Challenging times for mall: Manager says it still has a future

Hallmark closed its doors first. Then came Vanity and Rue21.

In the past 18 months, the list has continued to grow, totaling seven stores in Alexandria Viking Plaza Mall that have closed. That includes anchor stores J.C. Penney and now Herberger's.

For many, this has called into question whether malls - including Viking Plaza - have a future.

This answer is yes, says Scot Snitker, national property manager with Lexington Realty International in Alexandria, which manages Viking Plaza.

"It's just like everything else," he said. "If you look back at downtown, everything has changed and evolved. I wasn't here 30 years ago, but I'm sure it didn't look the same. Look out by the highway. When I moved here there was a truck stop, no China Buffet, no Doolittle's, no Caribou, no Culver's, no gas stations.

"Everything changes. It's just the way it is. You either change with it or you do close."

Any future that malls do have may hinge on changing up the concepts behind them, as some are starting to focus on experiences rather than retail.

"There is a decline in retail, I can't hide from that," Snitker said. "But to me if you evolve, you survive."

Take the proposed Mall of Entertainment in Albertville, for example. While still in the early stages, the mall's website calls it a "world-class entertainment venue." The plan is for the mall to house an indoor waterpark, an exploration-based adventure area, an "edutainment" experience and a 275-room Marriot Hotel and convention center.

Some Lexington Realty International properties are adapting this idea on a smaller scale. For example, Snitker says, plans are in the works for an ice arena in the Watertown Mall in Watertown, South Dakota. At another of its locations - Quincy Place Mall in Ottumwa, Iowa - there is an indoor mini-golf course.

While Viking Plaza does not have any large-scale plans for entertainment facilities in the mall, some already exist. The mall is home to Art Bar 39, a painting studio that allows patrons to choose a painting or project to create and take home. Around the holidays last year, the mall housed a paint-your-own ceramics studio.

Viking Plaza Mall also has numerous service-based tenants, including a dental office, hearing clinic, nail salon, pet grooming shop and three restaurants.

"I see them (malls) as evolving and changing into something more lifestyle-centered," Snitker said. "They're evolving into a business center or a service center with some retail and entertainment."

When it comes to the retail side, Snitker says he still believes it has a place in the Alexandria area.

"I think right now retail is still strong here," he said. "What people have to realize is that Herberger's was very strong. It's just that their company wasn't. If it was privately owned, it wouldn't go anywhere."

Additionally, Snitker says, those in retail are smart enough to see what communities need and move in when necessary.

"For menswear, Randy's is gone and now Herberger's," he said. "That's a deficiency in the community but retailers understand that. They're going to fill that gap somewhere along the line."

As for rumors that the mall is closing, Skitker says that couldn't be further from the truth.

"We still have 28 active leases we have to honor," he said. "We can't just say, 'Oh, we're closing.' It doesn't work that way."

Though no specifics can yet be released, Snitker says the mall is on track to sign leases in the coming months.

"People have to be patient," he said. "These deals take a long time. Usually start to finish, it's about 18 months."

With these leases, he says it's likely the mall will grow rather than disappear.

"If anything, the mall will be expanding before it gets smaller," he said. "To accommodate some of these (new stores), we have to expand."