Zoning could widen Richland Mall’s options

The owners of Richland Mall in Forest Acres hope new zoning will help spur development at the retail center.

But don’t expect it to be all retail.

“We’re gearing up to a redevelopment plan that will hopefully bring the mall alive,” said Don Taylor, a principal in Century Capital Group, which bought the perennially troubled mall almost two years ago and is working to develop a master plan.

New zoning could open that plan up to a variety of uses. A new fine arts center already is setting up shop, and plans to open Thursday with dinner and a show.

Previous zoning at the mall was tied to a failed plan to change its name to Midtown at Forest Acres and turn the mall inside out.

The new zoning, approved earlier this month by the city of Forest Acres, allows for a variety of uses but “doesn’t tell us what part of the building we have to put it on,” Taylor said. It also allows for new digital signs that will draw attention to the mall – largely hidden from view by a large parking garage – and what is inside.

The new zoning allows the mall owners “all kinds of options,” including space for offices, residences, hotels, restaurants and schools, according to Mark Williams, Forest Acres’ city manager.

The mall – anchored by Belk, Barnes and Noble, and TGIFridays – already has a variety of nontraditional uses, from a children’s theater to a spa and salon to a koozie manufacturer. A building attached to the mall, which once was a food court, houses Pricewaterhouse-Coopers offices.

Thursday, the new nonprofit Fine Arts Center of Forest Acres will open in about 5,000 square feet of space above the Barnes and Noble, according to Philip Rowe, local actor and owner of Theatre Rowe production company.

Rowe is opening the center with another local actor Lisa Buchanan. The center’s first fundraiser, starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, will be a dinner followed by a musical performance. Tickets are $30. The fundraiser will be a chance for the community to see the new center, which will offer classes and workshops from a variety of genres as well as theatrical performances.

“This is something I’ve been dreaming about for years, and I just took the opportunity,” said Rowe, who said he hopes to be part of the revival of Richland Mall.

“I walked in there one day, and I was a little disappointed that this big beautiful spot didn’t have any people walking around,” Rowe said.

But he saw how successful the children’s theater there was and thought, “If we could bring them back for something else, maybe some other businesses will start coming into the mall because now we’ve increased the traffic.”

The mall’s redevelopment hinges on alternative uses, such as the theaters, offices, schools and residential, according toWilliams, who has seen the mall struggle over the years to find its niche.

“Part of the challenge is that mode of retail (enclosed malls) has fallen into disfavor,” he said. “There are just so many properties like that that are struggling now.”

In many cases, retailers have been choosing open-air lifestyle centers and downtown locations in recent years, Williams said.

But he thinks the mall has the right location and is surrounded by the right demographics to be successful.

“We continue to hold hope that the current owners are going to be successful in securing some top-shelf retailers,” Williams said. “There are successful stores there already.”

With the nation on a slow road to recovery from the worst recession in a lifetime, the developers certainly have their work cut out for them.

“That has slowed us way down, and we’re hopefully coming out of that,” developer Taylor said.

Bath & Body Works, a longtime retailer in the mall, is in the process of closing as its lease expires. And the popular S&S Cafeteria closed a year ago.

Alan Kahn, whom the group brought on board to recruit national retailers, said he has had serious interest in the mall but has had a hard time finding the right retail fit for the site. Some retailers require surface-level parking, rather than the mall’s parking garage; others require loading docks, which are blocked by rear offices.

“I don’t have a solution yet,” he said.

Taylor urged the community to have patience.

“We’re working on it,” he said. “It takes time.”

Staff writer Dawn Hinshaw contributed to this article.