When is $22.8 million a bargain?
When you pay that much for City Shitty Place. Sure, it sounds like a lot, but I think it’s a sweet deal. The posted press release is dated August 11, 2010, but it’s just now making the rounds:
Hutensky Capital Partners acquires City Place Mall
Hartford, Conn. ( August 11, 2010 ) – Hutensky Capital Partners said it has acquired City Place Mall, a 350,000-sq.-ft. shopping center in Silver Spring, Md., from an affiliate of Petrie Ross Ventures for $22.8 million in a three-party deal that included a discounted payoff of 100% of the property’s outstanding debt.
An affiliate of the seller will manage and lease the property and lead the redevelopment process.
“We were attracted by the property’s location in the central business district of Silver Spring, a vibrant urban area with proven retail performance,” said Brad Hutensky, HCP’s general partner. “However, like many properties today, the asset was overleveraged. By providing a big chunk of fresh capital, we were able to find a middle ground for settlement that the lender and borrower could agree to. The result is that we now own a debt-free property that can be redeveloped to meet its full potential.”
Now the $22.8 million question is: What the hell will they do with it? Among the (potentially contentious) recommendations/additions:
- Raze it
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- H&M
- Dave & Buster’s
- Men’s clothing (beyond the 14-18 year-old set)
- Keep the Marshall’s
- Any non-truant-related retail
Feel free to add yours. Maybe we can get a community letter off to the Hutensky boys and have them come speak at an ECCSA meeting. Or not. God forbid anyone be put through that.
Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post
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How about a real food court that includes things like Five Guys and a decent Philly Cheesesteak place? Even a Legal Seafood like they have in Montgomery Mall would be nice. And maybe it would usurp Red Lobstah.
Smart Growth low income housing with eco-friendly 24 hour co-op subsidized grocery and gardening area.
Turn it into a giant skatepark.
ZombieWorld theme park.
I think it needs some major renovation that utilizes the streetfront, the same way that they did on the Ellsworth side. Also, we need a decent anchor store like a Macy’s. Or a Kohls. Hell, I’d even take a Sears over our current shopping options at the mall. Though I realize that these are unlikely with our proximity to Wheaton. There are probably other problems with this idea, but these are the things that have popped into my head.
I agree with utilizing the streetfront – something more than a bunk Ruby Turedays and Taste of Morocco. And no, I’m not counting the stores from Ben & Jerry’s to McGinty’s in this. It’s almost like those aren’t really part of City Place, to be honest. Fenton is primed for storefronts that don’t involve obnoxious signs.
And before they redo it, we should definitely recreate Dawn of the Dead.
Great post on SS Singular:
Anonymous said…
Why is this shocking news since just about every business that comes to DTSS ends up being a failure. In my opinion the entire area should be leveled. The area is not elegant and is a complete disaster. The only people who seem to enjoy the area are the young thugs. The entire DTSS area has lost its appeal and without major help it will continue to die a slow death.
Uh huh. Just about every business that comes to DTSS ends up being a failure. While I’m a fan of hyperbole, someone needs a little reality check.
Target, Crate and Barrel, Trader Joe’s!!!
I agree with the fact that the Cherry Hill Target is quick and easy to get to. Easy parking, too. And with Trader Joe’s in Burnt Mills (even closer), I think we need to branch out. While I like Crate & Barrel, I’d rather have a Design Within Reach. And/Or maybe an east coast outlet for Rejuvination.
Save me from Rockville Pike — Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Here we go again. Another one of these episodic posts where every comment is another tedious and pointless list of stores that the commenter would like to see in DTSS. Like anyone that matters is paying attention, or it really influences the outcome. I’m sure we’ll go through this painful exercise in collective wish-lists again in a few months, when the next post about retail appears on one of these blogs.
A-Mouse,
Excuse me, but my post was neither tedious nor pointles. A bit stupid perhaps, but thats how I roll. If you can find a blog where someone that “matters” is paying attention, please pass that info along. Our community, in many ways is cursed by indifference. That indifference is perhaps exaggerated, but it is most certainly there. Indifference is a symptom of a lowered vitality. I submit to you that the only way to do anything about the problem of architectural harmony is to do so athwart the peoples indifference. Thayer is trying to do that here…lets help him out. Vote much?
We need a 24-hour CVS – and no, the one in the Blairs is not close enough.
The issue with City Place is not the tenants, but rather the building itself and its setup. On all sides of City Place there are better tenants and people enjoy the experience. You’re never going to get high quality stores in a tiny, poorly designed urban mall, especially one surrounded by an area like Downtown Silver Spring. People want the DTSS experience, not the City Place experience.
Instead, City Place needs to be redone into something like the rest of Ellsworth. Once you do that, and keep all the walking on the outside, instead of inside like City Place, you’ll attract quality tenants.
People don’t go to places like Ellsworth to go inside. They want to be outside with the crowds.
Never worry about tenants. Those are always short term. What you really need to be concerned with is the quality of the buildings and the setup.
City Place could not honestly be a worse fit. I don’t think it would cost that much to retrofit it (it is, after all, already a retrofit), but it needs be redone.
If City Place was redone to be like the part of DTSS attached to it, it would do much better. Then I would work on converting that attached parking garage to something more productive.