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....April 5, 9:41 AM |
| Queens Center Expansion:
By Azi Paybarah Corporate executives, elected officials and school children descended on Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst this week, cutting two flowered ribbons to officially mark the opening of the newly-renovated and expanded shopping mecca in the middle of the borough.
The mall’s $275 million expansion brought dozens of new stores to Queens, including JC Penney, the GAP, Steve Madden, Nine West, Sam Goody, Bath and Body Works, H&M, and Victoria’s Secret. Add a food court with treats from all over the world, and Queens Center Mall is a destination all its own. At least, that’s what the borough’s economic experts are hoping. Small businesses located around the mall are also thinking optimistically, hoping that their sales will skyrocket as more people head to Queens Center Mall to shop. Although there are some nervous whispers that the mall will lure away some customers, mom-and-pop store owners are looking at the new mall positively. In fact, everything about the mall’s opening this week seemed positive. Despite a few glitches – including an escalator stalling an hour after the ribbon was cut – it seems that the mall and all of its economic potential has arrived, and the borough is ready. A Queens Destination The 27-year-old mall, which begins at the intersection of Queens and Woodhaven Boulevards, now arches over 92nd Street, turning the old municipal parking lot into four floors of “seamless shopping,” according to an official from The Macerich Company, which owns and operates the mall. When measured by sales per square foot, Queens Center Mall is the nation’s most profitable, ringing up $935 in sales per square foot. The formula, company officials said, was to increase the total square footage from 620,000 to nearly one million. With 175 stores (up from 69), and 794 additional parking spaces (up from 1,109), mall officials plan to attract a wider swath of shoppers than have traditionally headed out of Queens. Those include shoppers like Forest Hills resident Marilyn Ozuna and her three-year-old son Anthony. Ozuna, who drove to the mall’s ribbon cutting. “Parking is great,” she said. “I won’t be going to Roosevelt Field because [Queens Center] has the stores I need.” She added, “They have New York & Co., so I won’t have to go to Green Acres because they have it here.” The question is will people like Ozuna stick to the mall, or head outside and patronize the smaller stores that line Queens Boulevard. The Other Grand Opening A white plastic sign flapping in the wind and promises of one free cookie in a colorful circular was the full measure of advertising used to promote the other grand opening in Elmhurst this week – across the street at the newly opened Subway sandwich shop. Conducting an interview while ringing up customers, Subway storeowner Ariel Luna said business is better than he predicted. “Sometimes the major stars align for you,” he said. “I didn’t think it’d be as good as it is.” On March 24, the 29-year-old Kew Gardens resident opened his store, two days before the Queens Center Mall expansion was unveiled. He said rent for the 12,000 square foot store is between $5,000 to $6,000 a month. A cell phone retailer previously occupied the location, Luna said. Declining to give sales figures, Luna estimated the store cranks out 100 sandwiches an hour. And in under a week, Luna identified three sources of customers – foot traffic from the bus and subway routes; mall shoppers who’ve parked their cars at the mall; and mall shoppers unhappy with the food court selection. “Some people think it’s a little courageous, being in the back [of the mall],” said Luna. As he made change for customers, Luna nodded his head towards the door and said, “All their employees come here. It’s the strangest thing.” Next door, at Albert’s Barber Shop, the chairs were empty, but hopes were high. Asked if there’s been a surge of customers, manager Roman Shakarov said, “Not much, but now it’s very good.” Why? “Only a nail [salon] over there,” he said, pointing to the mall, “and they have a lot of customers.” Knowing more stores are set to open, possibly bringing haircutting competition, Shakarov said, “If somebody opens [in the mall], then it’ll be about a bigger price.” Men’s haircuts at Albert’s are $8. Mall officials declined to specify rental costs. Senior Vice President for Real Estate Services John Genovese said rent at Queens Center Mall is “the highest average rent per square foot” among Macerich’s properties, which include 58 million square feet of retail space nationwide. Despite the presumably high cost of rent, one of Luna and Shakarov’s neighbors has already opted for digs inside the mall. Payless Shoes used to sell their goods around the corner on Queens Boulevard. Now, the bargain shoe retailer is on the third floor of the mall, one door down from Wild Pair – which as the name suggests, offers shoes not for the faint of heart. |
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