As work to reorient Columbus Place storefronts facing Highway 45 “inside-out” nears an end, Hull Group vice president John Mulherin said the company has adopted a new strategy for the redevelopment of the 123,000 square foot part of the property that faces Highway 82, commonly known as the back of the mall.
All of the company’s existing and planned retail is located on the Highway 45 side of the property. There are also plans to purchase four other properties in that area to be used for outparcels.
Mulherin says the loss of recent large tenants allows the mall to reposition itself for more desirable tenants.
Five years in, Mulherin says the project is progressing as planned and in fact the Hull Group plans to “double down” on Columbus by developing the back side of the mall for commercial, medical, municipal and possibly entertainment use. The company is also under contract to purchase four additional area properties for further development.
Hull Group’s plan is in line with the redevelopment of other malls around the country.
That means large malls and shopping centers are rapidly converting to mixed-use properties, including residential and medical.
In an analysis of 135 mall redevelopment projects, JLL, a professional services company, found 53.6% include housing. Medical offices were the next most common conversion at 34%. This doesn’t mean that retail is out. When converting a shopping mall, 85% of projects retain retail on the site, illustrating the value of merging uses in a single development.
There are no plans to convert any of Columbus Place to residential, but medical offices would appear to be a very good fit given its proximity to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Opening the door to other non-retail uses also gives the Hull Group a much broader pool of potential tenants.
A fully developed mixed-use property will create the kind of challenges that are typical where traffic increases. Even as it is, the small road that runs from 18th Avenue North to the mall property is one of the most congested areas in the city, with Chick-Fil-A patrons often backing up into the street. The amount of traffic takes a toll on the paving, something that has been a headache since the city and a private company share ownership of the road.
As occupancy at Columbus Place increases, it will likely create even more traffic on that street, particularly for any medical offices since that street is the most obvious route between the property and the hospital.
That isn’t the Hull Group’s responsibility, of course. But it could become a major headache for shoppers and businesses alike.
That is something all affected stakeholders – the city and the private owner of the street, Chick-Fil-A and the Hull Group – should plan for sooner rather than later.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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