Jamestown Penney's closing: sad ending or fresh start?
January 30, 2011
nocostl.com
Faced with sagging profits in an uncertain retail landscape, JC Penney announced last week that it will be closing a handful of stores and ceasing catalog operations. On the chopping block locally: its catalog outlet store at Jamestown Mall in unincorporated North County.
Of course, some will use this as a "nail in the coffin" opportunity, citing the long string of changes and closures that have left Jamestown Mall a shadow of its former self. They'll declare Jamestown dead...again. And you know what? A part of me is perfectly ok with that.
As I've mentioned before, I grew up right next door to Jamestown Mall, within walking distance. My first job was there. I spent countless weekends hanging out there. Literally, there is no stage of my grade school and high school years that did not involve this place in some way. But even then I wondered, why the hell is there a shopping mall in the middle of nowhere?
In 1973, when Jamestown Mall was built and North County was experiencing a population boom, I'm sure the developers thought it made perfect sense, especially after MoDOT started kicking around the idea of making 367 a legitimate highway. Back then, I suspect they noticed "executive homes" going up along Old Jamestown and saw new subdivisions and Catholic parishes blossoming with young families, and they figured a big modern shopping mall was a great fit. And for 25 years or so, I guess it was.
But today, malls nationwide are in decline. Big-box stores, online shopping, over-development and changing consumer tastes have led to the demise of many indoor shopping malls across the country, leaving some, like Jamestown, to limp along half vacant with lesser-known retailers, while others, like Northwest Plaza, simply run out of gas.
In many ways, Jamestown Mall was almost destined to fail at some point. Its remote location, in an area better known for natural wonders than great shopping, has always made it a tough sell. But now that Penney's is closing (within the next year) and Macy's will likely follow, perhaps the time has finally come to put some new ideas into action. Ideas like this...
Back in 2009, the St. Louis County Economic Council teamed with experts from the Urban Land Institute to start developing new possibilities for the Jamestown Mall site, and what emerged was the outline for a revitalized "town center." Nine months later, in July 2010, a Florida-based urban design firm took the process one step further, coming up with a general plan that was presented to area residents during a "design charrette" in September. (Wish I could've been there, but I didn't learn about it until afterward.)
You can download the firm's presentation here.
Essentially, it explains that the market area surrounding Jamestown Mall is already over-saturated with retailers, and that its population simply cannot support a regional mall of that size. On a positive note, the presentation also topples a prevailing stereotype about North County, revealing that the median household income around Jamestown Mall is EQUIVALENT TO that in Chesterfield, Wildwood and St. Charles County. (Take that, naysayers!)
Considering this data, as well as input from citizens, the design firm proposed eventually demolishing most of the mall (save Macy's and Penney's) and replacing it with a mixed-use, village-style development featuring shops, restaurants, housing and offices. Think New Town St. Charles. Or Seaside, Florida, without the sea.
Rumor has it that Jamestown Mall is also being considered for a massive flea market. Not sure how I feel about that. Another possibility is senior housing, which I think is a dreadful, depressing idea. Some seniors, yes. But the whole property??
And speaking of the property, Jamestown Mall happens to have five different owners (including Macy's and JC Penney), which makes redevelopment that much more of a challenge. Add in the sour economy and the remaining mall tenants and there's no telling when any of these projects might actually get some traction. But with this latest news from JC Penney...well, who knows?
