Fair Oaks Mall Seeks Permission to Expand by 34%
The owner of Fair Oaks Mall envisions 400,000 additional square feet of retail space. "It is the right time for upscale tenants," the mall's general manager said.
(By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The owner of Fair Oaks Mall has filed plans with Fairfax County to expand by 540,000 square feet, increasing its size by about a third.
The preliminary proposal, which requires county approval, would allow for two new restaurants, a 125,000-square-foot office building and 400,000 square feet of retail space in the 27-year-old shopping center, said Chris Poleto, the mall's general manager.
He offered no timetable for construction and said no tenants have been lined up.
The Fair Oaks Mall has more than 190 retail shops and restaurants. It is anchored by Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Sears and J.C. Penney and has steadily been introducing upscale stores to its mix.
The mall's corporate owner, Taubman Centers, has been sorting through its roster of 22 malls nationwide, looking for candidates for expansion, said Matthew Ostrower, an analyst with Morgan Stanley.
The world of high-end retail is generally more protected from economic cycles than other kinds of shopping, Ostrower said.
"There is always the risk that you finish the space and [the economy] goes down," Ostrower said. But, "for higher-quality assets, the market is usually stable, and there is a limited supply of regional, high-quality mall space."
The application to expand the mall must wend its way through the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning and the Planning Commission before being approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Fair Oaks, at Interstate 66 and Route 50, has benefited from a resurgence of upscale shopping in recent years.
In December 2006, Verizon opened an Experience Store there. It is one of only two in the country, where customers can view high-definition televisions and test-drive the latest cellphones, and where Verizon can promote its super-high-capacity fiber-optic network.
The Swedish clothier H&M opened a store at Fair Oaks in 2006 as did the restaurant Cheesecake Factory, a staple at higher-end shopping areas. Texas de Brazil, a steakhouse, followed.
The mall now has a gross leasable area of 1.6 million square feet, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
"It is the right time for upscale tenants," Poleto said. "I think the change and evolution of our more sophisticated customers" has followed the evolution of the region, he said.
