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MERLE HAY MALL August 2016 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • 87 W hile hile many regional centers have W many regional centers have struggled to keep up with the times, Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines, Iowa, has always managed to stay ahead of the trends. Having the same hands-on owner since the doors opened more than 57 years ago has helped Merle Hay serve the community and pre- dict how best to invest and serve its loyal market. The landmark center has been a fixture in the community since the late 1950s and has continually updated, ren- ovated, re-tenanted and reinvented itself as consumer trends warranted. In recent years, the center has continued to evolve, and now looks to add a new component that will further serve the regional market. Opened in 1959 as an open-air plaza, Merle Hay Mall was originally anchored by Sears and Younkers. The center was enclosed in 1972, accommodating the trends at the time for enclosed malls. Merle Hay was also expanded at that time to add more inline retail and two new an- chors: a Younkers Store for Homes and Montgomery Ward. After the original Younkers store burned in 1977, a new store was built for the retailer, opening in 1978. In 1993, the Younkers Store for Homes closed and Kohl's was introduced in that space. In 1997, anchor Montgom- ery Ward went bankrupt. Merle Hay's owner, Chicago-based Abbell Associates, was able to take back its single store with- in the bankruptcy process. "We were one of the few landlords at the time who was able to gain control of a single Montgomery Ward store during the bankruptcy process," says Liz Holland, CEO of Abbell Associates. After gaining control of that anchor, Abbell sold the land to May Department Stores who built a new $20 million, 165,000-square-foot Famous-Barr store. In 2002, May Department stores closed the location. "By 2002, it was pretty clear to us that the middle market mall business had changed," says Holland. "At best, a mall is a monthly and possibly a quarterly needs destination for its customers. This is true no matter how upscale a center is." With the departure of Famous-Barr, Mer- le Hay had the opportunity to introduce retailers with more daily needs for con- sumers. Younkers relocated to the space formerly occupied by Famous-Barr; the older Younkers building was removed and a new Target store was built in its place, which opened in July 2005. At the time, it was one of the few Target stores to have a full formal entrance into the enclosed mall. "When Target opened, we found that not only did our traffic go up, but the qual- ity of our traffic went up," says Holland. "These were shoppers who were not com- ing to just walk around; they were coming to buy. And it transformed the mall into a weekly needs destination" The Target exceeded — and continues to exceed — the chain's expectations. See- ing Target's success, Abbell carved out 60,000 square feet on the east side of the center and created four three junior an- chor boxes as well as two restrautants that flanked the main entrance to the center. Evolving With The Times Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines has thrived by continuing to reinvent itself. Randall Shearin CLASSIFIED ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN MALL COMPACTORS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCOUNTING, AUDITS Retail Tenant Sales • Compliance • Restaurant • Specialty Examinations United States • Canada • Caribbean Phone 985.626.9979 • 800.999.LAMY • Fax 985.626.9943 E-mail: kslamy@thelamygroup.com NO COST TO MALL DEVELOPERS FAIR SHARE DIRECT TENANT BILLING For Rubbish Removal A 20 year history of serving • • • • • • • • MALLS• • • • • • • • OLYMPIC MALL SERVICES A division of Olympic Compactor Rentals, Inc. Chip Panciocco 1-800-722-5371 For Classified Advertising in Shopping Center Business contact Barbara Sherer: bsherer@francemediainc.com