among them are Tabula Rasa and Cabin Fever, both owned by David Dean.
"This is a very dynamic project, and we are thrilled to be a part of it," Dean said in a prepared statement. "This renovation has been long overdue, and it will help secure Trolley Square's place in Utah's exciting retail market."
If all goes as planned, Bard said, the entire redevelopment may take two years. Construction on the Whole Foods building is scheduled to start later this fall, he said, and likely would take 18 months to complete.
"It's a little optimistic," Bard said of the timeline. "But we're optimistic."
Also in the works: Bard said the western parking garage is slated to be torn down and rebuilt, a project that could begin in the next 30 days, pending the appropriate permits.
When the project is finished, SKB has said the new Trolley Square will retain all of the elements that have distinguished it in the past but will emerge augmented with new elements that will make the shopping experience brighter, more open and more conducive to longer, more social visits. In addition to the new structures, new elements include fountains and fireplaces, brighter walkways and corridors, and possibly the creation of a domed interior courtyard area where special events may be held.
Also Wednesday, Bard issued more thanks to the community following the shootings at Trolley in February.
"The continuing support of the local community has been enormous," he said. "The customers are coming regularly, sales are better this year than (at the same time) last year. We have every reason to be appreciative of the support we've had, and we are."
Overhaul for Trolley Square
Parking, not shooting, is behind plan to build residences elsewhere
By Lesley Mitchell
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/11/2007 11:40:17 PM MDT
Trolley Square shopping center in Salt Lake City will get a half dozen new stores under a new plan unveiled Wednesday before the Salt Lake City Planning Commission.
The mall, built on an old trolley complex in use until 1945, became a shopping mall in the early 1970s. Real estate investment company ScanlanKemperBard Cos, which purchased the property last year, is partnering with developer Blake Hunt Ventures to overhaul the existing mall, add Utah's first Whole Food natural grocery store and rebuild the mall's aging parking structure.
That overhaul had included adding condominiums or apartments on the west end of the Trolley Square property, which is located on the block between 500 South and 600 South and 600 East and 700 East.
But Tom Bard of ScanlanKemperBard said his company instead will add about 37,000 square feet of retail space - five or six stores - to the west of the mall on the same level as the main mall above a new underground parking structure. Residences will now be built south of 600 South on property that is now mainly a surface parking lot.
Bard said the decision to remove the residential component in the first phase of development has nothing to do with the tragedy that occurred at the mall on Feb. 12, when 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic went on a rampage and shot nine people in and around Trolley Square, killing five of them.
Rather, the two companies have determined providing the parking needed to support residences at that location would be much cheaper than on the west side of the main mall, Bard said.
A number of people who live near Trolley Square were disappointed in the new plan.
"We were definitely happier when there was a residential component on the west side," said Thomas Mutter, chairman of the Central City Neighborhood Council, which includes Trolley Square,
That said, Mutter praised Trolley Square developers for their efforts to listen to what people in the community have to say about their plans and in some cases, tweak their plans.
Work on rebuilding the parking structure will begin in mid-May; once that is completed work on the additional retail space will begin, Bard said. Work on the original mall is scheduled to begin any day pending approval of a final permit.
The companies are planning a major interior renovation of the shopping center that will reorient the mall and get rid of the mall's "dark feel" and dated design, said Bard. Skylights will be uncovered and dead-end corridors removed.
The work should add about 20,000 square feet of retail space to the 160,000-square-feet, two-story shopping center. Bard said work on the 50,000 square foot Whole Foods store should begin by late fall, with opening set for late 2008 or early 2009.
Much of the work on the mall will be done after business hours so that existing retailers - and shoppers - are affected as little as possible. Okland Construction of Salt Lake City, which has experience in after-hours renovation work, has been hired to handle the renovation.
Bard said the tragedy at the mall has not affected Trolley's sales, which are up "a bit" from last year, he said.
"The support of customers and community has been outstanding," he said. "You couldn't hope for a stronger response."
Several merchants, however, are still leaving the mall because of rent increases proposed by Trolley owners.
Years ago, in an effort to fill numerous vacancies in the aging property, the former owner brought in a number of tenants at reduced rent. Many of those leases are month-to-month in nature, and Trolley owners have notified these tenants their rent is going up.
Trolley tenant Vida Allahverdi said she has operated Studio V2 clothing store in the mall for eight years.
Last month, she said she was asked to sign a long-term lease with rent four times higher than she is paying now. She refused to pay the higher rents and was told she has to be out of Trolley by next week.
"Everyone is asking if I'm leaving because of the shooting," she said. "I tell them no, it's been bought and they are raising everyone's rent. It's pretty sad."
Most tenants, however, hope to remain in the mall - now and in the future.
Eric Moldenhauer of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory said his company is vacating Trolley - but only for a few months during the remodeling this summer. But they vow to be back. "We are excited they are redoing the mall - it will be so much nicer," he said.
Trolley Square tenants' plans
Local tenants open through construction: Black Chandelier, Basket Loft, Cabin Fever, Casa Bella, DownEast T-shirts, European Linen, Haroons, Palmers Gallery, Payne Anthony Jewelry, Secret Garden, Tabula Rasa, The Spectacle, Trolley Taffy, Which Watch, Ypsilon, Regency Theaters
Restaurants open through construction: Green Street Social Club, Hard Rock Cafe, Old Spaghetti Factory, Pub Desert Edge Brewery, Rodizio Grill, Trolley Wing
National tenants open through construction: Banana Republic, Bath and Body Works, Brookstone, Harolds, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Restoration Hardware, Sharper Image, Vitamin World, Wells Fargo Bank, Williams Sonoma
Tenants temporarily closing and returning midsummer: Brass Key, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
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