Mall looking at options to fill vacancies

In spite of the closing earlier this month of the six-screen Battlefield 6 Wehrenberg Theatre and the imminent closing of Montgomery Ward, Battlefield Mall is still a strong retail property with a waiting list of potential tenants, according to Kristy Henson, Battlefield Mall marketing director.

Henson said the mall, located at 2825 S. Glenstone, is more than 1.1 million square feet in size, and 91 percent of that space is occupied, even after the loss of the theater. She said that allowing for the soon-to-be-vacant Montgomery Ward space, occupancy still will be about 90 percent.

Battlefield Mall owner Simon Properties has a corporate leasing division that works with national retailers. Henson said that division will be involved in determining which retailers will best fit the mall's merchandising mix. The cost of leasing mall space is negotiated on a tenant-by-tenant basis.

Henson said the mall also has a specialty leasing program for clients that aren't part of large national retail chains.

"(Specialty leasing) is when an entrepreneur can take advantage of testing their product out in our market, and seeing if that will work, and they can do a short-term lease," Henson said. She added that specialty leasing is mostly done at kiosks and cart locations throughout the mall.

"We work with those entrepreneurs to develop their business ... hopefully develop them well enough that they can move into an inline space," Henson said.

She added that Simon's corporate leasing division has connections with large national retailers who might want to come to Battlefield Mall. As for the space formerly occupied by the movie theater, she said mall officials will likely "take a step back" and examine whether that space is best suited for an entertainment venue, or whether a retailer might fit.

For example, she said, when the Century 21 Theater closed, Ethan Allen moved into that space.

"I think we need to look at all angles and see what will work best for the shopping center, and provide the best shopping experience," she said.

Henson said it's important that people understand that changes in retail properties aren't unusual.

"This happens in the shopping industry. We are continuously looking at new and exciting shopping opportunities to enhance our shopping center, and that's part of the business."