MERIDIAN —     Economists say that the recession is over and America is finally beginning its economic recovery.

    But a stroll through Bonita Lakes Mall might not showcase that recovery … at least not yet.

    The large mall that sits atop the hill just south of Intestate 20 overlooking Bonita Lakes Park has had a mixed bag of news in recent months with tenant turnover.

    When the mall first opened in the late 1990s, every storefront boasted a large chain retailer, and even on weekdays it was often crowded enough to make navigating its long corridors frustrating.

    In comparison, Bonita Lakes Mall lacks that type of traffic today. With a vacant storefront or kiosk always within view, an empty anchor store looming like an abandoned factory over a small town, and only a handful of shoppers passing by, the mall was sparse one Tuesday afternoon this month.

    Where has all the traffic gone? Has the economy forced people to hang on tighter to their disposable income? That’s part of it, economists say. But some of the traffic may have gone down the hill.

    The nearby Meridian Crossroads, by contrast, is much busier and has only a few vacant storefronts. But behind the shopping center, the plat of land that was once slated to become phase II of the development remains bare.



Crossroads expansion



    At the shopping center's November 2007 opening, developers even hinted a the possibility of a Target store being built as part of phase II, but that was before the economy tanked in late 2008.

    Meridian Finance and Records Director Ed Skipper said the economy's effect on retail sales has also left its mark on the city's spending efforts, causing a dip in sales tax collection that helped lead to large spending cuts that included layoffs.

    The mall has been struck with more than one piece of bad news lately. Two popular chain stores with wide name recognition — Hollister Co. and New York & Co.  —  have recently left. There are also 11 vacant spaces in the mall, including one small anchor store and half of the fast food spaces in the food court.

    Of the 43 small stores in the mall, 10 of them are not part of a large chain. Paul Goldman, owner of several local businesses, owns a local store, Party Central, which is located at the mall in the space that used to be home to national chain store Hallmark.

    Goldman said Party Central, the only party supply store in the greater Meridian area, is doing well in the mall. He said that when Party Central was previously located away from the mall, many people told him they didn't even know his store existed. Moving to the mall, he said, has helped being traffic to his store.

    But Goldman said that, while local stores in the mall are great, it's possible to have too much of a good thing; if the local or regional stores in the mall become too many and the chain stores too few, the mall will no longer generate enough traffic to support either one. Sharing space with large chain stores allows the smaller stores in the mall to reap some of the benefits of the chain stores' name recognition, helping them succeed. The same is true for the chain stores — being in the same building as other popular stores helps them generate the foot traffic they need to make sales.

    "The reason we first selected the mall location to move to was because there would be built in traffic," Goldman said. "When you start pulling out sizable tenants, that reduces traffic."

    Goldman said Meridian Crossroads has taken some of his potential customers.

    "In my opinion I think it probably hurts the mall, especially when you have the larger department stores and anchors moving from the old mall down there." Goldman said. One of the mall's small anchor stores, Goody's, moved to Meridian Crossroads before closing and leaving large vacancies at both locations.

    "The national trend has been that people are wanting to do more shopping at outdoor malls than indoor," Goldman added. He said that if mall traffic got so low that he had to move Party Central, he would probably look at moving to an outdoor shopping center like Meridian Crossroads, but wouldn't get his hopes up on being able to afford it.

    "It's quite possible that the rent would keep us from finding a suitable location (at Meridian Crossroads), and one reason is because it's a more attractive space," he said. The mall, he added, has provided Party Central with "both good traffic and fair rent."



Good news at the mall



    Dillard's, one of the mall's popular anchor stores, is also doing well despite the vacancies in other parts of the mall, according to Meridian Dillard's Manager Charlie Robinson.

    "We're actually doing great. We're up for the year. We're up for the month ... We're up from last year," Robinson said. "We would like to see the mall full, too, but I believe mall management is doing a great job at putting something together to fill those spaces."

    In part, Robinson credits a positive change in the national economy and the country's perception of the economy with the positive change in Dillard's sales. "I think people are more optimistic now than they were last year, and I think the sales that have come down from corporate has helped. Dillard's nationally is doing better," he said. "We're here to stay. We're not going anywhere."

    That's good news for the city, which has seen a dip in sales tax revenue since the economic downturn in 2008. The city gets revenue from numerous sources, but Skipper said sales tax is the largest single source of revenue for the city.

    Though Meridian Crossroads has added to the city's sales tax base, it would take more than one shopping center to make up for the overall dip in retail sales that's happened, not just in Meridian but also all over the country. Also, the city has to make payments on its tax increment financing on Meridian Crossroads, a common incentive used by municipalities to attract retail business.

    "I think (the economic downturn) has had a negative effect everywhere in the country for the most part," Skipper said. "The trend is that we were increasing (sales tax revenue) up to '06. We had a decrease in '07, but it started to increase in '08. In '09 is where is started to really decline and we haven't caught back up."



Mall looks for opportunity



    Spokespeople for CBL malls, the company that owns Bonita Lakes Mall, said the company plans to make lemonade from lemons when it comes to the recent store closings.

    "Store closure provides the mall with a great opportunity to enhance the offerings at the center by bringing in new stores that are new to the center or the market. CBL has a leasing division that is constantly discussing leasing opportunities with a variety of prospects for all of our malls, including Bonita Lakes," the spokespeople, Divina Penaloza and Katie A. Reinsmidt, said in an e-mail. "Our goal is to bring quality merchants to our shoppers, and our experience shows that great stores can be found at the local, regional, and national level."

    Charlie Trotman is the President of the Trotman Company, which owns Meridian Crossroads. Trotman said he sees good things for the future of his Meridian development, and added that it's doing well in the present, too.

    In particular, Trotman said phase II of Meridian Crossroads is still likely to come along, it's just a matter of time.

    "Phase II is definitely still viable. We have just been caught in the current economic recession that has hit retail especially hard. We feel that the phase II property is by far the best piece of real estate in the Meridian MSA (micropolitan statistical area)," Trotman said in an e-mail. "It will develop, but the timing of the development of phase II can't be definitely state because the tenants that were interested in phase II have put expansion on hold for now. When the economy improves, phase II will develop."

    Trotman said it's "really the same story" with the existing storefronts. The largest vacant space at Meridian Crossroads is the former Goody's location, which closed after the Goody's company went bankrupt, but Trotman said the Meridian Goody's location was actually doing well at the time of its closure. He added that the size of the Goody's location is slightly unusual for retailers.

    "The vacant shops will lease, but are slow due to the economy," Trotman said. "In all honesty, Meridian Crossroads, in this economic downturn we've experienced, has done very well."

    For more information on Bonita Lakes Mall, visit the mall on the Web at www.bonitalakesmall.com. For more on Meridian Crossroads, visit the Trotman Company on the Web at www.trotmancompany.net. For information on the City of Meridian local government can be found on the Web at www.meridianms.org.

Snapshot of Bonita Lakes Mall turnover



Open stores in main mall: 43

Empty stores in main mall: 7



Open kiosks in main mall: 18

Empty kiosks in main mall: 6



Open stores in food court: 3 fast food, one sit down restaurant, movie theater

Closed stores in food court: 3 fast food



Open anchor stores: 4

Closed anchor stores: 1 (smaller than other 4)



Open stores in crossing: 7

Closed stores in crossing: 3



Open outparcels: 7

Closed outparcels: 0



Open stores in plaza: 3

Closed stores in plaza: 0



Main mall stores that are not part of a chain: 10



Stores that have closed and are vacant



Anchor: Goody's/Steve & Barry's



Food Court: Wendy's, Chick Fil A/Cannon's Homestyle Burgers, Steak Escape



Main Mall Stores:

Hollister

NY&Co

Time Out

Build a Bear Workshop type store

Store next to NY&Co

Store in between Sears and Garden & Grill

Store in between Nail Shop and Pretzel Twister



Crossing:

Shoe Carnival

Store in between Jo-Ann and Cato Fashions

Store in between Armed Forces Recruiter and Nails 2000





Stores that are open





Main mall stores:

(* denotes stores that are not part of a chain)

Aeropostale

The Airbrush Shop*

American Eagle Outfitters

Bath and Body Works

Beef O'Brady's

Buckle

Carz Unlimited (in old Friedmann's Jeweler's location)*

Cellular Solutions*

Charming Collections*

City G.E.A.R

Claire's Accessories

The Cookie Store

David's Uniforms*

Earthbound Trading Company

Express

Finish Line

Foot Locker

fye (for your entertainment)

Game Stop

General Nutrition Center

Giorgio's*

Gymboree

Hibbett Sports

Icing by Claire's

Journeys

Kay Jewelers

Kirkland's

Kut N' Up*

Lids

Man Alive

MasterCuts

Motherhood Maternity

Nail Shop*

Nails2*

Party Central*

Payless Shoe Source

Pretzel Twister

Radio Shack

Rainbow

Reed's Jewelers

Shoe Department

Sports Zone*

Underground

Victoria's Secret



Anchor Stores:

Belk

Sears

JCPenney

Dillard's



Food Court:

Garden and Grill

Sbarro The Italian Eatery

Stir Fry 88

Las Fuentes

United Artists Theaters



Kiosks:

Cellular Solutions

Cellular Zone

Fashion Corner

AT&T Wireless

D'or International

Jewel Time

Handbags and Accessories

Coastal Gold and Silver

The Art of Thread

Girlie Girl (occupies 2 kiosks)

Sunglass Hut

Treasure Island

Treasures

Treasures 2

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service

Wireless Connections

Wireless Unlimited



Crossing:

Ashley Furniture Home Store

Cato Fashions

Jo-Ann Fabrics

OfficeMax

T J Maxx

Nails 2000

Western Wear and Shoe Repair

United Blood Services

US Armed Forces Recruiting Offices



Plaza:

Affordable Dentures

Cellular South

National Guard recruiting office



Outparcels:

Cici's Pizza

Citizen's National Band

Geoffrey

Great Southern National Bank

Mattress Express by Woodstock Furniture

O'Charley's

Woodstock Furniture Value Center