Press Releases

Source: Palm Beach PostMay 23, 2007

Early Mall Plans Reveal Tradition Has 'Main Street'

The large mall that Taubman Centers Inc. plans to build in western Port St. Lucie should remind shoppers of another Taubman mall in the region: Wellington Green.

But the 1.1 million-square-foot project, dubbed Tradition Town Center, also may have some components that its counterpart to the south doesn't: a large outdoor "main street," 1,200 apartments and condominiums at its perimeter, another 300,000 square feet of shopping space and a 250-room hotel.Taubman unveiled its early-stage plans for the mall this week at the International Council of Shopping Centers annual convention in Las Vegas. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based real estate investment trust is using the 1.3 million-square-foot Wellington mall as a model for its project in fast-growing Port St. Lucie, but the design could evolve because the mall is not scheduled to open until 2011.

"Right now Wellington Green is what we're looking at," said Khanh Pham, manager of development for Taubman. "But this is four years out. Things could change."

Pham said it was too early to reveal more details, but Port St. Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen attended the conference and said she saw a display showing Taubman's plans for the mall that included an outdoor "main street" component.

"Definitely not your typical big-box indoor mall," Christensen said.

Such features are becoming more common as mall developers move away from large department store anchors and start incorporating pedestrian-friendly features.

"The days of having five department stores at a mall... they may be over," said Alan Karrh, head of commercial development for Core Communities LLC, which owns the property where Taubman will build the mall and is a partner on the project.

The mall is expected to be a major draw at Core's 8,200-acre Tradition development, and Core will have a hand in how it plays out.

During an interview before the conference, Karrh said the firm probably will develop 900 of the multifamily units around the mall, and Taubman will develop the other 300.

Though Port St. Lucie is known for its relatively affordable housing, Karrh points to estimates that show the average household income within a 10-mile radius of the mall was $57,818 in 2006.

Almost 165,000 people were estimated to live within that area last year, and the city as a whole has consistently ranked as among the fastest growing in the country.

That's part of what drew Taubman to the project.

"We just think that Florida is a robust market," Pham said. "And Port St. Lucie, with its growth... is a natural place."

Taubman (NYSE: TCO, $53.50) also owns the International Plaza mall in Tampa and co-owns the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, home to Chanel and Tiffany & Co.

It's likely that the tenant lineup in Port St. Lucie will be more similar to Wellington's, Pham said.

There, the stores include Ann Taylor, Coach and Nordstrom.

Still, those offerings are more upscale than what shoppers can now find at the only mall in Martin and St. Lucie counties, Treasure Coast Square in Jensen Beach. But the scene there also is changing.

Coach and White House/Black Market will open stores at the mall Sept. 1, mall Marketing Director Erin Holley confirmed Tuesday.