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Mall Developer Chosen
Baltimore firm (no, not that one) puts down $1 M earnest money
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Business New Haven
1/21/2002
By: Mimi Houston
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I remember - almost too many years ago, now - buying my shoes in the children's department at Malley's. We would hover excitedly around the giant birdcage - sampling the joys of ornithology - while we waited for our new shoes to be brought out to try on. Later, as a teenager, my best friend and I would spend the entire day together in and around Chapel Square Mall, shopping at Macy's, Malley's, and back to the mall. I guess was fortunate enough to be around at the height of the area's successful era.
Losing the shopping Mecca was like losing a large piece of childhood. And I know others who feel the same way. Each time a news story appears promising a revitalization of the Chapel Square Mall, and new stores to occupy the Macy's and Malley's buildings, a new hope blooms in me, only to be dashed again. It's been so long.
But now, at long last, a new deal may be in the offing. And so far, so good. A Baltimore development firm, Williams Jackson Ewing Inc., has put down a $1 million deposit on the ramshackle mall site. It's true that New Haven has entertained promises from Baltimore before, so it's natural for some to remain skeptical. But the news from on high is rosy. The Elm City may yet get its mall back.
“We're still going forward,” explains Henry Fernandez, director of development for the city of New Haven. “We received our check for $1 million from the developer this week [so] we're on schedule - even ahead of schedule.”
That cool million means money in the bank for the city, even if the deal falls through. As part of the agreement, Lubert-Adler Management Inc., the developer's financial backer, agrees to take back $900,000, leaving the city with $100,000 to keep for…emotional damages, maybe?
Williams Jackson Ewing, Inc. has a good deal of experience behind them in mall development. The company describes its work as “high-end urban retail” for projects worldwide. Thank Ewing for the recent shopping gallery at Grand Central Terminal in New York.
Much about the Elm City has attracted these firms to work together to make this deal a reality. Mayor John DeStefano Jr.'s administration is said to have been very cooperative, the site has great amenities, good location and the committed involvement of Yale University.
But there is a lot of cleanup - literally and figuratively - to deal with from former deals falling through. The city is looking for $3.5 million from this deal's firms to pay off back taxes and mortgage loans on properties involved. There is also a breach-of-contract lawsuit to settle involving another Baltimore developer, David Cordish, and his company, 155 Temple Street, L.C. - a once-shining knight in the Chapel Square Mall's future.
And the plans have been scaled down some. A complete revitalization, including the mall, Macy's and Malley's, has been deemed impractical - too high a mountain to climb in an uncertain economic climate. If we see any success at all, we'll have to take it in bits and pieces.
“The plan includes all of what is considered the mall,” explains Fernandez. “From a real-estate perspective, it's more complicated. The site is cut up into a series of parcels. They are either city-owned or -leased. The site is controlled through a variety of forms.”
We may perhaps never know the intricacies of 900 Chapel Street, but for now we can safely say the entire office tower and all the shops that once sparked a teenager's dreams are all slated for a return to glory.
Fernandez says city developer David Nyberg, who was requested by the redevelopment selection committee to be hired by Williams Jackson Ewing for the project is indeed on board, yet another detail worked out in time for the deal to proceed.
“He [Nyberg] is signed on,” Fernandez assures. “Right now our goal is to bring this deal to closure within 45 days.”
That may not be time enough for me to buy my own children's shoes at my old haunt, but I may be able to buy them ice cream at the mall while we check out the new shops there. Or maybe even an Orange Julius. (Remember that one?)
But even as this deal moves through the first trying phases, Fernandez assures the sites of Macy's and Malley's have not been forgotten. “We've gotten proposals for those sites already that we're reviewing,” he promises.
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