Angela Crowder won't say what's next for the St. Johns Town Center in South Jacksonville, considering development is just beginning on the Phase 3 wing to house the area's first upscale Nordstrom store.
"Stay tuned," she says, hinting at some announcements this fall. That's when the names of the stores in that Nordstrom wing, about 30,000 square feet of retail space in addition to Nordstrom, will be announced.
And after Phase 3?
"There is expansion opportunity," she said. "After Nordstrom, we can look into the future."
No hints were forthcoming about the possible Phase 4, which site maps on a neighboring developer's website show as a possible Neiman Marcus or Saks.
Lyndsay Rossman, director of marketing and business development at St. Johns Town Center, said there are no tenants signed for Phase 4 and that the Neiman and Saks brands are placeholders for a Phase 4 anchor.
"There is nothing to say. We have no plans at this time for another phase of the property," Rossman said.
For now, St. Johns Town Center is focusing on the rest of the retailers for Phase 3 as well as other restaurants and retailers who are moving into existing spaces in the first two phases.
In February, Crowder became the center's second general manager, succeeding inaugural GM Sal Saldana, who was promoted to general manager at the Town Center in Boca Raton.
The center opened March 18, 2005, and later added a second phase that opened Oct. 26, 2007.
With more than 16 years of experience in shopping center and commercial property management, Crowder, 41, now runs the largest single project of her career.
"I jumped on the opportunity quickly," she said.
Crowder, whose first day at the town center was Feb. 18, previously was mall manager of Virginia Center Commons near Richmond, Va.
Like the St. Johns Town Center, Virginia Center Commons is a Simon Property Group shopping center.
Crowder had visited St. Augustine before taking the post, but hadn't been to Jacksonville.
"Jacksonville is an undiscovered gem," Crowder said, saying that people not from the area "do not realize how amazing this city is."
A Jacksonville Beach resident, Crowder said, "I've found that the generous hospitality of its people and diversity of the city's neighborhoods reminds me of Richmond in a way."
She walks the town center daily, considering it "a source of inspiration. It's like being the mayor of the town."
She visits with store managers and shoppers and watches the habits and trends of customers.
"I really have a passion for the industry," she said. She grew up in the real estate business in Richmond, Va. Her father was a residential real estate developer and her college degree from Virginia Commonwealth University is in retail merchandising.
She started her industry career working for Faison and CBL while at SouthPark Mall in Colonial Heights, Va.
She also has experience as a retail sales and leasing associate with Taylor Long Properties and as a property manager for GVA Advantis and Commonwealth Commercial Partners.
Crowder, who is single, recently rescued a cat named Zan upon moving to Jacksonville. Living at the beach, she expects family and friends will spend vacation time with her.
She also is an avid yoga practitioner and is studying to become certified in the art of yoga. In Richmond, she has been affiliated with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training and says she looks forward to becoming involved with area nonprofits.
St. Johns Town Center, co-owned by Simon and Ben Carter Properties, features more than 1.1 million square feet of shops and restaurants, including 11 anchor stores and more than 150 specialty retail stores.
Many of the stores are exclusive in the market, such as Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Omega, Juicy Couture, Apple, The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy, J. Alexander's and others.
Nordstrom is expected to open in October 2014.
A Microsoft retail store is another possibility, according to building-permit applications under review by the City.
Simon seems to continually announce new tenants for the St. Johns Town Center, which was developed on 240 acres along Butler Boulevard, Gate Parkway and the Interstate 295 East Beltway.
The center attracts 16 million visitors a year, according to Simon Property Group.
Once a tenant space opens, "we will be able to fill them quickly," Crowder said.
As general manager, Crowder manages day-to-day operations, maintenance and the budget, as well as tenant and community relations. She also oversees the security and marketing of the center.
The center also has the Park Green and Luxury Courtyard community space, and Crowder said to watch for more amenities. A small wedding is planned in June, the second one held at the center.
An official groundbreaking is expected soon for fashion retailer Nordstrom and two other buildings at the St. Johns Town Center, creating Phase 3 wing.
Site plans for that show Phase 1 comprised 1.04 million square feet of department store and small shops space. Phase 2 comprised 183,600 square feet of small shops and restaurants. Phase 2A was another 27,262 square feet of additional shops.
The total of the first two phases is 1.25 million square feet, not counting outparcels that were bought and developed by other retailers and restaurants.
Phase 3 is the proposed department store and adjacent shops totaling 160,000 square feet, boosting overall space to 1.41 million square feet.
Plans for Phase 3 show the two-story department store, previously identified as Nordstrom, and a one-story set of shops and a two-story set of shops that will comprise the Nordstrom wing.
Seattle-based Nordstrom announced in September that it would open a two-level, 124,000-square-foot store in the fall of 2014 at St. Johns Town Center. The company said Nordstrom will anchor a new wing between Brooks Brothers and Louis Vuitton.
The Nordstrom announcement in September came eight years after the luxury retailer first confirmed it was seriously looking at Jacksonville.
St. Johns Town Center also attracted other adjacent development, including condos, apartments, hotels and The Markets at Town Center, where Nordstrom Rack, the retailer's off-price division, is building. The Markets at Town Center property is owned by another company, not Simon.
Nordstrom said in September that it believes opening a Jacksonville store at St. Johns Town Center "will put it in an ideal position to serve customers throughout the Northeast Florida region."
"We've had our eye on Jacksonville for a long time, so it's gratifying for us to now have this opportunity to open our doors at St. Johns Town Center," said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores, in a statement.
Then there's Phase 4, which Crowder did not discuss.
Maps for the St. Johns Town Center found on The Markets at Town Center website show two "proposed" tenants of interest to Jacksonville's luxury-goods shoppers — Neiman Marcus and Saks.
"There are no plans for Phase 4, nor any stores in that wing at this time. We are announcing our Phase 3 stores in Quarter 4 this year," Rossman said in April.
"There is no 'Neiman/Saks' wing. It is a future wing," she said.
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466