Re: Plano: Willow Bend Mall
Posted: 17 Jan 2021 14:34
The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
R1070 wrote:The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
acclar11 wrote:R1070 wrote:The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
If that happens, I hope MAC, Anthropologie, Vineyard Vines, Allen Edmonds, J. Jill, and L'Occitane move to the Galleria. There are over 15 vacant stores on their luxury level (first level). Once Galleria redevelopment happens, that will kill Willow Bend.
Tucy wrote:acclar11 wrote:R1070 wrote:The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
If that happens, I hope MAC, Anthropologie, Vineyard Vines, Allen Edmonds, J. Jill, and L'Occitane move to the Galleria. There are over 15 vacant stores on their luxury level (first level). Once Galleria redevelopment happens, that will kill Willow Bend.
Speaking of the Galleria redevelopment... Anyone having any scoop on that? Since the preliminary plans were revealed a year ago, it seems to have been nothing but crickets.
Does Willow Bend really call its first level the "luxury level"? If so, that might be Exhibit A in why they are struggling.
Skechers, Lens Crafters, LoveSac, Z Gallerie, Slime Land, Perfume Express, American Eagle Outfitters, Lids, and Foot Locker, etc etc don't exactly scream LUXURY.
acclar11 wrote:R1070 wrote:The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
If that happens, I hope MAC, Anthropologie, Vineyard Vines, Allen Edmonds, J. Jill, and L'Occitane move to the Galleria. There are over 15 vacant stores on their luxury level (first level). Once Galleria redevelopment happens, that will kill Willow Bend.
Tucy wrote:acclar11 wrote:R1070 wrote:The indoor mall needs to be torn down.
If that happens, I hope MAC, Anthropologie, Vineyard Vines, Allen Edmonds, J. Jill, and L'Occitane move to the Galleria. There are over 15 vacant stores on their luxury level (first level). Once Galleria redevelopment happens, that will kill Willow Bend.
Speaking of the Galleria redevelopment... Anyone having any scoop on that? Since the preliminary plans were revealed a year ago, it seems to have been nothing but crickets.
Does Willow Bend really call its first level the "luxury level"? If so, that might be Exhibit A in why they are struggling.
Skechers, Lens Crafters, LoveSac, Z Gallerie, Slime Land, Perfume Express, American Eagle Outfitters, Lids, and Foot Locker, etc etc don't exactly scream LUXURY.
Proquest20 wrote:Tucy wrote:acclar11 wrote:If that happens, I hope MAC, Anthropologie, Vineyard Vines, Allen Edmonds, J. Jill, and L'Occitane move to the Galleria. There are over 15 vacant stores on their luxury level (first level). Once Galleria redevelopment happens, that will kill Willow Bend.
Speaking of the Galleria redevelopment... Anyone having any scoop on that? Since the preliminary plans were revealed a year ago, it seems to have been nothing but crickets.
Does Willow Bend really call its first level the "luxury level"? If so, that might be Exhibit A in why they are struggling.
Skechers, Lens Crafters, LoveSac, Z Gallerie, Slime Land, Perfume Express, American Eagle Outfitters, Lids, and Foot Locker, etc etc don't exactly scream LUXURY.
No, but the first level of Galleria Dallas is considered the “luxury level” because that’s where Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co are. Still, I wouldn’t consider it fully luxury because it’s also where Zara, Victoria’s Secret, and Go! Games and Toys are. There’s also a Mac there, by the way, inside of the Macy’s. The post was saying that the Galleria had enough vacant spaces, and I think of some. I don’t expect the old Talbots or J Crew there to be leased because they’re probably going to be used in redevelopment, but The Art of Shaving, Godiva, Bailey Banks and Biddle, along with others have left the “luxury floor” of the Galleria. Coincidentally, some of these stores have also vacated Willow Bend around the same time.
rono3849 wrote:Many of the chain stores are closing due to bankruptcy or downsizing of the number of stores. If the location wasn't performing, they are shuttered.
I suspect the Galleria will eventually start their makeover within the next 18 months. I always wondered why Dillard's never took over the old Marshall Field's spot. Belks didn't have the local identity to pull off a successful run there. I guess they are going to tear it down. I was sad to see several of the restaurants close as well, but if they were on the cusp before the pandemic, they were wiped out because of it.
Would Neiman's abandon Willow Bend? Maybe they relocate to the Galleria. Who knows?
Proquest20 wrote:BareMinerals is now gone. I wonder if they’re going to build a new store somewhere else, but Willow Bend has been removed from their website.
The current state of Willow Bend really reminds me of Collin Creek around early 2019, where there were still some major stores open but one after another, they were all leaving quickly.
Proquest20 wrote:BareMinerals is now gone. I wonder if they’re going to build a new store somewhere else, but Willow Bend has been removed from their website.
The current state of Willow Bend really reminds me of Collin Creek around early 2019, where there were still some major stores open but one after another, they were all leaving quickly.
Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:BareMinerals is now gone. I wonder if they’re going to build a new store somewhere else, but Willow Bend has been removed from their website.
The current state of Willow Bend really reminds me of Collin Creek around early 2019, where there were still some major stores open but one after another, they were all leaving quickly.
FWIW, there's still a BareMinerals store at Northpark.
Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:BareMinerals is now gone. I wonder if they’re going to build a new store somewhere else, but Willow Bend has been removed from their website.
The current state of Willow Bend really reminds me of Collin Creek around early 2019, where there were still some major stores open but one after another, they were all leaving quickly.
FWIW, there's still a BareMinerals store at Northpark.
Yes, but now there is no BareMinerals store in Collin County. They could move to Preston Park Village or The Shops at Legacy to maintain a presence here.
Also, Ann Taylor has closed at Willow Bend. Their Galleria location seems to have closed, as well.
acclar11 wrote:Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:
FWIW, there's still a BareMinerals store at Northpark.
Yes, but now there is no BareMinerals store in Collin County. They could move to Preston Park Village or The Shops at Legacy to maintain a presence here.
Also, Ann Taylor has closed at Willow Bend. Their Galleria location seems to have closed, as well.
Zales and Banana Republic closed at Willow Bend recently as well.
Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:BareMinerals is now gone. I wonder if they’re going to build a new store somewhere else, but Willow Bend has been removed from their website.
The current state of Willow Bend really reminds me of Collin Creek around early 2019, where there were still some major stores open but one after another, they were all leaving quickly.
FWIW, there's still a BareMinerals store at Northpark.
Yes, but now there is no BareMinerals store in Collin County. They could move to Preston Park Village or The Shops at Legacy to maintain a presence here.
Also, Ann Taylor has closed at Willow Bend. Their Galleria location seems to have closed, as well.
acclar11 wrote:Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:
FWIW, there's still a BareMinerals store at Northpark.
Yes, but now there is no BareMinerals store in Collin County. They could move to Preston Park Village or The Shops at Legacy to maintain a presence here.
Also, Ann Taylor has closed at Willow Bend. Their Galleria location seems to have closed, as well.
Zales and Banana Republic closed at Willow Bend recently as well.
Addison wrote:acclar11 wrote:Proquest20 wrote:
Yes, but now there is no BareMinerals store in Collin County. They could move to Preston Park Village or The Shops at Legacy to maintain a presence here.
Also, Ann Taylor has closed at Willow Bend. Their Galleria location seems to have closed, as well.
Zales and Banana Republic closed at Willow Bend recently as well.
There's a Banana Republic at both Stonebriar and Galleria. So in a way, the Willow Bend store was kind of redundant. As far as Zales, it seems the parent company announced they would be closing hundreds of stores across the country.
I'm posting all of this to highlight that these closures aren't necessarily an indictment of Dallas, Collin County or these shopping malls. It's the sad overall state of brick-and-mortar retail in general, and with Dallas in many ways being overstored, there's not much that can be done to stop the bleeding.
tamtagon wrote:Seems like these ailing big enclosed malls would be a great springboard for a hotel resort activity destination like Gaylord or Great Wolf.
exelone31 wrote:tamtagon wrote:Seems like these ailing big enclosed malls would be a great springboard for a hotel resort activity destination like Gaylord or Great Wolf.
You know, that's a pretty genius idea. There isn't really anything like that close by (to Plano/Frisco). Even though Great Wolf and Gaylord aren't THAT far, I bet putting something like that where Willow Bend is would do bonkers business. My kids talk about Great Wolf all the time and it's been 2+ years since they've been there.
Proquest20 wrote:Decided to visit the Willow Bend website and count the amount of tenants listed. Ended up counting 115 tenants, a significant decrease from the 150+ listed on Wikipedia.
Proquest20 wrote:Decided to visit the Willow Bend website and count the amount of tenants listed. Ended up counting 115 tenants, a significant decrease from the 150+ listed on Wikipedia.
Tucy wrote:Proquest20 wrote:Decided to visit the Willow Bend website and count the amount of tenants listed. Ended up counting 115 tenants, a significant decrease from the 150+ listed on Wikipedia.
Interesting. I only count 96 (I suspect part of the difference is that I counted Nieman Marcus, NM's cafe and NM's Louis Vuitton shop as one tenant and Knife's three entries as one tenant.)
+acclar11 wrote:
Zales and Banana Republic closed at Willow Bend recently as well.
vman wrote:+acclar11 wrote:
Zales and Banana Republic closed at Willow Bend recently as well.
I went into Willow Bend's Banana Republic last month, not knowing they were having a "store closing" sale. I overheard the sales clerk tell a customer that the Stonebriar store has been "temporarily closed" since the pandemic and no word on if and when it would reopen.
R1070 wrote:I know that Gap Inc. is trying to move away from mall stores in general.
Proquest20 wrote:According to the directory that is on display in the mall, Geppetto’s Theater will be coming soon. It’s basically a place that does puppet shows for kids. I couldn’t find any information regarding if this is an expansion from their location at the Hilton Anatole, or a relocation.
Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
undefinedprocess wrote:Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
It makes sense considering LV is probably weeks to a month away from opening their Legacy West location. Gucci opens this Friday, so I doubt LV wants to lag far behind Gucci's buzz.
But agreed. I'm ready for someone to buy it, tear it down, and redevelop the site. If anyone has capital, let me know. I'll redevelop it myself.
Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
Between the Galleria store and the one at Legacy West, it only makes sense.
I'm just wondering how long Neiman Marcus and Macy's will stick around.
acclar11 wrote:Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
Between the Galleria store and the one at Legacy West, it only makes sense.
I'm just wondering how long Neiman Marcus and Macy's will stick around.
It would be cool if Neiman's moved to Legacy West, but I don't know if LW has enough room to build a store that large.
acclar11 wrote:Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
Between the Galleria store and the one at Legacy West, it only makes sense.
I'm just wondering how long Neiman Marcus and Macy's will stick around.
It would be cool if Neiman's moved to Legacy West, but I don't know if LW has enough room to build a store that large.
Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/04/15/planos-legacy-west-is-sprouting-luxury-shops/
This is a big one— now Louis Vuitton is leaving Willow Bend. One of the biggest draws to the mall since Apple, and possibly the reason why any stores are even left in Willow Bend. I’m starting to get impatient waiting for someone to buy the mall and tear it down...
Between the Galleria store and the one at Legacy West, it only makes sense.
I'm just wondering how long Neiman Marcus and Macy's will stick around.
Proquest20 wrote:acclar11 wrote:Addison wrote:
Between the Galleria store and the one at Legacy West, it only makes sense.
I'm just wondering how long Neiman Marcus and Macy's will stick around.
It would be cool if Neiman's moved to Legacy West, but I don't know if LW has enough room to build a store that large.
The Neiman Marcus at the Shops at Clearfork is under 100,000 square feet large. I think a relocation to Legacy West would be possible if they choose to make a smaller format store. As for the possibility of relocating to Stonebriar, I highly doubt Neiman Marcus is the type of store that would fit into that directory, as it tends to cater towards middle-class families and children, rather than the upper-class clientele Willow Bend initially catered to.
Here’s an article describing the growth at Legacy West, in the beginning of the video, they actually used The Shops at Willow Bend as an example of a dead mall. It’s quite eerie and depressing to see just how empty the mall is, both people-wise and store-wise, in the clips that they included. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/luxur ... t/2608387/
Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:acclar11 wrote:It would be cool if Neiman's moved to Legacy West, but I don't know if LW has enough room to build a store that large.
The Neiman Marcus at the Shops at Clearfork is under 100,000 square feet large. I think a relocation to Legacy West would be possible if they choose to make a smaller format store. As for the possibility of relocating to Stonebriar, I highly doubt Neiman Marcus is the type of store that would fit into that directory, as it tends to cater towards middle-class families and children, rather than the upper-class clientele Willow Bend initially catered to.
Here’s an article describing the growth at Legacy West, in the beginning of the video, they actually used The Shops at Willow Bend as an example of a dead mall. It’s quite eerie and depressing to see just how empty the mall is, both people-wise and store-wise, in the clips that they included. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/luxur ... t/2608387/
With respect to Stonebriar and Neimans, I should note that the mall could easily go the route of SouthCoast Plaza in Orange County. It was originally just a middle class mall as well. As the population density surrounding it was built up with upper middle class residents, it went upscale.
I don't think the comparison with Clearfork is fair because the demographics in the surrounding area are different. I know brick & mortar retail is kind of in flux right now (especially department stores), but with the projected income and population growth in the coming years, I'm still confident Collin County could support a full size Neimans in the right location.
Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:Proquest20 wrote:
The Neiman Marcus at the Shops at Clearfork is under 100,000 square feet large. I think a relocation to Legacy West would be possible if they choose to make a smaller format store. As for the possibility of relocating to Stonebriar, I highly doubt Neiman Marcus is the type of store that would fit into that directory, as it tends to cater towards middle-class families and children, rather than the upper-class clientele Willow Bend initially catered to.
Here’s an article describing the growth at Legacy West, in the beginning of the video, they actually used The Shops at Willow Bend as an example of a dead mall. It’s quite eerie and depressing to see just how empty the mall is, both people-wise and store-wise, in the clips that they included. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/luxur ... t/2608387/
With respect to Stonebriar and Neimans, I should note that the mall could easily go the route of SouthCoast Plaza in Orange County. It was originally just a middle class mall as well. As the population density surrounding it was built up with upper middle class residents, it went upscale.
I don't think the comparison with Clearfork is fair because the demographics in the surrounding area are different. I know brick & mortar retail is kind of in flux right now (especially department stores), but with the projected income and population growth in the coming years, I'm still confident Collin County could support a full size Neimans in the right location.
I personally couldn’t ever see Stonebriar going upscale, even if Neiman Marcus were to sign a lease there, due to it’s proximity to Legacy West which already has most of the upscale stores Stonebriar would need to attract if it wanted to go “South Coast Plaza.” Furthermore, I don’t even think it is possible for Stonebriar to go “South Coast Plaza” as NorthPark, which is already a pretty upscale mall, isn’t on the same level as South Coast Plaza either. Although I do think that a comparison between NorthPark and South Coast Plaza is much more appropriate as NorthPark was not as upscale as it is now prior to the expansion that added the Nordstrom wing.
As for the comparison between Clearfork and Legacy West, it was only made to show that there are smaller format Neiman-Marcus stores, so Legacy West most likely could make room for it. Nothing to do with demographics.
luxeshop97 wrote:Proquest20 wrote:Addison wrote:
With respect to Stonebriar and Neimans, I should note that the mall could easily go the route of SouthCoast Plaza in Orange County. It was originally just a middle class mall as well. As the population density surrounding it was built up with upper middle class residents, it went upscale.
I don't think the comparison with Clearfork is fair because the demographics in the surrounding area are different. I know brick & mortar retail is kind of in flux right now (especially department stores), but with the projected income and population growth in the coming years, I'm still confident Collin County could support a full size Neimans in the right location.
I personally couldn’t ever see Stonebriar going upscale, even if Neiman Marcus were to sign a lease there, due to it’s proximity to Legacy West which already has most of the upscale stores Stonebriar would need to attract if it wanted to go “South Coast Plaza.” Furthermore, I don’t even think it is possible for Stonebriar to go “South Coast Plaza” as NorthPark, which is already a pretty upscale mall, isn’t on the same level as South Coast Plaza either. Although I do think that a comparison between NorthPark and South Coast Plaza is much more appropriate as NorthPark was not as upscale as it is now prior to the expansion that added the Nordstrom wing.
As for the comparison between Clearfork and Legacy West, it was only made to show that there are smaller format Neiman-Marcus stores, so Legacy West most likely could make room for it. Nothing to do with demographics.
Neimans could open a boutique style store that takes up the last 4 spots next to Tory Burch at LW. It would be a nice store front facade on the Headquarters entrance to the property! In Stonebriars case, they would need to down size the Sears building to accommodate more spaces for more contemporary brands that Neimans could anchor. Stonebriar could support a more higher end clientele, without going full luxe like Willowbend did.