Friday, October 12, 2007

Another expansion on tap for
The Loop?

Orlando Business Journal - by Bill Orben Associate Managing Editor

KISSIMMEE -- The first expansion of The Loop may not be completed for five months, but developers of the Kissimmee shopping complex already are scouting sites for a second addition.

J.C. Penney, the first store in the 400,000-square-foot Loop West, opened Sept. 30, but most of the remaining stores in the complex won't open until next spring.

However, The Wilder Cos., the Boston-based developer of The Loop and the Loop West, is talking with nearby landowners for possible expansion of the complex, says Andy LaGrega, one of three partners for the company and senior vice president of leasing and marketing.

"We are looking at the possibility because of demand," says LaGrega. "This has become the retail hub for south Orlando."

The company's next step is to determine what would complement The Loop and The Loop West. It has looked at mixed-use projects, but the emphasis will be on retail, says LaGrega, who notes "there certainly is demand for more."

Demand remains strong

Shops in The Loop and nearby are doing well because there is little competition in the "phenomenal" location that draws residents from south Orlando and Kissimmee, says Justin Greider, a senior financial analyst with The Staubach Co.'s Orlando office. Greider also was one of the authors of the Spring 2007 Florida Retail Report prepared for the International Council of Shopping Centers' Florida conference in August.

Although The Florida Mall is less than 10 miles from The Loop, Greider says the stores at The Loop don't compete directly with that complex, which includes Sears, J.C. Penney, Macy's and Dillards among its anchors.

In fact, sales by merchants in The Loop are higher than projected, says LaGrega, who adds that merchants forecast sales of $400 per square foot when most of the complex opened in 2005. So far, those numbers are running above $500 per square foot -- "great numbers for any retail use," says Greider.

And the traffic is not limited to retail. The Loop Stadium 16 has done well, too. Although the theater chain wouldn't release details of box office or concession sales or where the complex ranked with other Regal properties, Regal has been pleased with the location, which has been well-received by the community, says Regal spokeswoman Karen Lane.

Still to come

Retail stores still slated to open at The Loop West in the spring are Books-A-Million, 15,000 square feet; Belk, 95,000 square feet; and Party City, 12,000 square feet. Others are slated to open as well, but the Wilder Cos. won't release names yet.

Restaurants to open at The Loop West include: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, which has a location at Mall at Millenia; Bonefish, a seafood restaurant concept developed by Outback Steakhouse Inc.; Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy, the first Orlando-area location of the Dallas-based chain; and Pei Wei Asian Diner, the sister concept to P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

Bill Orben can be reached at (407) 241-2891 or via e-mail at borben@bizjournals.com.