by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The media was given a glimpse of what’s to come in Phase II of the St. Johns Town Center project Wednesday. Oct. 26, Town Center will welcome the public to the second phase and its 40 stores, many of which are new to Jacksonville.
No more driving to Orlando to check out the new Louis Vuitton bags or Tampa for the New Orleans Voodoo BBQ Shrimp from Mitchell’s Fish Market.
“Since Town Center opened to Jacksonville residents and tourists, the stores and restaurants have been unparalleled in this area,” said Les Morris, manager of corporate public relations for Simon Property Group, Inc., the Indianapolis-based company that owns the Town Center development. “Eighty-three percent of our tenants are new to Jacksonville.”
Sal Saldana has been general manager of Town Center since it opened in 2005. He’s seen the success of Phase I and he’s anxious to see Phase II open.
“I am proud of what St. Johns Town Center is, what’s coming and will be here,” said Saldana. “We have 250 acres of land and room to grow.”
Future growth or not — and after the completion of Phase II, there will be 30-50 acres of undeveloped land — Town Center is a success from an economic and employment standpoint. According to Saldana, Phase I — which is anchored by such stores as Target, Barnes & Noble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s and Total Wine with dozens of smaller boutique stores, national chains and restaurants — has an annual economic impact of about $400 million. Saldana said Phase II is about one-quarter the size of Phase I, making the overall impact of about $500 million.
“We also employ about 5,000 people,” said Saldana.
Phase II has a promenade look and feel. There’s a main drag with short side streets ready for stores. The area also includes plenty of palm trees, pedestrian space and parking.
“Phase II has more specialty stores,” said Saldana. “The focus was luxury.”
Saldana said the occupancy rate for Phase II is 90-95 percent and he expects it to be 100 percent shortly. While some stores have come and gone and others have moved, Phase I is at 100 percent occupancy.
One thing Phase II doesn’t include is an anchor department store tenant such as Macy’s or Nordstrom’s — both of which have been speculated about for years. Saldana said it’s unlikely either will ever be at Town Center.
According to Saldana, the process behind landing such stores as Coach or Tommy Bahama resembles a courtship as much as a business deal. Both Town Center and the stores have their marketing and leasing departments, but often it takes meeting on neutral ground to spark interest. Town Center seeks out the upscale store as much as the upscale store seeks suitable locations.
“These tenants hear about the success of Town Center and consider whether it’s somewhere they want to be,” said Saldana, explaining that many times store representatives and developers meet at the annual International Council of Shopping Centers convention. “The developers create booths that show who we are and what we offer. Some of the deals take years, some take months.”
According to Saldana, the success of Town Center is its ability to attract shoppers from the entire Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia region. He said people come from Daytona, Gainesville, Tallahassee and South Georgia to shop and eat at Town Center.
New stores at St. Johns Town Center
The following is a list of the new stores at Phase II of the St. Johns Town Center.
Coming in 2008