Site could include retail shops, restaurants and hotels

By Michael Stewart / editor@themeridianstar.com

    A Texas company that specializes in purchasing, leasing and managing shopping centers has bought the old Value Fair Mall in Meridian.

    Houston based RockStep Capital purchased the mall located northwest of the Interstate 20/59 and 22nd Avenue intersection for an undisclosed amount of money several weeks ago.

    Rockstep Capital President Andy Weiner said in a Thursday telephone interview that tentative plans are to wholly or partially tear down the mall that has sat vacant since the late 1990s and build a mixed-use development that would include retail shopping, restaurants and up to two hotels.

    Weiner said some of the property could be developed for medical and educational use.

    “We are very excited about it,” Weiner said. “Meridian is a wonderful market with an extremely large regional draw. The intersection where the property is located serves as the entry into the city and is a prime spot for development.”

    Weiner said that the company is in discussion with national retailers, restaurants and hotels and that “several have expressed an interest” in locating on the property, although there have been no commitments as of yet.

    There is no time frame for development of property, said Tommy Stewart, head of the Property Management/Leasing division of RockStep.

    “We are still in the studying phase,” Stewart said.

    The company also purchased the vacant LabCorp building behind the Meridian Police Department that once housed a Winn Dixie store, as well as buildings and land across Sowashee Creek on North Frontage Road that includes the former El Chico restaurant.    

    Stewart said efforts are under way now to lease the former 28,000-square-foot LabCorp building.

    Site plans on the company’s website indicate that the new Meridian Police Department is located within the area to be developed. Weiner said, however, that the site plans are outdated and that the city building is not part of the property that was purchased.

    Weiner said the company, formerly Weiner Development Corporation, considered purchasing the property in 2007 and 2008, but those plans were shelved given the downturn in the economy.

    Weiner said he has received “great cooperation” from Mayor Percy Bland and the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation on the project.

    EMBDC President Wade Jones could not be reached for comment Thursday.

    Weiner, who had to catch a flight Thursday, had little time for the interview but said more information would be made available at a later date.

    According to the company’s website, RockStep specializes in acquiring shopping centers in smaller “middle markets.”

    “RockStep Capital’s goal is to improve the quality of life in small town America. We help keep the community vibrant by restrategizing the mall with new tenants, opportunities and experiences,” according to the website.

    The company has properties in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

    Properties in Mississippi include a 40,000 square foot new development in Starkville on Highway 12 that is projected to open in summer/fall 2014: and two in Vicksburg that includes Vicksburg Plaza and the Vicksburg Mall.

    The Value Fair Mall originally opened more than 40 years ago as the Village Fair Mall. The name was later changed to Value Fair Mall, which eventually closed after Bonita Lakes Mall opened in October 1997.

    Village Fair Mall once housed McRae’s and Penny’s department stores, an Orange Julius beverage location and a Morrison’s Cafeteria, among other things.

    An attempt Thursday to confirm the identity of the seller of the property was unsuccessful.