Domain Mall Parking

[Rosella Bowlan]

Accordingto a city Fire Department inspection report, since the JCPenney store that was part of Mid-Cities Mall was torn down, the parking lot has been degrading with uncapped drains and access panels exposed. There also are sinkholes forming within the lot, with weeds and grass growing in the badly cracked blacktop.

Then, the city and mall owner can begin negotiations for the sale of the site. If negotiations fail, the city makes a final offer and more formal proceedings could take place, including a circuit court trial to determine how much the city must pay to acquire the property.

Domain, situated at Ko Chiu Road, Yau Tong, is the largest shopping mall of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) in East Kowloon. It is right in the hub of the community with convenient linkage to other districts. It is linked to MTR Yau Tong Station and in the close proximity of the Eastern Harbour Crossing. Domain has commenced operation since end of September 2012. There are a small number of shops still available for letting. Prospective clients are welcome to contact us at (852) 2870 2992 or email at domainl...@gmail.com

During a public hearing earlier this year, representatives for some of the affected tenants urged the county to share more information about the potential new tenant before making a decision. They said it was impossible for the tenants or the public to gauge whether or not eminent domain was in the public interest without knowing who the tenant would be.

"The owners of the Marketplace Mall are pursuing a redevelopment that they believe will ensure the continued viability and vibrancy of the property," Sleezer said. "Malls are often subject to complex agreements that govern property rights, like building height, public signage, and parking restrictions, among others.

Mall owners continue to be tight-lipped about the new tenant, citing a non-disclosure agreement. They said discussions with the tenant have been ongoing for more than a year and are hopeful they can make an announcement in the near future.

"Wilmorite is pleased with the Imagine Monroe board's decision and their continued support," said Janice Sherman, the company's corporate director of marketing and public relations in an emailed statement. "The approval is an essential step toward redeveloping The Marketplace Mall. Many mall owners and developers across the country are requesting similar adjustments to accommodate dated lease language."

While the company and the county have not disclosed the potential new tenant's name, Henrietta Town Supervisor Steve Schultz said last July that UR Medicine was interested in using the 150,000 square-foot former Macy's as a new orthopedic center.

Documents included with Wilmorite's application to Imagine Monroe show whatever the project is, it could require as many as 2,300 of the mall's parking spaces. There is also a reference in the documents to a possible construction of a two-story parking garage.

There's no denying times are tough for the traditional enclosed shopping mall. Commercial real estate analysts REIS noted earlier this year that the vacancy rate for regional malls rose sharply in the first quarter of 2019, up .3% from the previous quarter to 9.3%. As brick-and-mortar retailers continue to struggle, malls will likely face more vacancies and falling rents as the pattern of store closures is expected to continue into this year.

Across the country, there is a growing trend of medical providers moving into mall spaces, as at the One Hundred Oaks Mall near Nashville. There, Vanderbilt University Medical Center occupies the mall's entire second floor, while the first floor remains used as a retail center. Earlier this year, Emory Healthcare announced plans to use about one-third of the Northlake Mall outside Atlanta as administrative offices.

Medical uses are attractive to mall owners because they help drive foot traffic while keeping overall occupancy in the malls high. Meanwhile, health care providers like mall spaces because they they're located close to where patients live and work and they often provide easy access to ample parking.

After nearly a decade since College of the Desert officials expressed an interest in expanding to west valley, the community college's leaders said Tuesday that they have finally acquired the property for a campus at the site of the former Palm Springs Mall.

The college made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in the mall's parking lot, at the corner of Baristo and Farrell, clearing the way for College of the Desert to open its west valley campus. The campus will house programs in digital media and film, hospitality and culinary arts, healthcare and sustainable technologies.

The land was purchased outright following an effort by the college to obtain the land through an eminent domain case on property, which was owned by a Chinese businessman Haiming Tan, who had rebuffed the district's attempts to buy the location since 2014.

College of the Desert had plans to open a Palm Springs campus since before the recession, according to a college spokesperson. However, the 2008 financial crisis delayed the plans. But once the college leaped over the last of its economic hurdles, it set its eyes on the Palm Springs Mall.

The 29-acre property will allow the college to leverage its partnership with DIGICOM Learning, which was announced earlier this year. According to a January press release announcing this collaboration, the college will establish a Center for Digital Media Education in the new West Valley Campus, where both K-12 and college students can learn skills in video storytelling.

Stephen Heslin, a spokesperson for DIGICOM, said the goal is to train students in digital media and to connect them with Coachella Valley businesses that need employees trained in video. He hopes this collaboration with College of the Desert will continue DIGICOM's efforts to keep young professionals in the valley.

According to the Fifth Amendment, governments can exercise eminent domain to appropriate land for public use, as long as the landowners are properly compensated. According to previous reports, College of the Desert had originally reserved $9.6 million to pay Tan for the property. Real-estate records show Tan paid a similar amount when his company YTC Investments acquired the mall in 2012.

Currently, a four-acre satellite campus is on a three-year lease from Palm Springs Unified School District. This temporary campus stirred controversy when it was first announced due to the traffic concerns of local residents. There is currently an option to renew the lease.

Amherst's effort to seize control of the Boulevard Mall property through eminent domain has begun, and so far at least, town officials say there's been very little resistance to the idea, not only among the developers who proposed it but even among the big retailers.

The goal is to get around a myriad of leases, contracts, easements and other restrictions that are hindering redevelopment of the entire site. But the plan is to sell the property right back after clearing the legal restrictions.

Jemal wants to overhaul of the 61-year-old mall into a town center concept, with backing from the town. The $150 million long-term project would demolish much of the mall, install new roads and infrastructure and then construct buildings for housing, retail, commercial and other uses. But he's been stymied by preexisting conditions that hinder use of the parking lots and other land.

So Jemal suggested the town use eminent domain, take ownership of everything, and then sell it back, with both developers taking portions, and the town issuing a request-for-proposals for redevelopment of any remaining parts.

The town filed the court petitions that start the process by giving notice to the owners. Neither developer objected, but are just negotiating a price, Kulpa said. And while JCPenney did protest, the retailer's real estate and legal officials are now finally talking with the town.

The plan is to wait until after winter to formally take control, giving stores a chance to clean out merchandise for the first quarter, and then begin demolition work in the spring of 2024. Kulpa said buildings that are in good shape and can be reused may be retained.

He said JCPenney has told the town it wants to stay, so officials need to figure out how to keep them open during demolition and reconstruction. Officials are also trying to determine what Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods and H&M intend.

Located at 6600 Walmore Road, next to the Niagara Falls International Airport and Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, the 625,000-square-foot business park is only partially occupied by Saint-Gobain Abrasives, a division of Paris-based Saint-Gobain Group.

Saint-Gobain used to own the entire complex and has been operating there for decades, but sold the property to Patriot Equities. It now takes up just one of three commercial sections of the park, with 158,441 square feet of space under a long-term lease that generates $384,590 in annual net operating income for the landlord.

The move to 9310 Transit Road follows years of growth by the financial planning firm, which was founded in 1979 by Alan Vogt as Paramount Planning, but became Schroeder Braxton & Vogt in 1999. It rebranded as Level Financial in 2016. The firm serves 600 households with over $545 million in assets under management.

The company has been headquartered for 23 years at the corner of Sweet Home and Rensch roads, across from University at Buffalo's North Campus. It opened a satellite office on Southwestern Boulevard in Hamburg in 2019, shortly after buying Williamville-based Angelucci Wealth Management.

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