RH Outlet closing, making way for Urban Air Adventure Park

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Mathis Report

Less than three years after it opened, the RH Outlet in Southside will close and be replaced by Urban Air Adventure Park, which intends to open an indoor trampoline and activities venue in June.

RH Outlet sent an email to customers Jan. 4. “Our Jacksonville Outlet is closing soon! Save 40% on everything. Final weeks to shop new markdowns.”

In June 2016, Restoration Hardware, the luxury home furnishings brand, opened an RH Outlet store in 40,000 square feet in The Shoppes at Southside at 9950 Southside Blvd.

The store is between David’s Bridal and Best Buy in a retail center north of The Avenues mall.

A spokeswoman declined to comment. People associated with the store say the last day of operation will be Jan. 20.

The urbanairjacksonville.com site shows the location is coming soon.

Urban Air spokeswoman Carolyn McLean said Monday the location is the former RH Outlet.

Urban Air franchise owners Derek Carder, of Denver, and Gary Glanger, of Texas, are targeting a grand opening June 1, but Carder said that could change pending the construction time frame.

“We spent a fair amount of time getting to know Jacksonville and that immediate area,” Carder said Tuesday by email.

McLean said franchise owners chose the area because of its demographics: “Lots of families.”

Carder said the site search took into consideration the population, the number of households with children and the income and education levels within 5 to 10 miles.

Restoration Hardware notified customers the RH Outlet at 9950 Southside Blvd. is “closing soon.” Urban Air Adventure Park wants to open there.

“Gary and I grew up in Texas, we know what long hot summers are like and we both have kids. We think we will be a great addition to The Shoppes at Southside,” Carder said.

He said that as a Marine Corps and Navy veteran, he has been in Jacksonville “many times over the years” and has friends in the area.

“Between that and Gary’s 30-plus years in retail, we are confident in the market and looking forward to being a part of the community,” he said.

Carder expects to hire 70-90 people and make an overall project investment of about $4 million.

Carder said he will be the main operating partner along with his wife, Carla Carder, and Glanger’s wife, Ilanit Glanger.

Gary Glanger is the president of FitCorp, which owns Busybody, FitnessHQ and Fitness in Motion throughout Texas. Carder said those are retail specialty fitness equipment stores that also do commercial fitness sales and service.

Carder said he is a pilot for United Airlines and has time “and unused energy” when not flying.

“Between my leadership experience in the Marines and Gary’s retail expertise, we think we can run a really good park,” he said.

The city is reviewing a permit application for a $350,000 renovation of the 41,560-square-foot location.

No contractor is listed. Nove Studios LLC of Dallas is the architect.

Plans show a dodgeball court, drop zone and performance pit, dunk ball and performance pit, wall climb area and other activities.

McLean said Urban Air is the largest indoor adventure park operator in the world with a simple mission: Less screen time, more active play.

She said the Jacksonville park will be similar to one recently opened in Southlake, Texas, and will have high-performance go-karts and bumper cars.

The Southlake park includes a sky rider indoor coaster, virtual reality, climbing walls and rope courses.

Carder said the hours will be 3-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon to 11 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.

Carder said he and Glanger are working on pricing. In Southlake, prices range from $13.99 for basic attractions to $34.99 for platinum attractions. A pass for children 5 and under is $8.99. Some activities are available by the session.

Here’s a description of another new park.

Urban Air announced in December it will open a 50,000-square-foot park in the summer in Cornelius, North Carolina.

“From wall-to-wall trampolines, dodgeball courts, obstacle courses, to tube playgrounds with multilevel climbing ropes and twisting tubes, both thrill-seekers and their pint-sized counter-parts will find an activity to conquer at Urban Air,” the company said in the Dec. 21 news release.

The location offers an Urban Café and birthday parties, corporate retreats, team-building experiences and private events.

The site shows 146 locations, of which almost 80 are listed as coming soon.

Urban Air joins the expansion of indoor parks in Jacksonville.

For example, Surge Adventure Park, backed by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, opened in November in the Regency Court Shopping Center and Velocity Air Sports opened in 2015 in Liberty Business Park along AC Skinner Parkway in South Jacksonville.

While Urban Air and permits show the project at The Shoppes at Southside, Kristen Moore, a spokesperson for landlord Brixmor Property Group, said she had no information to announce about a new tenant there.

“We have not announced a deal with Urban Air Adventure Park in Jacksonville. I can share details about new tenants once plans are finalized,” Moore said in an email.

While RH Outlet is closing, Restoration Hardware might return to Jacksonville. Its CEO in December mentioned Jacksonville as a “target secondary market” for a new concept of smaller Design Gallery stores.

The company’s typical Design Gallery averages 33,000 square feet. In a letter to shareholders accompanying an earnings report, CEO Gary Friedman said RH is working on a new concept for secondary markets with 10,000- to 18,000-square-foot stores.

“We believe these smaller expressions of our brand will enable us to gain share in markets currently only served by smaller competitors,” he said.

When asked for more details on RH’s plans for Jacksonville, a spokeswoman said by email in December the company had no additional comment.

Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc., based in Corte Madera, California., sells furniture, lighting, textiles, décor, outdoor and garden, along with baby and children’s products.

Its website shows almost 40 RH Outlets in 22 states and Canada. It includes the Jacksonville location.