Hamilton Place mall continues upgrades; adding new restaurants and stores

Kim Lyons, left, Hamilton Place mall marketing director, and David M. Meadows, senior general manager for the mall, talk about a new upscale restaurant at the mall. Rodizio Grill will go into the former Piccadilly Cafeteria.
Kim Lyons, left, Hamilton Place mall marketing director, and David M. Meadows, senior general manager for the mall, talk about a new upscale restaurant at the mall. Rodizio Grill will go into the former Piccadilly Cafeteria.

It will be a total rehab of the space.

photo The Hamilton Place Mall sign facing Interstate 75 announces the H&M store arrival later this year.

Hamilton Place changes

Opened in 2015› T-Mobile› Verizon› Character Box› Windsor Fashion› Vans› ZumiezOpened in 2016› Kids Foot Locker – relocation, remodel› Best Buy Mobile– relocation, remodel› Dos Bros – new tenant, second location in market› American Eagle – remodel to AE’s newest prototype› PINK – new retailer› Victoria’s Secret – remodel› Candy City – new retailer› Select Comfort– relocation, remodel to newest prototypeOpening in 2017› Champs – relocation, remodel to newest prototype (January)› Foot Locker – relocation, remodel (February)› Rodizio Grill – new tenant, second location in market (summer)› H&M – new retailer (November)Source:CBL & Associates Properties Inc.

Chattanooga's biggest mall is filling long vacant restaurant space, readying a home for the world's second biggest fashion retailer and keeping the center replenished with new and remodeled stores.

"We're keeping the mall full with the freshest retailers," said David Meadows, Hamilton Place mall's senior general manager. "We've had a good amount of activity."

Rodizio Grill, which calls itself an authentic Brazilian steakhouse, will open this summer in the space held by Piccadilly cafeteria for many years before it closed in late 2014.

Kim Lyons, the East Brainerd mall's marketing director, said Rodizio wanted a second location in the Chattanooga market since it opened a restaurant last year downtown with the new Holiday Inn.

"We felt it would enhance our property," she said, offering diners another option and spurring shoppers to stay longer at the mall.

The Rodizio Grill's opening in 2017 will be joined by the debut this fall of clothing retailer H&M, which mall officials said will take over the space of seven existing tenants.

Meadows said that some of the tenants have shifted to other space in the mall and others are leaving.

H&M will go in 23,000 square feet on the second level between JCPenney and Sears, he said. The H&M store will have one of the largest footprints of any retailer outside of the department stores, Meadows said. Barnes & Noble has 27,000 square feet, he said.

Lyons said H&M will help create "critical mass" in that portion of the shopping center.

Over the past couple of years and into 2017, the mall run by Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc. has or will see nearly 20 new or renovated offerings, officials said.

Meadows said some retailers put in a significant amount of investment to create their store look, such the Kids Foot Locker.

"Every build-out is unique," he said. "No one is the same."

Stacey Keating, a CBL spokeswoman, said the company's national collection of malls and shopping centers helps its relationships with retailers.

"It gives us leverage to package things together," she said.

Hamilton Place is in negotiations to bring in another store in late 2017 and an addition in 2018, officials said.

Meadows said that "there's lots coming in 2017. I'm sure there will be lots coming in 2018."

Work to remake the former Piccadilly site is expected to begin soon, Meadows said.

"It will be a total rehab of the space," he said about the 10,000-square-foot location that will give hungry shoppers another option.

CBL has been repositioning its large portfolio of shopping malls, with plans to ultimately sell off 21 centers in an effort to upgrade its remaining properties and boost the company's income.

The company divided its mall holdings into three tiers, and the 21 units it identified for sale are generally the least-performing, according to the company.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal included CBL in a story about mall companies walking away from some struggling properties amid competition from online retailers. It said CBL has handed six malls back to lenders, and that the properties had a debt balance totaling $381 million.

Neither Hamilton Place nor Northgate Mall in Hixson, which CBL bought in 2011, are among the centers the company has on the block.

While Hamilton Place is its flagship mall, the company has plowed millions of dollars into Northgate in recent years to spruce it up and bring in more and higher quality tenants.

CBL Chief Executive Stephen Lebovitz said Northgate has seen occupancy grow from about 50 percent to 90 percent.

Late last year, Augusta, Ga.-based Hull Property Group finalized the sale of Walnut Square Mall in Dalton, Ga., and two others from CBL for $32.25 million. Randolph Mall in Asheboro, N.C., and Regency Mall in Racine, Wis., also were purchased from CBL by Hull.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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