This story is a part of the CBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Corridor Business Journal is a compilation of the year’s most noteworthy articles and projects, as told through stories that appeared in the bi-weekly issues of the CBJ. This story was originally published in January 2023. Ahead of […]
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Click here to purchase a paywall bypass linkAhead of schedule, and defying the expectations of numerous skeptics, the full redevelopment vision transforming the former Westdale Mall into the Westdale Town Center in southwest Cedar Rapids, nearly a decade in the making, is coming close to fruition.
Just a handful of lots remain available in the redevelopment outline for the former mall property, according to Todd Nelson, executive vice president and chief development officer for Frew Development Group, the firm that’s been contracted by the city to lead the 72-acre site’s development efforts.
While the original “live-work-play” vision for the site has been modified somewhat to meet the realities of commercial development, Mr. Nelson said the overall redevelopment plan has been successful — perhaps even more so than many skeptics would have expected.
“It’s really picked up nicely after the pandemic and the derecho,” Mr. Nelson said. “There was a time where retail had an apocalypse and nobody was expanding. Everyone was contracting (getting smaller). Now things have started to come out of that, and there’s a lot of activity for sure.”
But it’s been a long and often difficult road for an area, and a former mall, that rose rapidly in the 1980s, then struggled mightily in the 2000s and early 2010s before its eventual demise.
Ron Corbett, vice president of economic development for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, noted that the original heyday of indoor mega-malls like Westdale came at the expense of traditional downtown retailers, who flocked to the new suburban mall developments. That time, like most eras in retail and real estate development, was destined to end.
“Retail is ever-changing, and the mall concepts started to have their own challenges,” Mr. Corbett said. “Westdale, in particular, lost major tenants and had huge financial problems. John Frew and his investors stepped up with a plan to reinvigorate the property. It has taken a little more time than what people anticipated, but they are in the home stretch.”
Development projects plentiful
While developments cropped up sporadically around the site after 2014, the pace of new projects has accelerated in the last handful of years, with landmark developments such as PetSmart, Ray Orthodontics and Freddy’s Steakburgers building new locations.
Sugarfire Smoke House opened in the former F&M Bank building on the site; Ross Dress for Less, the VA Health System Outpatient Clinic and Shoe Dept. Encore (which has since closed) moved into spaces in the former Von Maur building, where two spaces remain available for development; and U-Haul Moving and Storage took over the former Younkers building, joining a nationwide trend of U-Haul franchises in former mall spaces.
Optimistic outlook, despite headwinds
As with any large-scale redevelopment, Westdale Town Center has experienced its setbacks — and its critics.
The original “live-work-play” concept that called for more green spaces on the property has somewhat fallen by the wayside, due in part to developers’ requests.
As an example, Mr. Nelson said, original development plans called for a park-style area near Ross Dress for Less, but that plan was scrapped when Ross officials said they wouldn’t proceed with their plans unless the space could be used for parking.
In addition, some businesses in the Westdale Town Center have fallen by the wayside in recent years, including Shoe Dept. Encore, Chipotle Grill, Noodles and Company and Saucy Focaccia.
But as 13 new projects prepare to come online at Westdale, Mr. Nelson said he expects the redevelopment to be essentially complete in the next three to five years.
Yet Mr. Nelson isn’t inclined to slow the project’s momentum.
“We are aggressively in deal-making mode,” he said. “We are leasing, building to suit, or selling lots very affordably in order to complete the project as soon as possible. We have incredible flexibility in terms of lease versus build to suit leases versus selling lots. We have flexibility in how we pay for build out costs and how we amortize those costs into lease deals.”
The economic headwinds of recent years certainly haven’t helped, he noted, but the end result should be seen as successful.
“It certainly has been substantially slower than we ever had hoped it would be,” he said. “We took it one step at a time and tried not to bite off more than we could chew. At the beginning, the city took a leap of faith with us. We had a plan that we certainly would have liked to have done that would have been slightly different than where we’re at. But the retailers and the developers drive that. Now, it’s coming together. We’ve stayed the course, and it’s going to be a good thing at the end of the day.”
Newsmakers update
Westdale’s assessed value rises as development continues
Not everything is changing at Westdale Town Center, formerly Westdale Mall.
On Oct. 24, Westdale owner Frew Development Group announced a five-year extension of JCPenney’s lease at the property. Penney’s was one of Westdale’s original anchor stores when the mall opened in 1979.
“They’ll end up having been here for 50 years when it’s all said and done,” said Todd Nelson, executive vice president and chief development officer for Frew.
Frew’s makeover of Westdale, from a “traditional” suburban mall to its own neighborhood with retail, residential, lodging, and entertainment options, began in 2013. The mall was placed in receivership after a previous part-owner fell behind on mortgage payments.
Leasing duties were handed over to the Frew, based in Denver, in January 2013, and the mall formally closed in March 2014. Demolition of most of the original indoor mall began in 2014, leaving only JCPenney and Ross Dress for Less as tenants.
The redevelopment effort has gained momentum over the past five years, with restaurants and retailers taking space in satellite buildings along Edgewood Road SW and Wiley and Williams boulevards.
“(Properties along) Edgewood are full,” Mr. Nelson said. “All of our lots along Wiley are spoken for.”
The mix of tenants has shifted somewhat from Frew’s original plans for offices and small retail outlets. The property’s current tenants, including Tru by Hilton’s 82-room hotel and Parkway West Tower 1, a four-story building with first-floor retail and 33 luxury apartments on the upper floors, complement each other.
“You have to develop what the market wants,” said Mr. Nelson.
Construction of Parkway West II through V, four more residential towers with a total of 200 units, begins this spring. Mr. Nelson said response to Parkway West’s first unit has been strong, driven in part by new retail and restaurant development.
“We’ve got everything from college students to retired couples, and everything in between,” he said. “The more that opens over there and is developed, it seems like the workers for those businesses really like living close to work.”
The redevelopment’s success is reflected in the property’s assessed value for property taxes. Mr. Nelson said Westdale’s assessed value has gone from $4.3 million in 2013 to $68 million last year. He expects that figure to reach about $90 million upon completion of the Parkway West towers.
“We’re very proud of what’s transpired,” he said. “It has taken a little longer and it’s different from what we had envisioned at the beginning, but it’s going to be a great project for this side of town.”
— Steve Gravelle
