Pocatello, Ida. Pine Ridge "Mall" bought by Simon

[SamSpade]

After being part of John Price to their sale to GGP to GGP offloading this to a family ownership, who actually stewarded the property to the best of their control, the center has been sold to what I assume is Simon Malls as SimonCRE.
New owners of Pine Ridge Mall confirm Kohl's is on the way

Like many marginally performing malls built in the early 1980s that haven't seen much capex since, this center is on its way to formal closure with demolition of interior spaces to be re-worked into a "big box center." Many retail shoppers bypass Pocatello-Chubbuck for Idaho Falls or driving south to Utah if they aren't using eCommerce. Note, on the included PDF site plan, it incorrectly shows Red Lobster. That location closed after a lease dispute, has been leveled, and an Olive Garden being built in its place.

Archive today link just in case Idaho State Journal is paywalled: Archive.today link

[Super S]

It is interesting how times have changed.

That was actually a pretty nice mall when it opened.
Back in the 1980s, my parents would often postpone shopping until we took a trip to the Pocatello area, which happened a few times a year. One huge reason was that Boise at the time (before 1988) did not have a major indoor mall (unless you count Karcher Mall in Nampa) and your shopping options were mostly limited to downtown. Plus, Pine Ridge had ZCMI which actually had a decent variety and good pricing for a department store, as well as more modern JCPenney, Bon, and Sears locations, and a number of typical mall stores that were not in Boise or even Nampa at the time.

The same developer, Price, was behind several malls including the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, which is struggling, as well as the South Shore Mall in Aberdeen, which is now closed. Seems like problems began at many of the smaller properties once Price left the picture. GGP seemed to focus their attention on larger regional malls such as Clackamas Town Center, while not doing much of anything at the smaller properties.

[kr.abs.swy]

SuperS, was that Sears relocated from the mall that used to stand where the Pocatello Fred Meyer now is? I think that Sears may have been relocated after Pine Ridge Mall was established (similar to the Idaho Falls move from Country Club Mall) but am not sure.

It is interesting how times have changed.

That was actually a pretty nice mall when it opened.
Back in the 1980s, my parents would often postpone shopping until we took a trip to the Pocatello area, which happened a few times a year. One huge reason was that Boise at the time (before 1988) did not have a major indoor mall (unless you count Karcher Mall in Nampa) and your shopping options were mostly limited to downtown. Plus, Pine Ridge had ZCMI which actually had a decent variety and good pricing for a department store, as well as more modern JCPenney, Bon, and Sears locations, and a number of typical mall stores that were not in Boise or even Nampa at the time.

The same developer, Price, was behind several malls including the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, which is struggling, as well as the South Shore Mall in Aberdeen, which is now closed. Seems like problems began at many of the smaller properties once Price left the picture. GGP seemed to focus their attention on larger regional malls such as Clackamas Town Center, while not doing much of anything at the smaller properties.

[Super S]

SuperS, was that Sears relocated from the mall that used to stand where the Pocatello Fred Meyer now is? I think that Sears may have been relocated after Pine Ridge Mall was established (similar to the Idaho Falls move from Country Club Mall) but am not sure.

It is interesting how times have changed.

That was actually a pretty nice mall when it opened.
Back in the 1980s, my parents would often postpone shopping until we took a trip to the Pocatello area, which happened a few times a year. One huge reason was that Boise at the time (before 1988) did not have a major indoor mall (unless you count Karcher Mall in Nampa) and your shopping options were mostly limited to downtown. Plus, Pine Ridge had ZCMI which actually had a decent variety and good pricing for a department store, as well as more modern JCPenney, Bon, and Sears locations, and a number of typical mall stores that were not in Boise or even Nampa at the time.

The same developer, Price, was behind several malls including the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, which is struggling, as well as the South Shore Mall in Aberdeen, which is now closed. Seems like problems began at many of the smaller properties once Price left the picture. GGP seemed to focus their attention on larger regional malls such as Clackamas Town Center, while not doing much of anything at the smaller properties.

Now that I think about it, Sears was NOT there in the 1980s. Sears as well as Shopko were later additions. I was thinking about a later visit when I stopped at the mall to take a break as I was traveling home to Washington from Wyoming. In any case though, it was a nice mall at the time.

[rwsandiego]

After being part of John Price to their sale to GGP to GGP offloading this to a family ownership, who actually stewarded the property to the best of their control, the center has been sold to what I assume is Simon Malls as SimonCRE....

Based in their website, the firm isn't related to Simon Malls. It was founded by Joshua Simon, who is still the CEO, in 2010 and has fewer than 50 employees. The general tone and look and feel aren't what an affiliate of Simon Malls would use.

Melvin Simon had a son named Joshua, but he died in 1999. So this isn't one of his kids.

[storewanderer]

I was thinking there is no way the large Simon Mall group would possibly touch that mall... that mall was nice when the anchors were filled but the reality is its size - it was just flat out overbuilt for the area.

[SamSpade]

I was thinking there is no way the large Simon Mall group would possibly touch that mall... that mall was nice when the anchors were filled but the reality is its size - it was just flat out overbuilt for the area.

((shrug)) It killed off two smaller malls in the city (Pocatello Mall, today where Fred Meyer sits; Westwood Mall). It was also built about 3-4 years ahead of the Grand Teton Mall in Idaho Falls, which continues to be near fully leased and re-tenanted despite the closure of Sears and Macy's.

[storewanderer]

I was thinking there is no way the large Simon Mall group would possibly touch that mall... that mall was nice when the anchors were filled but the reality is its size - it was just flat out overbuilt for the area.

((shrug)) It killed off two smaller malls in the city (Pocatello Mall, today where Fred Meyer sits; Westwood Mall). It was also built about 3-4 years ahead of the Grand Teton Mall in Idaho Falls, which continues to be near fully leased and re-tenanted despite the closure of Sears and Macy's.

It is more the lopsided nature of the mall. In my opinion it had far too many department store anchors for the size of the market. The mall itself was a little strange, it really didn't have a huge number of small store spaces (I feel like it had about 35 spaces), the food court felt a bit large for the size of the mall.

It probably only needed 2 department store anchors for the size of the market... we also don't know of Herbergers or whatever it was would have survived if the chain hadn't gone under (I think there is a good chance they would have survived there).