NB "Big Mall" Status

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

Interesting that the two malls owned by Pimaris are doing better the CF.

By my math...

#1 Regent Mall = 1% Vacant (4,789/479,800)
#2 McAllister Place = 2.55% Vacant (10,299/403,400)
#3 CF Champlain -= 4.46% Vacant (24,904/558,300)

Depends on how you define "doing better."

Vacancy rates are consistently higher at CF Champlain, but, sales per square foot are better here than at Regent or McAllister.

As for the reason why vacancy is higher at Champlain, this is simply a reflection of the higher rents demanded by Cadillac Fairview. They consider themselves the premium mall owner and developer in the country, and feel justified in charging higher rates.

At present, the vacancy rate at Champlain is higher than I am comfortable with, and, there seems to be a bit of a pause coming in terms of attracting new tenants. Hopefully things will pick up.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Interesting. I didn't realize Regent was that big. It's probably been 20+ years since I've been there....I assume it's had a big expansion at some point as I recall it as being fairly small.

Regent hasn't had any real expansion since Walmart expanded. (I think that was the last major expansion). I can't remember the order, but I seem to remember 4 major expansions of Regent Mall:

* The Big Doubling, when basically the mall went from a straight line to it's more or less current "h" shape.
* Sears Addition: (May have been part of the above) when it grew out to add Sears.
* Theatres/TRU/Chapters addition: When those stores were added.
* Walmart expansion: Walmart did its big renovation, closed off the Basement Discount floor and I think expanded its footprint a bit towards the mounties.

The last of those were in the 90's, maybe early 2000's at most. Otherwise all of Regent's renovations have been within its frame (including the big facelift about 10ish years ago; an older internal reno when they took out the hallway stores in the front half; the big Sports Chek renovation from Smittys (and the Smittys one before that when Superstore moved out), and most recently the big Sears renovation that flipped that end of the mall over to Brick/Dollarama/Urban Planet, and so forth.

I'd say given the (lack of) space Regent has, Primaris is probably toying with some expansion plans, but the mall footprint doesn't really have much more room to grow. Its best option, as I've suggested before, would be to boot Cineplex out and flip that space over to retail. They probably couldn't close in the gap between Walmart and the Cineplex because they need that for deliveries/trucks; but they could probably do a small expansion that way.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Regent hasn't had any real expansion since Walmart expanded. (I think that was the last major expansion). I can't remember the order, but I seem to remember 4 major expansions of Regent Mall:

* The Big Doubling, when basically the mall went from a straight line to it's more or less current "h" shape.
* Sears Addition: (May have been part of the above) when it grew out to add Sears.
* Theatres/TRU/Chapters addition: When those stores were added.
* Walmart expansion: Walmart did its big renovation, closed off the Basement Discount floor and I think expanded its footprint a bit towards the mounties.

The last of those were in the 90's, maybe early 2000's at most. Otherwise all of Regent's renovations have been within its frame (including the big facelift about 10ish years ago; an older internal reno when they took out the hallway stores in the front half; the big Sports Chek renovation from Smittys (and the Smittys one before that when Superstore moved out), and most recently the big Sears renovation that flipped that end of the mall over to Brick/Dollarama/Urban Planet, and so forth.

I'd say given the (lack of) space Regent has, Primaris is probably toying with some expansion plans, but the mall footprint doesn't really have much more room to grow. Its best option, as I've suggested before, would be to boot Cineplex out and flip that space over to retail. They probably couldn't close in the gap between Walmart and the Cineplex because they need that for deliveries/trucks; but they could probably do a small expansion that way.

Last expansion was pre-COVID with The Brick/Dollarama/Urban Planet additions

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Freddypop

Last expansion was pre-COVID with The Brick/Dollarama/Urban Planet additions

Those weren't "Expansions" they were renovations. They chopped up the Sears space, but didn't actually expand the footprint in any meaningful amount.

[Bishop2047]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Those weren't "Expansions" they were renovations. They chopped up the Sears space, but didn't actually expand the footprint in any meaningful amount.

It actually may have cut the gross leasable space, as there is now a significant portion of the former Sears that is a hallway now.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Those weren't "Expansions" they were renovations. They chopped up the Sears space, but didn't actually expand the footprint in any meaningful amount.

Correct you are

[DyAm00394]

CRU Productivity/Sales Per Square Foot numbers updated for April 2024.

- CF Champlain: $787 (was $784 in March). [+$3]

- Regent Mall: $697 (was $701 in March). [-4$]

- McAllister Place: $518 (was $519 in March). [-1$]

[DyAm00394]

Posted this on the Saint John Retail Thread:

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

McAllister Place is for sale!! Listed on June 19th.

The brochure mentions there are plans for up to 526-units of high and medium density residential development on an 11 acre undeveloped portion of the site.

The mall is situated on 79.12 acres, (approximately 44 acres is developed). Also mentioned is that the mall is 98.8% occupied right now.

Link to listing: https://property.jll.com/en-ca/listi...stmorland-road

Link to Brochure: https://res.cloudinary.com/global-de...r_11525031.pdf

[Nashe]

Is it normal for a mall to pop up in a public listing like that? Aren't they normally dealed behind closed doors?

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Is it normal for a mall to pop up in a public listing like that? Aren't they normally dealed behind closed doors?

Brunswick Square is also listed publicly. Must be a newer thing to be listed publicly. They are advertised as investment opportunities.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by Nashe

Is it normal for a mall to pop up in a public listing like that? Aren't they normally dealed behind closed doors?

They are behind the door deals if the asset is something people are actively looking to acquire. It concerns me that both Brunswick Square AND McAllister Place are two assets the current owners have not developed to a level where they would have a long list pf potential buyers and instead, need to be "put up for sale".

To be fair, while McAllister Place is 98% full, the current owners haven't really done much to make the property more attractive to a future buyer (i.e. parking improvements, landscaping, marketing, retail mix. I think it is full because there is demand for space... but certainly not due to it being "a destination" mall like Champlain or similar centres across Canada. Compared to how East Point has been developed up the hill, McAllister Place isn't a very impressive piece of property for shoppers.

I hope this doesn't end up being bought by some "investors" (note the parenthesis) with ZERO retail property management experience like what happened with Brunswick Square. We can't afford another hollowed out shopping mall.

The fact they are advertising for a buyer makes me nervous and concerned that a sub-par buyer may surface which would be a step backwards for the mall, and the city.

I hope not!

[DyAm00394]

One news article revealed the price Primaris is asking for McAllister Place is $75 million. Says a sale at that price would be one of the largest transactions this year in Saint John. And the article says that no bid date is set yet, but is expected sometime in July.

https://greenstreetnews.com/article/...-to-fetch-75m/

I saw someone who works in Brunswick Square mentioned, (on the mayor's post about McAllister Place being for sale), that Slate is asking for $55 million.


As well, today the managing director of Cushman and Wakefield Atlantic spoke with CBC Information Morning about McAllister Place being for sale.

(They've made mention of Brunswick Square as well during the conversation).

But towards the end of the conversation he was asked how attractive McAllister Place will be to potential buyers, he said

“it will be really interesting. There is someone else in our industry who is doing that marketing. This time around I think they will have multiple bidders and I will anticipate, provided the number gets to the threshold that Primaris wants, there could be a transaction inside 12 months”.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio...ter-place-sale

[adamuptownsj]

Man, I was in McAllister (had to stop by Rogers) and it's grim/downscale. Weird stuffed animal go-karts, increasing numbers of phone-repair and knickknack businesses. Odd contrast with the decent renos from a few years ago. Seemed busy all the same. Surprising lack of services-related businesses, but I guess that's hard with few exterior-facing CRUs.

[jonny golden]

I think the (potential) large residential component will make the investment attractive for the right buyer. It seems like the perfect fit for Leyad.

Primaris likely has plans to deploy their capital elsewhere for a better return on investment.

[DyAm00394]

CRU Productivity/Sales Per Square Foot numbers updated for May 2024.

- CF Champlain: $788 (was $787 in April). [+1$]

- Regent Mall: $699 (was $697 in April). [+2$]

- McAllister Place: $523 (was $518 in April). [+5$]

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

CRU Productivity/Sales Per Square Foot numbers updated for May 2024.

- CF Champlain: $788 (was $787 in April). [+1$]

- Regent Mall: $699 (was $697 in April). [+2$]

- McAllister Place: $523 (was $518 in April). [+5$]

Does McAllister lag so much because it contains lower end stores that don't generate high $ sales numbers?........or does it just have less traffic in general?

[michael_d40]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Does McAllister lag so much because it contains lower end stores that don't generate high $ sales numbers?........or does it just have less traffic in general?

I suspect it’s the lack of a Walmart attached to the mall. As much as I dislike that company, I think that store alone skews the numbers. Also, remember Regent also had a cinema attached to it. If McAllister slapped in a Cineplex and Walmart I’m sure the numbers would go up overnight.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

I suspect it’s the lack of a Walmart attached to the mall. As much as I dislike that company, I think that store alone skews the numbers. Also, remember Regent also had a cinema attached to it. If McAllister slapped in a Cineplex and Walmart I’m sure the numbers would go up overnight.

Agreed, Given McAllister Place has no major anchor store anymore or cinemas, and the fact that the major big box retailers are up the hill on East Point, the numbers are not terrible. I remember the days when it had a Sears and a Marks & Spencer (I think it was there). I believe it also had a Sobeys. Unlike the other two malls, they should have never built the combo of exterior only and interior stores. Makes it very disjointed. There was no reason they couldn't have connected all the stores internally so that people visiting say Party City, could easily walk to the other stores through the mall. That's how Regent works which makes it easier, once there, to visit the other shops.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

Agreed, Given McAllister Place has no major anchor store anymore or cinemas, and the fact that the major big box retailers are up the hill on East Point, the numbers are not terrible. I remember the days when it had a Sears and a Marks & Spencer (I think it was there). I believe it also had a Sobeys. Unlike the other two malls, they should have never built the combo of exterior only and interior stores. Makes it very disjointed. There was no reason they couldn't have connected all the stores internally so that people visiting say Party City, could easily walk to the other stores through the mall. That's how Regent works which makes it easier, once there, to visit the other shops.

You are right, it had a Marks & Spencer. When I was a kid in the 90s McAllister Place had all three of a Zellers, Sears, and a Sobeys and was a very busy place, but retail was of course very different at the time.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

You are right, it had a Marks & Spencer. When I was a kid in the 90s McAllister Place had all three of a Zellers, Sears, and a Sobeys and was a very busy place, but retail was of course very different at the time.

I couldn't remember if there was a Zellers or not. For some reason I thought it was at Parkway Mall. Or was that a Woolco? Regent Mall in it's prime was anchored by Woolco (now Walmart), Sears, a Dominion (or Save Easy?) and the cinemas/Chapters. Fredericton Mall (Now the Uptown centre), had a food court, a Zellers, a Sobeys, and even a Benetton store! I think there was even a Lacoste store back in the 80s. A very different place!