junkyanddated Wrote:
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>
> 1. First thank you so much for the detailed
> lecture on your own understanding of commercial
> retail leasing - Im sure no one imagined the
> complex series of events that you are guessing
> happened.
>
> 2. Bazannos sucked. That location also sucks. It
> lacks visibility from the road, from the parking
> lot - from everywhere. In fact its the least
> desirable 1,515 rsf in the development.
>
> 3. The owner is banking on the face lift to raise
> lease rates. It absolutely will its just a matter
> of how much.
>
> 4. If the quoted rate is $7,500 per month that
> equates to approximately $59.41/rsf/yr (probably
> NNN + tenant responsible for roof, building
> systems etc...) - that seems to be a fairly high
> rate for a truly sub par location. I doubt he
> will get more than $40/rsf/nnn for that chunk of
> space.
>
> In conclusion the owner doesnt want Bazannos or
> Smith & Clarkson. He wants to raise the profile
> and those uses were dated at best. That end piece
> will need help to be successful - maybe some
> enhanced signage. Id guess Kilroys is the next
> shoe to fall, it is also junky and dated.
Pretty much right on.
None of which is likely to be successful without major redevelopment. Which very likely is way beyond their financial capabilities.
Earlier plans for a more extensive rebuild (see below from 2011) apparently fell through. The two new buildings are no longer in the plans. There also was talk at one point of a bigger deal with some larger partners but that doesn't seem to have gone anywhere.
So at best now they're probably looking at mostly a refresh of the current space with maybe some limited new construction. I don't see that transforming that property into something that's going to draw some mass of high-profile, big-money tenants. Odds are that they're still going to be looking at about the equivalent of what's there now. Lotte wasn't really that to begin with and if they've bailed now, then that's probably not a very good sign.
Quote
$30 Million Facelift for Shopping Center
Ravensworth Shopping Center, built in 1965, will be expanded and
renovated in the next three years.
Plans include nearly doubling new grocery
store space.
By Victoria Ross
The Connection
Ravensworth Shopping Center in
Springfield, which turns 45-
years-old this summer, will be
receiving a head-to-toe
makeover with a $30 million price tag.
Whether Safeway supermarket, an anchor
tenant since 1965, remains is an open question,
said Tom Maskey, a principal with
Potomac Development Group, the Fairfax based
development firm selected by
Ravensworth Properties to redevelop the
center. Calls to Safeway’s corporate headquarters
in California were not returned.
“We will talk to Safeway, as well as other
grocery stores in the market,” Maskey said.
Redevelopment plans include the demolition
of Safeway’s existing 30,000 squarefoot
grocery store and construction of a new
45,000 to 55,000 square-foot store.
Maskey said plans include a new grocery
store building and two new retail buildings
on the northern end of the center closer to
Braddock Road. The remaining retail and
office facades will receive a complete
facelift, new site lighting and landscaping
improvements.
“The redevelopment of Ravensworth will
focus on providing a better shopping center
environment for the surrounding neighborhood,
as well as providing a place for
some unique specialty retailers, both existing
and new,” said Maskey. “The neighborhood
deserves a new grocery store and that
is exactly what will be developed at
Ravensworth.”
Ravensworth, located at the corner of
Braddock and Port Royal roads, serves several
older neighborhoods in the area, as well
as new townhouse and condo developments.
The current shopping center has an
L-shaped footprint of 125,000 square feet
and will expand to approximately 150,000
square feet. The redevelopment is still in
the conceptual phase, and construction may
not begin for another three years, Maskey
said.
“Conceptual plans for the renovated and
expanded Ravensworth Center will total
approximately 150,000 square-feet, well
within the existing zoning,” Maskey said.
The projected $30 million cost is approximately
the same as the redevelopment and
expansion of University Mall in Fairfax, but
because plans for a renovated and expanded
center are within the existing Fairfax County
zoning regulations, developers won’t face
the same lengthy zoning and entitlement
process that Geo. H. Rucker Realty Corporation
did when upgrading University Mall.
“There is a lot of interest given the superior
location of this center, its proximity to
the Beltway and the future HOT lanes which
open in 2012,” Maskey said.
Susan Dami of Annandale, who was at
the shopping center on Saturday, March 6,
selling Girl Scout cookies with Springfield
Troop 1285, said it is time for an update.
“It’s a great neighborhood shopping center,
and a quick stop-off on the way to and
from work, but it could use some work,”
Dami said.
“The shopping center is dated, and it’s not
real inviting,” said Diane Young of Springfield,
who has been shopping at
Ravensworth for 12 years and was also
there with the Girl Scout Troop. “But everyone
likes the mix of ‘mom and pop’ independent
stores, and restaurants like Kilroy’s, so we hope they stay.”
Current tenants include a Rite-Aid pharmacy, The Swiss Bakery and
other specialty retailers such as Annandale Golf and Boy Scouts of
America, and the popular Kilroy’s, a WWII-themed family restaurant.
“These tenants have been there a long time, do very well, and serve
the local neighborhood and also bring customers to the center from
outside the immediate community,” said Maskey. “Hong Kong Express,
which recently opened, and the post office is in the process of moving
to a new space in the center. All will hopefully remain for a long time.”