Fighting to stay relevant, Tampa Bay's middle-market malls invest millions to go upscale
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 18, 2014

Malls around the Tampa Bay region are investing millions of dollars in upgrades and new additions as they face competition from new luxury developments and the convenience of ecommerce.

While the economy is better, the recovery has largely benefitted more affluent Americans, and by some measures, left the middle-class worse off than before the recession. With that dynamic, middle-market malls that once targeted middle-class consumers are becoming a retail dinosaur. To survive in the new era of retail, brick-and-mortar developments must create an upscale experience to lure in customers - often with destinations like restaurants and movie theaters to draw in foot traffic.

To the south, Westfield Southgate Mall in Sarasota has invested about $8 million in renovations and said yesterday that it would open a seven-screen CineBistro on the property in 2015.

The Sarasota retail market is particularly fierce right now, with the $315 million, brand-new Mall at University Town Center gearing up for its first holiday season.

In St. Petersburg, Tyrone Square Mall will add a new eat-in movie theater. Since Manager Jeni Wilson arrived in 2010, she's focused on upgrading the mall, from adding new restaurants to wayfarer signage.

The developers pursuing the redevelopment of Seminole Mall into the open-air Seminole City Center are pursuing a boutique grocer and big-box retailers for the new property. Forty percent of the new development will be restaurant and entertainment concepts.

Westfield Citrus Park has landed the region's first A'GACI, a trendy women's fashion retailer, as well as a Paul Mitchell School - a non-shopping destination that will likely bring in more foot traffic.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.