Photo Courtesy of ZL Prescott LLC
The transformation of 22-year-old Prescott Gateway Mall into a new shopping destination rebranded as Pine Ridge Marketplace is complete with the refurbishment of the interior and the repair of the heating and cooling systems.
Now, owner Chris Lupo is looking toward attracting new tenants and re-establishing it as a community hub.
“The goal is to create a new town center for the City of Prescott,” he said.
Its new name debuted on New Year’s Day, and Lupo has been encouraged by the response to the $2.5 million in mall upgrades, which include the HVAC system, LED lighting throughout, revitalized landscaping, an improved parking lot and reconstructed entrances.
“We’re pleased to hear that the customers are noticing the investment in the center. Also very pleased to see the community interest in a lot of the events. We had a great turnout for our Halloween event and we’re going to build on that,” along with Christmas festivities and the recent Hop ‘Til You Drop with the Easter Bunny. Monthly car shows and other community events should keep the crowds coming.
The 600,000-square-foot mall’s ahead-of-its-time design combining an indoor mall with rows of outdoor-facing storefronts that add up to nearly half the total space is one aspect that attracted Lupo and his business partner in ZL Prescott, LLC to the site.
“Many critics say the traditional mall is dying, but there’s nothing traditional about Pine Ridge Marketplace considering it’s more of a hybrid, lifestyle center,” he said.
Anchor stores Dillard’s and JC Penney, which own their spaces, are expected to stay on board, Lupo said, and his leasing company is working on renewals for several other major tenants. Espire Sports has purchased and taken over the former Sears store with pickleball and multisport courts, a fitness center, putting green and numerous indoor games and sports on offer.
The other tenants are a mix of “traditional mall” clothing, accessories, food and furnishings outlets and newer specialty or service providers including a first responder clothing and tactical gear supplier, a tile store, an online flight school, real estate office, dance studio, meat market, offices for an online flight school and a hospice care agency and the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Learning Center.
The Pine Ridge team has welcomed two new tenants: Prescott Fine Art, featuring classes led by a Certified Bob Ross Instructor, and Moussetache Cafe, serving boba, chai and fruit teas, coffee, baked goods and more. Black and White Café, a Glendale eatery that serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches, dinner, wine and cocktails, will soon open its second location there.
Lupo said about one-third of the mall currently is vacant and its leasing agency is actively working to attract new uses including a specialty grocer and medical services, as well as sit-down restaurants, national clothing retailers and entertainment providers. Some could end up in new buildings on the perimeter of the property.
“We recognize Prescott is becoming a younger and more affluent community, and we’re focused on retailers and services that satisfy the community’s needs,” he said.
Given that active marketing of the mall didn’t begin until the end of last year and the length it takes to complete lease agreements, “It’s going to be six to 12 months before we have any announcements,” Lupo said.
Construction of a four-story Wingate by Wyndham hotel in the parking lot next to Espire Sports could start later this year, he said, and “will be a great addition to the center.”
With housing proposals springing up around the mall in the past few years, he said there’s a “high likelihood” of it appearing in some form near Pine Ridge Marketplace in the next five years.
Lupo is bullish on the mall’s future and said several factors are adding up to what should be a successful revitalization:
“The fact that it was so well built, in such a great community, with a good city (government) behind us, putting all that together with an ownership that was willing to invest made a perfect mix for what this center and what this community needs.”
