ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702180009
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Shopping
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
What on earth is going on at Tanglewood Mall?
That's the question that began circulating about two weeks ago, when the Roanoke County shopping center - known more for its small local shops than its supercenters - announced Barnes & Noble, a national book seller, would open a superstore and a 10-screen Carmike multiplex would be operating in time for the Christmas rush.
The new tenants may be just what the 24-year-old mall needs to reclaim a portion of the Roanoke Valley's retail market, dominated for the last decade by Valley View Mall.
Tanglewood, once the area's only regional mall, has seen its out-of-town traffic dwindle since Valley View opened in 1985. Geography likely has something to do with the shift; shoppers driving in on Interstate 581 simply get to Valley View before Tanglewood.
But Valley View also has lured a series of high-profile national tenants - most recently Gap, Eddie Bauer and Disney - to bolster its local merchants. Tanglewood, with few exceptions, has relied on local merchants and smaller, less glitzy regional and national chains.
Until now, that is.
"One national chain has finally realized being at Tanglewood is a smart move," said Jack Dickerson, assistant manager of the Belk department store that anchors Tanglewood. National merchants typically want to locate near other big-name stores, so if the bookstore makes it at Tanglewood, others could follow.
Judy Tullius, who manages Tanglewood for Kane Realty Corp. of Raleigh, N.C., said the developer is negotiating with several more national tenants, as well as several regional and local ones. Two tenants - a gourmet coffee shop and a home theater store - have just been signed, and several existing ones are moving into larger quarters. The mall currently is 87 percent occupied.
But some observers think Tanglewood will have to decide what it wants to be before it'll be able to attract more tenants the caliber of Barnes & Noble.
The mall's natural market area is a high-income portion of the Valley, and mall management has said Tanglewood is not going to become a discount center, yet that is how it appears, said Ken Gassman, a retail analyst with Davenport & Co. of Virginia in Richmond. While clothiers Davidson's and John Norman draw affluent shoppers, off-price merchants Stein Mart, Goody's and T.J. Maxx - which recently finished a major expansion - also have been embraced by the mall.
But Tullius said more malls are opting for similarly diverse tenant bases, and Kane is pleased with Tanglewood's mix. Stores such as T.J. Maxx and Stein Mart are popular among higher-income shoppers who want a bargain, she said. And these big stores draw the kind of traffic to the mall that smaller tenants can't always muster.
Compared to malls nationally, Tanglewood has performed well financially, she said. The mall in 1995 had sales per square foot of $245 - excluding anchor tenants Stein Mart, T.J. Maxx, Belk, J.C. Penney and Goody's - compared to the national average of $220 per square foot, again excluding anchor stores. The sales per square foot measure is a standard used by retailers and commercial realty firms to compare performance of stores and shopping centers.
But shoppers who enjoy the relative peace and quiet of the Roanoke County mall needn't be concerned quite yet that Tanglewood is turning into a bustling Valley View South.
For one thing, neither the multiplex nor the bookstore will be attached to the mall. For another, the addition of these new tenants leaves little room for expansion around the mall. Unlike Valley View, which recently announced plans to buy 40 more acres of adjacent parcels, Tanglewood is hemmed in on all sides, effectively turning away merchants who may want to erect their own buildings - and attract even more traffic.
"Tanglewood will always be a community center - your local mall," said Tullius. "We'll be able to maintain that hometown appeal."
Tanglewood merchants say they're happy with any growth.
"It's going to help in some ways," said Joe Curulla, manager of the Davidson's men's shop at Tanglewood. It's just too bad, he said, that the Barnes & Noble didn't take the old Brendle's space instead of building an unattached store. "In order to get to Brendle's," he said, "people would have to walk through the mall," past his store.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB