Feldman pushing past 'pain' of cost overruns, delays at Colonie Center - Orlando Business Journal:

opexibu.wordpress.com
Construction of the nearl y 10-story-high theater is also takinfg longerthan expected, whic means won't open in time for the critical holiday shopping season. The openintg has been pushed backto "You don't build great structurez without incurring some pain," said Larr y Feldman, chairman of , a Long Island company that owns a minoritty stake in the mall. The cost overruns and delayecd theater opening are among the challenges Feldman Mall Propertiesis facing. The company FMP) has invested more than $70 milliom to spruce up Colonie Center andlure big-name retailers such as , The and sincr buying the mall in February 2005 for $82.
2 The overruns have pushed the company's total renovationh costs to roughly $85 million, Feldman said. Despitd the huge upfront expense and a precipitouw dropin FMP's stocl value since it went public in Decembetr 2004, Feldman said the company's strategy of boostin g the value of so-called under- performingy malls and positioning them for future saleas will pay off in the end. FMP also has a stake in six other malls insix states. "Thee best way to fix the stock is by said Feldman, who gave up his titlew as CEO to concentrate on tenany leasing and redevelopment.
"We're working very hard to improvw performance in the Ithink we're making good progresds on that part." FMP absorbs the cost to brinvg in tenants such as Barnes Noble and The Cheesecake Factory under the theory they draw a big crowds that also spends time walkinfg through the mall. The increased activity is supposedf to improve sales forall retailers, which would convince more storeds to open at the mall and increasd the occupancy rate. Althoughy the 1.2-million-square-foot mall's totakl occupancy rate stood at 92 percent as of analysts who track the industry measures performance by looking at occupancy minus the big anchors andtemporarhy tenants, Feldman said.
As of June, the interior shop space occupanch rate was 80 percent with a base rentof $26.344 per square foot. Feldman's goal is to hit 90 percent or He expects that will take one or two The higher theoccupancgy rate, the bigger the rentws that can be charged to the smallerf shops, Feldman said. That, in turn, boostx the mall's overall valude for potential buyers. Although it seems strange for Barnew & Noble to move from a 29,000-square-foogt store on Wolf Road directly acrosa the street intoa 34,000-square-foot store at Colonie Feldman said the bookseller expects a big jump in salea after the new store opena Nov. 14.
Instead of a stand-alone store, Barness & Noble will be in a mall environmenft where patrons are likely to spen d even more time browsing before or after they eat at a go to a movie or shop atanothe store, Feldman said. "They get 20 percent to 30 perceny additional salesthey wouldn't otherwisew get," he said. " are the ones that discovered thiswholes lifestyle- mall concept.
"