ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050013
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: MARKETPLACE
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
TANGLEWOOD MALL is undergoing a $7 million renovation that is slated for completion by the end of August.
This artist's rendition portrays a view from the upper level of Tanglewood Mall, facing J.C. Penney, once renovations are complete.
Tanglewood Mall has been advertising for months about giving Roanoke a whole new look.
You've probably seen the billboards - the ones showing a pouty young woman in sunglasses.
But if you've shopped at Tanglewood lately, you may have wondered just what kind of new look its owners have in mind.
The parquet floor tiles have been torn up, exposing rough concrete. Structural columns have been stripped of decorative tile to expose skeletal beams. A fine layer of gray dust coats just about everything.
This isn't, mall manager Judy Tullius wants to assure us, some minimalist, new-age mall design.
"You have to tear everything down before you can go the other way," said Tullius, who manages the shopping center for Tanglewood Mall Associates, owned by real estate developer John Kane of Raleigh, N.C.
An artist's rendering provides a better idea of what Kane plans: the stationary red-brick planters replaced with smaller, dark green moveable ones; tiles in shades of salmon and wheat replacing the parquet floor; beige walls repainted in green and salmon. New light fixtures, new directories of the center's stores and services, new benches - with backs. Even the mirrored wall will go.
The $7 million renovation, the latest stage in a project that started early last spring, is slated to be finished by Aug. 31, with a promotional re-opening scheduled for Sept. 29. Until then, you'll just have to watch your step when you shop.
Be especially careful when you walk on the glossy new floor tiles, some of which already have been laid on the upper level. They're a bit slippery in some spots right now because they're dusty. But they meet safety guidelines, Tullius said, and once they're properly cleaned, they'll be a lot less slick.
"It's an inconvenience, there's no question about that," Tullius said. But all the construction is being done at night, to minimize the mess when shoppers are present.
But Kane is making more than just cosmetic changes at Tanglewood. Expect to see new stores moving into the mall in the next few months.
"We're looking for a more upscale national tenant mix to combine with our existing tenant mix," Tullius said. "We don't want people to think we're going to a discount concept."
The first priority is to find a department store to fill the space that Brendle's will be leaving this summer. Brendle's lease at Tanglewood would expire in 1998, and Kane already had discussed not renewing the agreement with the North Carolina discounter.
But the chain announced in April that it was closing its stores at Tanglewood and at the Marketplace in Christiansburg as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. Kane is pursuing several "major department stores," Tullius said, but she won't say which ones.
If Tanglewood can attract another anchor department store similar to Leggett - or even more upscale - the mall may have better luck snagging similar national chains, Tullius said. They're focusing on wooing tenants who don't already have a presence in the Roanoke Valley. Several leases are pending, and details should be coming in a week or two.
Signing the first few national tenants is always the hardest, she said. If Tanglewood could attract Bath & Body Works, Structure or Eddie Bauer, which just announced it's moving into Valley View Mall this fall, other upscale stores would begin to fall into place.
The mall is 89 percent full right now. Tullius expects that to rise to 95 percent by the time shoppers think seriously about Christmas.
The Food Court may be Kane's next project. The court's current tenants, including national chains Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A and Sbarro, are doing quite well, Tullius said. The mall can't support many more food vendors, but it does need more variety - a hamburger place, perhaps, and a deli.
Other moves to watch:
nA number of temporary tenants will fill some of the mall vacancies for a few weeks or a few months at a stretch. One that's already signed up is Perry's Place, a gift and antique shop that will move into the former Heironimus Great Additions space on the lower level.
nBlue Ridge Outdoors is tripling the size of its store on Tanglewood's upper level.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB