By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The Florence Mall opened in September of 1976, and was a wonderful state of the art place for shopping and just hanging out. Anchored by larger stores like JC Penney’s, Sears, Pogues, and Shillito’s, plus a food court and about 100 other stores, the mall was a great place to be, and smaller companies and niche stores vied to be tenants of the mall to revel in the retail extravaganza.
But that was then and this is now, 50 years later.
The mall has fallen victim to the ‘old mall’ syndrome, being outdated and less of a destination even for the residents of Florence.
Fifty years has not been kind to the mall.
People wonder why the city of Florence doesn’t do something about the mall.
“One of the biggest things I want people to understand is that we can’t really do anything about the Mall, because we don’t own it,” said Florence Mayor Julie Aubuchon. “There are five owners, well, one that owns the mall proper and four anchors, and they all have to agree on what to do. That isn’t easy.”
Aubuchon said it also isn’t easy to attract customers.
“Retail has evolved,” she explained. “It used to be you would be in a busy mall and put your sign out and people would come. Now you have to create reasons for them to come. You might have an experience to offer, or have something like an in-store cafe, or events at your store. There has to be a reason for people to come.”
Around the turn of the century there was a movement to reinvent malls into outside spaces, and Crestview Mall did just that and reaped the reward of attracting more businesses and customers.
At the same time, Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati redesigned their indoor space and they continue to be wildly popular.
“There’s a story to that,” said Mayor Aubuchon. “At one point apparently both the Kenwood Mall and the Florence Mall were owned by the same company and those owners decided that because the median income was higher in Cincinnati, they would prioritize Kenwood over Florence. They debt-loaded Florence Mall to be able to fund everything they needed to do at Kenwood Mall. They kind of did it on purpose to leverage one mall against the other, and that was how Kenwood Mall kind of catapulted into success. So that was really the demise of our Mall.”
Some people attribute the lack of businesses at the mall to the fact that the rent is too high at the Florence Mall, but Aubuchon is skeptical about that.
“I don’t know if that is true,” she said. “I know that is a storyline that is out there, but I also think people don’t know how much rents are. if you told people the rent is $3,000 for a retail space, and they are basing their knowledge on how much they pay on their house, they probably think that is a lot. There are restaurants in the city that pay $40,000 a month. I don’t think people understand the going rates for retail spaces. I don’t know that the mall’s rent is high but my gut reaction is that if the average consumer hears a figure they might say that it is ‘high’ but a multinational corporation might not bat an eye.”
The general reaction from people is that the Florence Mall is dead, but is it?
A lot of people think it is light and bright, and other people are there – going to stores like Hot Topic or Penney’s or Build a Bear or Aeropostale or Bath and Bodyworks, and even Spencer’s. There is a good food court, and it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter, so if someone wants to walk, they have two levels of flat, even walking paths.
So the mall isn’t on a scary level of Five-Nights-at-Freddie’s dead, but in terms of success, or even return on investment, it is not a star.
‘It is going to need to reenvision,” said Aubuchon. “The main owner, Namdar, has a mode of business where they buy real estate in the form of a mall, and they develop the outlots around them, and then they typically sell. So we are in the position now where they are starting to get some return on investment and they are thinking about whether or not they want to sell. We have been working with several developers over the years, and some have gone further than others, but none seem to make it to the finish line because of how cumbersome the agreement has to be between all the parties to get a deal done.”
All the parties have to agree – the owner, and the four anchors. Some of the developers have money but not the vision, and others have the vision, but not the money, she said.
“It’s truly a situation where the more the mall deteriorates, the more the price is driven down, and that makes it more attractive for re-development,” Aubuchon said. “We have had hundreds of people submit suggestions of what they think the mall should be. You have to have a very bold, a very innovative vision. You can’t think piecemeal. This is a project that will re-define our region. It will take multiple sectors to come together, like retail, hospitality, hotels, entertainment, economic centers, office buildings, and even medical. People are visioning it. If they are thinking pretty big, and we are thinking pretty big, something could come together.”
She said the city council would have to approve whatever goes in there. The Boone County Planning Commission can make recommendations, and then it goes to the Florence Planning Committee for review and then to city council. So the city doesn’t own the mall, but they can control the zoning.
“And I, as Mayor, do not vote.” she said. “I will tell you something new, it looks like Bluegrass Hospitality bought the old Smokey Bones earlier this year, and they have restaurants like Drakes and Malones, and Aqua Sushi. So one of their brands will be coming to Florence at the old Smokey Bones.”
Besides that good news, Mayor Aubuchon doesn’t know if the Florence mall has a future as a mall.
“As a mall, I don’t know,” she said. “As a redevelopment of some form, absolutely. It’s just too valuable of land. It has interstate frontage, we are within a day’s drive of most of the Tri-State’s population. So we are geographically centered well, and we have the reputation in the region as a destination for shopping, and entertainment. We have people who come from Cincinnati, we have people who come from Grant County and farther south. We are still a regional destination. And the Mall is not the only attraction in our city. In some places, when the mall closes, the whole area dies. That’s definitely not the case here.”
She said if the right combination of vision, money, and getting agreement from all four anchors comes along, the job of redeveloping the mall will happen.
“We know that both the Sears and the Macy’s anchor properties are currently being marketed for sale,” Aubuchon said. “While anchor vacancies present challenges, they also create significant opportunities. Our goal is not simply to fill vacant storefronts. Our focus is on long-term, sustainable redevelopment that strengthens this area for the next generation. We believe Florence Mall has the potential to evolve in a similar way.”