New Management to Bring Changes to NewPark and Southland Malls

Shoppers may soon see changes to two local malls due to a change in management.

General Growth Properties is 'spinning off' in Newark, Southland Mall in Hayward and 29 other shopping malls into publicly traded Rouse Properties Inc., a subsidiary of General Growth.

The plan is to invest $230 million to improve occupancy rates, according to a press release issued by GGP. The goal is to bring that rate up to 93 percent, according to a news report by Bloomberg.

NewPark Mall General Manager Kelly Gardner said the project has two ideal goals: to create a better connection with the community and to improve the quality of the shopping experience.

While it is too early to announce whether major changes will be made to the property, the mall has already begun making minor modifications, one of which is the ongoing renovation of its public restrooms located at the foot court on the upper level.

The restrooms will not be larger, but are getting an aesthetic facelift and the overhaul is expected to be complete by November, Gardner said. It is the first time they've been remodeled since the early 1990s, he added.

There is no exact timeframe on when all the improvements will be completed at NewPark, but the overall plan is sketched out through 2015, according to Bloomberg.

The report notes that Rouse's mission is “to own and manage dominant Class B regional malls in secondary and tertiary markets.”

Gardner added that the key focus for Rouse is to reposition its assets to provide a better experience for the shoppers and a better environment for retailers.

“The definite hope and plan down the road is it will be bigger and better,” Gardner said. “For NewPark and the community at large, it’s better. We will get the attention and focus that [the mall] needs.”

NewPark Mall is home to 150 stores on about 1.2 million square feet of land.

Gardner didn't release the mall’s vacancy rate, but said seven stores are in the process of opening up in the fall season.

The announcement of the change in management comes nearly a year after General Growth emerged from its bankruptcy status. General Growth had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2009.