JustMe123 wrote:Sigh. The plight of poor Jamestown could be a long thread all its own. The population is growing (after a long period of stagnation) in that general area but for whatever reason that mall has never been popular. Is it the lack of decent restaurants? The feeling like it's out in the middle of nowhere when it really isn't? Who knows. It's a chicken/egg thing - the mall has little traffic so it's unattractive to major tenants, but it doesn't get much traffic because it doesn't have a good selection of stores.....
I agree completely. Is it perhaps a management issue? Hasn't the mall had several different management firms over the years? I question whether enough was done to adequately position the mall- and by that I mean everything from marketing to tenant selection seemed to be lagging, especially in recent years.
The population around the mall is growing, new home construction in NoCo seems to be occuring at a faster pace than I can recall in my lifetime, yet the general area (Mills mall and Florissant strip centers excluded) is hemorraging retail. Like you said, it's definitely a good example of the chicken vs. egg argument.
southcitygent wrote:I feel that the plight of Jamestown is just a reflection of the local mentality that "the North Side is bad/dangerous". I still have some family living in North County, at least for the next couple of years. I expect them to soon follow the rest of my relatives that fled to St. Charles and Madison Counties. They will travel to West County or the Galleria for shopping even though Jamestown and Northwest are much closer. I find the same mentality of avoiding North County retailers by many friends both black and white who live there. Funny thing was we went to Jamestown all the time when it first opened (I especially loved all the fountains as a kid) but they have avoided it like the plague for the past 12 years. I believe that Jamestown's days as a regular mall unfortunately might have faded and its doomed to become a discount retailer. Even with all the new housing being built around it shoppers will probably continue to take their spending power elsewhere. The Mills might also have problems if they don't watch out, last weekends mall closing due to violence has already made the rounds at work. One person commented on the story by saying "what else can you expect from Hazelwood".
I'm afraid you're probably right, because I agree, and I wish we were both wrong in this case.
When I lived in Maryland Heights, I used to go to Jamestown when I couldn't find what I wanted at Northwest Plaza. I encountered less traffic heading north after work than I would've heading to West County or Chesterfield malls. And I liked the smaller footprint of Jamestown, since I did most of my shopping in the anchor stores. I generally prefer Famous-Barr, but I always liked the Jamestown Dillard's and had good luck finding work attire there. (The geek in me always thought it was cool because it had four floors- it reminded me of the old downtown stores more than the average mall anchor.) I guess that's why I always went downtown first anytime I wanted to go to a Famous-Barr specifically!
Yet I encountered many people who said "I never shop at Jamestown," or that asked me why I shopped there, as if the place held some sort of disease. I do think there's this common perception that all of North County is dangerous, even if the majority of crime is confined to relatively small areas. IMHO it's just as misguided to suggest this as it is to make the same assumptions about city living. And I'm used to defending myself against those misconceptions all the time, so I can only imagine how the average NoCo resident must feel.
I fear that the Dillard's closing will force Macy's and Sears to reconsider their future in this mall. Perhaps discount stores will take their place, since JC Penney turned their Jamestown location into an outlet store a few years ago. I'm sure both parent companies (Federated and Sears Holdings) will continue shedding unprofitable stores in the coming years as the cost of doing business continues to rise. And Dillard's, a super-regional chain, has to compete with an 800-pound gorilla that now has a national presence- Macy's.
Unfortunately, I'm not surprised by the closing, but I always thought the remaining Northwest Plaza anchors (FB/Macy's, Dillard's, and Sears) would close first- just as JC Penney did five years ago.
