Posted by Carolyn Dube (Editor), Merrimack Patch
Merrimack Premium Outlets seeking a lot-size variance from the ZBA for the second round of shops to be constructed off Industrial Drive.
Just a little more than a year after the Merrimack Premium Outlets held their grand opening, representatives from the Outlets are due to meet with the Zoning Board of Adjustment Wednesday evenin to discuss the beginning of Phase II of the project.
The owners of the 410,000 square foot open airshopping center are seeking a variance on the lot size for Phase II of the project, which will bring another 150,000 square feet of retail shopping space to the 100-store mall.
According to the supporting paperwork filed with the ZBA agenda for the June 26 meeting, MPO would like to split the 143.99 parcel of land into two lots, and use the smaller of the two lots, 32.18 acres, to construct the second phase of shops and the associated parking, which includes underground parking. According to the memorandum from the Community Development Office to the ZBA, MPO said the request is for financial purposes.
A section of the zoning ordinance that applies to the MPO property calls for the shops to be situated on at least 100 acres, which is why a variance is needed.
In splitting the lot, the first phase of the project would continue to comply with the ordinance as it would still be 111.81 acres.
Should the ZBA grant the variance, it would move to the planning board for subdivision approval, and as such, the Community Development Offie is recommending if the ZBA approves the variance, it does so on condition of MPO securing subdivision approval from the Planning Board.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
The Outlets of Maui developer secures $19.5M
Jun 24, 2013, 3:02pm HST Duane Shimogawa Reporter-Pacific Business News
Work on a multimillion-dollar renovation to transform a retail center in Lahaina into The Outlets of Maui, Hawaii’s second outlet mall and first on the Valley Isle, is moving ahead after recently securing a $19.5 million loan for the retail center, whose tenants will include Coach, Brooks Brothers and Calvin Klein.
The existing center, located at the corner of Front and Papalaua streets in Lahaina, will retain the both Hard Rock Cafe and Ruth’s Chris Steak House as anchors. Names of other tenants were not immediately disclosed.
The Los Angeles office of Johnson Capital, a commercial real estate capital advisory firm, worked with the developer, Honolulu-based Honu Group, on the loan for redeveloping the 10-building, 145,855-square-foot mall, which is under a long-term lease with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
Johnson Capital worked with an unnamed major life insurance company on the loan, which is the second loan that this life insurance company has funded with Honu Group in Hawaii.
Just five years ago, the retail center’s owner and anchor tenant went bankrupt, which sank occupancy to 50 percent, about half of what it once was.
Honu Group, the new developers, have experience in the outlet mall industry, having developed other retail properties on Oahu and Kauai, Johnson Capital noted.
A grand re-opening of The Outlets of Maui is scheduled for later this year with renovation work well underway.
Honu Group did not immediately respond for a request for comment, but Johnson Capital told PBN that the outlet mall is about 85 percent leased, with more tenants in the hopper.
“It’s a pretty good cross-section of tenants with an ice cream shop, a clothing store, a shoe store,” said Eric Salveson, senior vice president for Johnson Capital in Los Angeles. “It will have all the outlet mall tenants [that are seen in other outlet malls].”
Meantime, after the state Land Use Commission shot down the rezoning of land for the proposed Maui Outlets and Piilani Promenade projects, a new mixed-use concept, involving residential and commercial components, has been proposed by the property’s landowners, Dallas-based Sarofim Realty Advisors.
Work on a multimillion-dollar renovation to transform a retail center in Lahaina into The Outlets of Maui, Hawaii’s second outlet mall and first on the Valley Isle, is moving ahead after recently securing a $19.5 million loan for the retail center, whose tenants will include Coach, Brooks Brothers and Calvin Klein.
The existing center, located at the corner of Front and Papalaua streets in Lahaina, will retain the both Hard Rock Cafe and Ruth’s Chris Steak House as anchors. Names of other tenants were not immediately disclosed.
The Los Angeles office of Johnson Capital, a commercial real estate capital advisory firm, worked with the developer, Honolulu-based Honu Group, on the loan for redeveloping the 10-building, 145,855-square-foot mall, which is under a long-term lease with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
Johnson Capital worked with an unnamed major life insurance company on the loan, which is the second loan that this life insurance company has funded with Honu Group in Hawaii.
Just five years ago, the retail center’s owner and anchor tenant went bankrupt, which sank occupancy to 50 percent, about half of what it once was.
Honu Group, the new developers, have experience in the outlet mall industry, having developed other retail properties on Oahu and Kauai, Johnson Capital noted.
A grand re-opening of The Outlets of Maui is scheduled for later this year with renovation work well underway.
Honu Group did not immediately respond for a request for comment, but Johnson Capital told PBN that the outlet mall is about 85 percent leased, with more tenants in the hopper.
“It’s a pretty good cross-section of tenants with an ice cream shop, a clothing store, a shoe store,” said Eric Salveson, senior vice president for Johnson Capital in Los Angeles. “It will have all the outlet mall tenants [that are seen in other outlet malls].”
Meantime, after the state Land Use Commission shot down the rezoning of land for the proposed Maui Outlets and Piilani Promenade projects, a new mixed-use concept, involving residential and commercial components, has been proposed by the property’s landowners, Dallas-based Sarofim Realty Advisors.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Outlet Malls Draw Chinese Shoppers
By Jason Chow and Wei Gu - June 24, 2013, 1:03 PM blog.wsg.com
Well-heeled Chinese shoppers have been visiting Dior and Burberry stores in New York, Paris and London for years. Now, the luxury brands’ locations in Woodbury Commons and other suburban outlet malls are seeing some foot traffic as well.
A May report by Boston Consulting Group said that while Chinese consumers are still shopping, given the shaky economic outlook, they’ve become “more sophisticated with bargain-hunting.” Combined with a population that is traveling overseas in greater numbers than ever before, retailers and mall operators say they’re seeing a shift to the lower-priced merchandise that most outlets specialize in.
“In the past 24 months, the Chinese have become very dominant,” said Scott Malkin, chief executive at Value Retail, whose nine outlet malls in Europe carry brands such as Gucci, Prada, Versace and Hugo Boss.
The number of shoppers from China rose 49% during the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, and exceeded the number of shoppers from Russia and the Middle East. Chinese shoppers now make up a third of tax-refunded sales for international tourists, Value Retail said, up from just 18% five years ago. They’re big spenders too: Chinese shoppers, on average, splurged €347 (about $455) at the outlets, the company said, 12% more than the average shopper. Five years ago, Chinese shoppers spent just €254, or 9% below the average spend.
“Chinese consumers will take a picture with a smartphone in the store, send it back to a friend in Beijing or Shanghai and get a message back and say ‘yes, that’s the item,’” said Mr. Malkin of Chinese shopping habits. “It’s real-time communication.”
In the U.S., outlet malls are seeing a similar uptick. Ann Ackerman, marketing director at AWE Talisman, said the company’s outlet malls near Las Vegas, Niagara Falls and other locations were visited by more than 140,000 Chinese tourists in the first half of 2013 alone, compared with 106,000 all of last year. She estimated that the shoppers, who often arrive by the busload, spend 50% more than their counterparts from other countries.
In response, AWE Talisman is converting a Japanese restaurant into a Chinese buffet at its Las Vegas location. “They’re efficient tourists,” Ms. Ackerman said. “They know what they want, and the buffet is a perfect environment. They can eat quickly and go back shopping.”
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group SPG +0.31%, which runs 63 Premium Outlet and other outlet brands across the U.S., said Chinese tourists are “the fastest growing international segment.” The company courted Chinese tour operators in 2006 to have its stores included on Chinese trips, and coordinated with Chinese banks and credit card companies, including China Merchants Bank 600036.SH -0.09%, to facilitate transactions. Simon said it’s now considering Chinese New Year promotions at several of its locations.
Low prices remain the main draw for Chinese travelers. In May, on her visit to the U.S., Irene Wang of Shanghai spent more than $1,600 at the Great Mall outlet near San Jose, Calif., mostly on clothes for her family. “I should have bought more,” she said, adding that prices were often one-third of what she’d pay in Chinese department stores and even lower than the reduced sales prices of U.S. department stores. While some outlet stores attract criticism for dated looks, what she saw “looked perfectly fine to me.”
“I plan to go back to America every year to shop,” she added. “All the money I save will be enough to buy a return ticket.”
Sunday, June 23, 2013
10 Things To Do Every Workday
by J.T. O'Donnell -Career & Job Search Expert | CEO of CAREEREALISM Media
- Read something related to my industry.
- Read something related to business development.
- Send two emails to touch base with old colleagues.
- Empty my private client inbox by responding to all career coaching questions within one business day.
- Check in with each team member on their progress.
- Have a short non-work related conversation with every employee.
- Review my top three goals for my company that are focused on its growth.
- Identify and execute one task to support each of my top three goals.
- Post five valuable pieces of content on all my major social media accounts.
- Take a full minute to appreciate what I have and how far I’ve come.
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