Nordstrom Does About Face, Will Stay Downtown

SALT LAKE CITY-Nordstrom Inc. has signed a letter of intent to remain at the Crossroads Mall here as part of a major redevelopment of the property by its owner, the LDS Church, and mall manager the Taubman Co. The news is a major about face for Nordstrom, which last year promised to close the 140,000-sf store–its worst performing location in the nation–in 2005. The redevelopment includes not only the Crossroads Plaza but also the ZCMI Mall Blocks immediately across Main Street, both of which are owned by the LDS Church. The project will include nationally renowned retail, restaurants and new parking adjacent to Nordstrom. In addition, the mixed-use project will include downtown living, together with the existing office and hotel uses on those blocks. LDS Church officials have estimated the overall cost of the redevelopment at “several hundred million dollars.”Nordstrom will remain open throughout construction of the new mall and tentatively plans to open its new store in 2007. The new Nordstrom store will be approximately 124,000 sf on two levels. Nordstrom spokesperson Brooke White tells GlobeSt.com that despite the smaller size, the shopping area will remain as big as or bigger than the existing store because the company’s new stores do not contain as much non-retailing space.Last August, White assured the local press that it would not be staying at Crossroads, saying it would either relocate three blocks outside the Downtown core to a new development called the Gateway or leave the city altogether. A couple of weeks later, the city council denied a rezone that would have allowed Nordstrom’s move to The Gateway.At that time, White told the local press Nordstrom could not wait three or four years for the project to be completed, amid the construction, with additional parking constraints. Especially since the store is already the worst performer, trying to survive a major reconstruction project–even one flawlessly executed–would be nearly impossible, she said.So what happened? “They changed their plans,” White tells GlobeSt.com, adding that she can’t say much more because Taubman has yet to reveal publicly exactly what its plans are. When asked if she regrets being so matter-of-fact about leaving last year, she says, “No. At that point in time there was no solution.”In a prepared statement, company president Blake Nordstrom says the difference between the original proposal it could live with and the new proposal is that “it brings together a strong mix of stores, has a solution to the challenging parking that exists today and has additional elements to give customers a reason to visit Main Street.” A spokesperson for Taubman was unavailable for comment Friday morning. Last fall, Taubman’s Bruce Heckman said publicly that Nordstrom would make or break its involvement in the redevelopment: “The prospects of a successful retail project in block 75 and 76 (the city blocks where the two malls are now located) are extremely low if Nordstrom is allowed to move to the Gateway, and in that context we would no longer continue to be interested.”