Emptying malls in Portland, OR

Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Emptying malls in Portland, OR

Post by Super S »

I spent some time in Portland a couple days ago, and visited a couple of older malls. First was Jantzen Beach. The two-story Target which replaced Wards seemed busy. The other two anchors in the mall, Ross and Burlington Coat Factory (former Kmart) were not busy. There were some empty spaces, most surprising was that at 10:15 AM only one of the food court tenants had opened for business. Part of the mall was demolished several years back for big-box development which has had mixed results, stores like Home Depot and Barnes & Noble do well, however they also have a vacant Circuit City, Linens & Things, Boater's World, among others.

The one that really surprised me was Mall 205. Like Jantzen Beach, this mall has a two-story Target that is a former Wards. That store was busy. It opens into one end of the mall. At the other end is somewhat of an oddity, a Home Depot that opens into the mall. When these two stores opened a lot of the rest of the mall filled up. Well, now the rest of the mall consists of Famous Footwear, Dress Barn, Bed Bath & Beyond, a 24 Hour Fitness club, and a handful of smaller stores. There is a LOT of empty space, two former tenants that you can clearly recognize are Claire's and Learning Palace. The food court now has ONE independent vendor remaining. This mall is looking almost as bad now as it did right after Wards closed, and Rite Aid and Emporium (part of which Home Depot now occupies) closed.

Both of these malls have good visibility. Jantzen Beach attracts customers from Washington who want to avoid sales tax. Mall 205 to some extent does, but might hurt from the fact Clackamas Town Center is not much farther away. I think Jantzen Beach can survive with the right mix of tenants, but Mall 205 I could see eventually being torn down except for the bigger stores.
Last edited by Super S on January 7th, 2014, 9:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
tesg
Produce Clerk
Produce Clerk
Posts: 69
Joined: February 24th, 2009, 6:41 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by tesg »

I was in Jantzen Beach last year, and I was appalled at what they did with the remaining wing. I can't believe they painted all that wood gray and blue.

The few tenants in there are mostly local concerns. The "customers" largely appeared to be the "nothing better to do" type just looking for a place to hang out until it was time to start drinking.

I used to have a lot of affection for that mall. I was really upset to see what's left. They intentionally destroyed it. I'd like to move that carousel somewhere nice.

Washington Square, on the other hand, is still the behemoth it's always been. There's a hall-of-fame worthy money property if there ever was one. I see they expanded it with a second parallel wing running part of the length of the main one between Nordstrom and what was Meier & Frank.

"Cedar Hills Crossing" (formerly Beaverton Mall) keeps plugging. The original wing is completely gone, replaced by big box. The south wing is largely still there, but interestingly, they cut off (G.I.) Joe's mall access by sticking a Powell's Books in between (taking mall corridor space with it). There's a food court right about where I remember the Electric Palace being. There's a couple dozen interior store spaces total anymore. A lot of the store concentration has moved outside. They seemed to be attracting about as much business as they ever have.

I didn't make it to Clackamas, Lloyd Center, or Vancouver Mall, but if their websites are any indication, they're doing just fine. I would have made it a point to go to Lloyd Center or Clackamas had I realized Van Duyn's was still there.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by Super S »

Clackamas is doing ok, they added a bunch of outside retail recently and the ice rink has been replaced by a movie theater.

Lloyd center was undergoing a remodel about a year and a half ago, the last time I was there. I don't visit that mall very often.

Vancouver Mall (or Westfield Shoppingtown Vancouver as they call themselves) is also doing ok. Macy's added on to the west of their store, construction began before the name change from Meier & Frank. They did a very nice update to the inside of the store. Two variables have come up though, the demise of Mervyn's has left an empty anchor space, and JCPenney recently opened a standalone store on 192nd Ave. Some rumors have circulated that JCPenney may leave the mall if the new store does better, time will tell.

And just further north in Kelso is a very sad-looking mall, Three Rivers Mall. Since Emporium closed, there has been an on-again, off-again used car dealership in that space, and the smaller tenants have steadily declined as time goes on. The anchors seem to do ok despite being smaller stores.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by Super S »

An update about Jantzen Beach. Stopped in there briefly today and it looks like the mall is emptying out. A lot of the smaller stores have closed down, the Shoe Pavilion has closed, and a couple of the smaller shops that were open were so dead that the employees walked away for a break, there was NOBODY in them. Also noticed they were holding a painting class in one storefront, and another still had signs for the "Scream at the Beach" Halloween event. And the former Damon's restaurant outside, north of Target, has been vacant several years now. I overheard somebody talking about Target wanting to replace the existing two-story store, a former Montgomery Ward, with a conventional store a while back, and this makes me wonder if the end is near for the remaining enclosed portion of the mall. This mall will also be impacted in a few years as a replacement I-5 bridge will be constructed nearby.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by Super S »

Found this article from 2010, looks like my assumption about the rest of the mall may be correct.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/sto ... 1864791100
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by Super S »

Another update:

I was at Jantzen Beach today. Target has sealed off the doors leading into the mall, and that remaining small portion of the mall, facing west from the Target mall entrance, has now been demolished. I did not go inside the remaining portion of the mall, but can say that the carousel is still operating. For now anyway. In any case, it looks like the demolition of the remaining enclosed portion of Jantzen Beach has begun. I have not found an updated article on this. Supposedly, the long-vacant Damon's restaurant and the existing Barnes and Noble are going to be demolished and a new, single-story Target store will be built on that end of the property. Not sure what will happen to the Office Depot which occupies the former Montgomery Ward Auto Center.
Last edited by Super S on August 5th, 2011, 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR...observations

Post by Super S »

Another interesting note...Jantzen Beach's website appears to have been taken down. Another sign changes are coming. If I can get down there again in the next couple weeks I'll try to get a few pictures.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR/NEW INFO about Jantzen Be

Post by Super S »

No pictures yet, but Barnes & Noble is abandoning Jantzen Beach when their store closes and is demolished:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/aug/ ... zen-beach/
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR/NEW INFO about Jantzen Be

Post by Super S »

I have been very busy and unable to get back for pictures. However, this report from Portland TV station KATU clearly shows, at the very end, the portion of the mall that has been demolished along with the now-closed Target mall entrance.

http://northportland.katu.com/news/busi ... tzen-beach
StoreLiker2006
Stock Clerk
Stock Clerk
Posts: 46
Joined: June 4th, 2010, 9:10 am
Status: Offline

Re: Emptying malls in Portland, OR/NEW INFO about Jantzen Be

Post by StoreLiker2006 »

I wonder if Toys "R" Us, Safeway, McDonald's and Burger King in this area will be spared this axe?

Surely I've heard people talk about Safeway leaving Jantzen Beach behind. But the Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us combo here has been significantly updated.

~Ben
Post Reply