Battlefield Mall shapes region's retail

“I’ve heard stories that in 1970 people would say, ‘Just keep on driving – there really is a mall out there,’” said Christine Moses, director of mall marketing.

At that time, Springfield’s south side had more cornfields than developments. Soon, however, Battlefield Mall would capture the stronghold on local retail that downtown historically owned.

Although City Manager Tom Finnie wasn’t in Springfield at the time, he speculated that the migration of downtown retailers happened as soon as the mall announced its plans.

The square was closed to traffic and turned into a pedestrian mall in response to the new competition for downtown retailers. But many store owners made the move to the mall.

“It was a new industry. It was exciting to have one-stop shopping in a perfect 70-degree climate,” said Battlefield Mall Manager Rob Rector.

The shoppers followed.

“Thirty-five years ago, there was a lot of criticism for building a park out there, and I think that gives you a rough idea of the impact that Battlefield Mall has had,” Finnie said. “There’s development as far out as you can see now.”

Sales tax impact

Battlefield Mall offers more than 1.2 million square feet of gross leasable area, Moses said. Including specialty leasing, such as kiosks and carts, Moses estimated that there are at least 150 stores that make up today’s mall. More than two dozen locally owned businesses lease space in or on the mall’s property.

Those numbers translate into dollars for a municipality.

“It probably has, I don’t know, a 5 (percent) to 10 percent impact on our total sales tax,” Finnie said. “If there’s heavy traffic around the mall, like at Christmastime, and I start to get frustrated, I just remind myself that a significant amount of my pay each month comes from the sales tax of Battlefield Mall and to just relax. I remind myself that if it wasn’t for Battlefield Mall, I’d probably be making 10 percent less right now.”

As one of 294 malls owned by publicly traded Simon Property Group, Moses declined to disclose Battlefield Mall’s revenues.

However, she said it ranks within the top 15 Simon Malls for shopper visits, and its travel radius of 90 miles is one of the largest within the group.

Chick-Fil-A franchise owner Steve Lowery said that foot traffic and sales at his business have increased over the years.

“Basically, there has been a 300 percent increase (in sales) since (the store opened in) 1982,” he said.

A 1982 expansion, which included the addition of Sears, doubled the size of the mall, Moses said. It also brought the mall its first food court and a six-screen cinema, Rector said.

The development of the mall continued.

A 1993 renovation included new floors and amenities, cosmetic changes to the entrances, and an expansion of Sears, Moses said.

Continual change has become part of the now-mature industry, Rector said.

“We have to constantly evolve as the market does, and make adjustments accordingly,” he added.

Market shift

Thirty-five years later, the market demand has shifted from Battlefield Mall’s original selling point – the enclosed mall – back to the open-air shopping of earlier days.

A renovation to the former Piccadilly Cafeteria created a Lifestyle Center that opened last year with a streetscape and storefront access to Ann Taylor Loft, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek and Jos. A. Bank.

The outdoor center is changing the demographic of mall shoppers.

“We’d seen a trend toward a more affluent shopper. It was starting before, but it’s exploded since the Lifestyle Center,” Lowery said.

More change is around the corner. Moses said that she expects the mall to make an announcement about additional developments in early fall.[[In-content Ad]]