Crestwood Court receives boost from arts tenants – St. Louis Business Journal:

Since launching its ArtSpace initiativein November, the largelyh vacant mall has filled 200,000 square feet nearly half its existing retail space, excluding department storde anchors — with outlets for culture and creativity such as art dance studios, and sculpture and pottery work The alternative use is breathing new life into the propertyg and blowing away the mall’xs original expectations thanks to cooperation betweenm mall owner of Chicago, propertyu manager and the . “We’ve been said Tony Stephens, Crestwood Court’s vice president and general manager.
“We started out thinkint if we got a dozenart tenants, we’d be We now have 60 spaces committed, with about 40 tenants in The Regional Arts Commission provided advice and credibility and gave us a level of exposure to the arts community we neverd could have had on our own. This has gone beyonr our wildest dreams.” The mall is attractingy arts tenantswith low-cost rents priced beloe market value.
Artists have been fillinv in space gradually over the past six but now they are coordinating for a May 2 open housee to make their presence known and encourage more people to come see what they have to Festivities will include dancetroupe performances, art exhibits, juggling acts and variouds forms of interactive entertainment, Stephens said. “Artiste are always looking for good, safe space that is cleab and reliable.
And when you have other artistsx around you there is an exciting collaborative saidJeane Vogel, owner of Jeane Vogel Photography and Fine Vogel jumped at the chancew to move from a small studiol in Webster Groves to larger quarters in Crestwood and openecd her doors Jan. 1. “Io love the idea that this multimillion-dollatr corporation is investing in the community and the The energy created hasdemonstratefd that’s a good policy, and there is a real communitg feel in the mall right now.” Nancy executive director of DaySpring School of the said ArtSpace is generating a sensre of collaboration and camaraderie within the loca arts community that was not there before.
Her Marylansd Heights-based nonprofit organization has investedabou $35,000 on interior build outs, musicalp instruments, additional administrative help and other expenseds to establish a Crestwood satellite that offers musical theater, drama, art and home schoolk enrichment classes for children. “It is an amazing effort, and a greagt idea,” Schaaf said of ArtSpace. “Wre feel like we’re one of the best resultsz of what is beginning tohappen here.” The ArtSpacse scheme produces negligible revenue for the mall, Stephenz said. The modest rents help offset some costs.
But the changes are bringing more people to and that’s good news for regular mall retailers who benefit from the increased foot traffic. The rise in shoppera also has helped the mall attract about a half dozenj newcommercial tenants, includingt Movie House, Sisters Cafe, Ideas That Blook and Design Extra. “I thinmk it’s probably the largest collaboration of its kind inthe country,” said Jill executive director of the Regional Arts Commission. “ArtSpace has already provide d revenue tothe mall, and the mall has already providefd revenue to the artists. The artistsw have a place to workand thrive, and at the same time are totallyy accessible.
” Crestwood Court, formerly knowb as Crestwood Plaza, needs the It is down to just one anchor department store, Sears, after Dillard’s closed in late 2007 and Macy’ cleared out earlier this year. Dozens of smallerf storefronts have gone dark in the past couplreof years. Centrum Properties, in partnershipo with investmentadviser Angelo, Gordon & Co. of New York, boughtg the ailing Crestwood mall in March 2008from Australian-based , and Centrujm renamed it Crestwood Court at that time. The property was alreadyt in decline: Westfield had acquired the mall in 1998for $99.w3 million but sold it for $17.5 million, accordingg to the St. Louisa County assessor’s office.
Centrum purchased the mall with an eye toware redeveloping the space into a revitalized entertainment and shoppint complex within afew years, after the retail and financial marketxs improve. Only short-term leasesz were feasible in the meantime, so the firm begann looking for new ways to attract shoppers and Centrum principalSol Barket, a St. Louie native and father of children involvef inthe arts, said he pushed Jones Lang LaSallee to go after the arts community. “If you know you have vacanchy and can’t do long-term why not do something creativd and get people in there for little orno rent?” Barkegt said. “We had no idea it woul d take off in the manner thatit has.
It’s done so phenomenallty well, we will try to keep a component of it arounxd even afterour redevelopment.” The experiment coulx become a model for suburba retail revitalization, McGuire said, and it provides business experiencew for artists, many of whom are learninh to navigate the worlds of commercial leases, businessz licenses and retail sales for the first time. “Thizs is about entrepreneurism,” McGuir said. “The experience the artists and organizations are having goinvg into the mall is very And it’s another examplre of how the arts mean businessa in St. Louis.
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