Dillard's, JCPenney To Anchor 625,000-SF Center

SOUTHHAVEN, MS-Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc. says it will break ground here in June for a 625,000-sf open-air shopping center that is 70% pre-leased. Phase one is scheduled to open in the fall of 2005 with JCPenney and a host of small shop retailers. Dillard’s will open in the spring of 2006.Southhaven Towne Center will be located in the southeast quadrant of Interstate 55 and Goodman Road, six miles south of Memphis. The 97,000-sf JCPenney department store will feature a full-service salon as well as wider aisles for shopping carts, improved lighting and new branding graphics. Dillard’s will be a two-level, 140,000-sf store with the ability to expand up to 200,000 sf and will reflect the company’s recent shift toward a more upscale and younger-focused presentation.In addition to the two department store anchors, the development will include four large specialty retailers, 100,000 sf of small shop retailers and several restaurants. Southhaven Towne Center will be CBL’s fourth regional mall in Mississippi. The publicly traded company owns and manages three enclosed regional malls in the state including Bonita Lakes Mall in Meridian, Pemberton Square in Vicksburg and Turtle Creek Mall in Hattiesburg.In addition to the Southaven development, CBL has six projects under construction totaling approximately 1.7 million sf including one regional mall–Imperial Valley Mall in the Imperial Valley region of California–one community center and four expansions. All told, CBL owns or holds interests and manages 165 properties, including 64 enclosed regional malls. The properties are located in 27 states and total 66.5 million sf, including 2.1 million sf of non-owned shopping centers managed for third parties. The numbers make it one of the top five owners of shopping centers in North America and the largest owner of malls and shopping centers in the Southeast, ranked by GLA.