[Southsider2k12]

I don't know who does their accounting, but an 81% occupancy rate sounds like something right out of Bernie Madoff's books.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=48087.52

Marquette Mall: 'Riding out the storm'

Joseph Malan
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Joe Wolfe sat on a bench outside of Carson Pirie Scott on Saturday, watching a few dozen patrons pass by and waiting for his wife, Judy, to finish her shopping.

Wolfe, 71, who along with his wife shops at Marquette Mall a couple times a month, contemplated the mall's closed storefronts.

"It seems a lot more stores are closing up compared to reopening," said Wolfe, who owns homes in both Urbana, Ohio, and Hanna. "I would think with unemployment the way it is, it's pretty good there's only six (storefronts closed)."

Lesley Woods, 27, Chesterton, hadn't been to the mall for four or five years, but she was surprised Saturday to see half a dozen closed storefronts.

"There's nothing here," Woods said, as she walked to Sears to finishing her shopping. "I'm really surprised."

Five store outlets have left in the past five years, including two in the last year, according to Laura Tubbs, the mall's general manager. Since that time, two of the storefronts have been re-sold and leasing agents are currently working on a few deals to bring more stores in.

Still, though, the 81 percent occupancy rate and progressively lower foot traffic at the mall disappoints Tubbs, who has been the general manager for five years.

"It is what it is, unfortunately," she said. "We're just hanging in there, riding out the storm, waiting for the economy to turn around."

Despite a lower-than-desired occupancy rate, Tubbs said, the owners have no plans to close the mall. The only thing that might happen in the near future is the mall may slightly cut back on weekday operating hours.

Tubbs said a variety of factors besides the economy, including the increased popularity of Internet shopping, have been responsible in the downturn of Marquette Mall's occupancy.

Ruby Fortuin, nine-year owner of Ruby's Gifts at the mall, blames a different cause. She says it's easy for an owner to lose their business when they don't plan ahead financially. She brought up an example of an individual who wanted to open a clothing store at the mall. The owner, she said, had been paying rent on the property for two months, but hadn't opened yet because they didn't know exactly what they wanted to sell. In other words, it was a matter of poor planning.

"These people think they're going to make money right away," she said. "You've got to have a brain when you go into this business."

Fortuin, 66, is rarely able to save money from what she makes off her store, so she relies on Social Security for any extra money. Sixty percent of the money she makes goes toward paying for things relating to the store, while the other 40 percent she uses to pay bills at home.

"[Owning a business] is not fun all the time," she said.

Janet McCoy, manager of both Readers World and Marie's Hallmark, seemed to agree with Tubbs that peoples' shopping habits have changed.

"More people are going to big box stores," she said. "You go in, you buy everything at once."

Tubbs said Marquette Mall is not affected by Lighthouse Place across town.

"You're talking about a different kind of shopper," she said. "It's a totally different demographic."

Fortuin agrees.

"Lighthouse doesn't hurt me one iota," she said.

[IndyTransplant]

"Lesley Woods, 27, Chesterton, hadn't been to the mall for four or five years, but she was surprised Saturday to see half a dozen closed storefronts.

"There's nothing here," Woods said, as she walked to Sears to finishing her shopping. "I'm really surprised."

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She's really Surprised? If she hasn't been there in 4 or 5 years, lots of others have not either. Stores do not survive by visits to them once in four or five years. Does she think they will stay open in breathless anticipation of her twice in a decade visits.
Personally I like Marquette Mall. I can walk there if needed and use little gas if driving. It is close by and has several good stores. I hope it is able to ride out the economic storm and attract more businesses.
But that's just me.

[Dave]

I don't know who does their accounting, but an 81% occupancy rate sounds like something right out of Bernie Madoff's books.

Ahh, statistics. I wonder if that 81% represents square footage or if it is something like "rental units"? Not that I'm sure which would be worse for a mall -- having one storefront in 5 vacant, or having an anchor tenant with almost 20% of the mall's floorspace leave.

[eric.hanke]

I have to agree with those who lack faith in the 81% occupancy. Magnolia works part time at JC Penneys so we frequent the mall.



I am going to have to walk around and count the empty storefronts...

[Ang]

Hey SSder, sorry I had to edit the topic. If Roger came in here and saw you spelled Peak (meaning summit or highest point) instead of Peek (to sneak a look), you'd have one big fat improper usage fine!

Just covering your back, buddy!

[Southsider2k12]

I have to agree with those who lack faith in the 81% occupancy. Magnolia works part time at JC Penneys so we frequent the mall.



I am going to have to walk around and count the empty storefronts...

I am sure it a percentage of total square footage. For example if you take all of the sq ft of Carson's, Sears, and JC Penny's and add them up, they all count as "occupied". They are huge blocks of space. Then you count as "unoccupied" all of the empty store fronts in the rest of the mall, because they are such small spaces, they only come up as a fraction of those larger blocks. Helping that number is also the new Tourism bureau moving into the mall and taking up a nice chunk of space.

Hey SSder, sorry I had to edit the topic. If Roger came in here and saw you spelled Peak (meaning summit or highest point) instead of Peek (to sneak a look), you'd have one big fat improper usage fine!

Just covering your back, buddy!

LOL. I always said, I would keep him around as my editor if I ever ran for office again.

[RexKickass]

I'm guessing it includes office space and doesn't include the wings of the mall that they've closed off to retail (where the community center is, the wing where First Citizens Bank used to be and Only the Beginning, the area where the arcade was is probably also no longer counted either.

Marquette Mall has had problems for a decade and a lot of bad decisions in offering space to potential tenants as well as a lack of marketing savvy to customers in the county has really hurt the place.