'Mall Repair' in Laurel

Rebuilding

Falatko believes in malls. That's his job.

Somera has bought eight shopping centers across the country since 2002. The company generally looks for centers that have at least 500,000 square feet and sales per square foot starting at $300. It prefers metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 people.

Somera does the dirty work, transforming the properties and holding on to them for two to eight years before selling. It flipped West Oaks Mall in Houston in 2005 after two years, a $10 million renovation and sales increases of 6 percent.

Laurel, however, is a particularly big problem. It's small for a shopping center -- just about 663,289 square feet -- but Somera expects to spend more to renovate the mall than it did to buy it. In addition, it has no control over the site of the Burlington Coat Factory, which is still owned by the Berman family, which owned the original Laurel Shopping Center.

But the tenants are the least of Laurel's issues, said Stephen Kriegel of General Growth Properties, which Somera hired to manage the mall. More challenging is changing the reputation of the mall among retailers and Laurel residents.

"We knew the perception of the property was bad. We knew we were getting a problem property," Falatko said. But community reaction was "pretty negative."

It starts with the parking garage, a hulking, run-down structure that blocks the view of the mall. The new plan calls for the garage to be torn down and rebuilt along Fourth Street, hidden by trees. A smaller deck will sit just off Route 1.

That will free up space at the mall's most visible entrance along Route 1 for free-standing retail and restaurants, with a courtyard and fountain in the center. Mall retailers closest to the street would be turned outward to face the road, with the rest of the stores accessible from inside.

They also hope to "Laurelize" the shopping center by using local stone and brick for the facade. The mall's center court will have a clock tower reminiscent of one at the former B&O railroad station nearby, while the children's play area will have a Laurel race track theme.

But what has generated perhaps the most interest is the promise of a 16-screen movie theater and bookstore to replace International Furniture Liquidators. Somera and city officials said those two requests have topped residents' wish lists in focus groups and public hearings.

"I think they really did their homework," Moe said. "I think you're going to really see a difference instead of a big block mall."

Change is already occurring in Laurel as residents with more disposable income arrive. The median household income within a three-mile radius of the mall in 2006 was $63,671, according to research by General Growth. Officials hope the military base realignments will bring in more families because of the city's proximity to Fort Meade.

Residents want to believe that change is coming to the mall, but they have been disappointed too many times, Moe said. There are dreams of Old Navy, Gymboree, maybe even a Panera Bread or a Cosi. Somera said it probably will not be able to announce the tenants until spring.

Already the competition is lining up. Plans for the Konterra Town Center south of Laurel Mall include luxury condos and retail to match. Laurel Lakes Centre recently was revamped to focus on big-box stores and national chains. There are scores of strip centers up and down Route 1.

But Moe thinks there is still a place for Laurel Mall.

"Has the community outgrown this type of mall? I don't think so," the mayor said.