Aroostook Centre Mall is located on US Route 1, about 11 miles west of Fort Fairfield, where 1.4 million Canadians cross over annually from New Brunswick. There are no competing malls within 50 miles of the property and about 50% of the traffic is from Canadians, Jack Sitt tells GlobeSt.com.
The mall is currently anchored by Sears, Kmart and JC Penney's. Vacancy is about 20% and shop sales are about $250 per sf, but both those numbers should improve dramatically now that Lowe's has committed to the center.
The mall generates about 3,500 vehicles per month. Sitt says Lowe's expects to attract that number of vehicles on a daily basis, which should generate a big boost in sales for other retailers in the mall, which include Staples, Payless, Barnes & Noble, Trader Joe's, Kay Jewelers and 35 others.
"The Lowe's store should be open in 12 months," Sitt says. "Given that, I would say within 24 months sales will have doubled."
Lowe's is also expected to attract additional national retailers to the property that typically benefit from Lowe's shoppers. Sitt tells GlobeSt.com that Old Navy and Target tend to congregate around Lowe's stores, but adds that there is a Wal-Mart one mile down the road that does "tremendously well."
To take advantage of its new attraction, the Sitt family has obtained approvals from the city to develop two additional pad sites, one 20,000 sf and the other 6,000 sf. Sitt says the larger pad site could hold a mid-box retailer like a Best Buy, while the smaller pad could house a national restaurant chain like an Outback Steakhouse.
"What we really want to do it reposition the mall, with tenants that will do well and bring in a lot of traffic," Sitt tells GlobeSt.com. "Nobody wants to travel to Sears, Kmart or Penney's any more, they want to travel to Lowe's, Kohl's and TJ Maxx. With the $8- to $10-million investment Lowe's is making, the other guys are starting to open their eyes."
Lowe's and Home Depot both were angling for the site. "I had conversations with both," he says. "Lowe's was quicker and the deal was sweeter; what can I say?"
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