COVER STORY, JULY 2008

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME
From sports arenas to concert venues, retailers realize the importance of locating near entertainment options.
Coleman Wood

Not many things can bring together a larger, more diverse crowd than a sports venue. People come from all over to watch their favorite football, baseball and basketball teams year after year, in good times and bad. Even when the season is over, these facilities often double as venues for events such as concerts and conventions.

For those in the commercial real estate industry, this type of built-in population base makes locating near a sports venue a desirable endeavor. Heartland Real Estate Business has explored a collection of projects complementing some of the Midwest’s premier sports entertainment centers, as well as other entertainment options, and highlights what makes these areas so popular.

Bradley Center
Milwaukee

Bradley Center Retail Project, Milwaukee

Best known as the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the Bradley Center arena is receiving a welcome addition now that plans are underway for a retail component to the venue. Developed by Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group, the more than $200 million Bradley Center Retail Project will consist of 500,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. Once open, it will feature anchor, junior anchor and small-shop retail space, as well as restaurants and entertainment venues.

“This development sits at the heart of a revival of downtown Milwaukee that includes 5,000 new residential units,” says Larry Evinger, first vice president of retail for Lauth. “It will be located only a few blocks from the convention center and popular night life areas. It will also feature some of the closest retail options for the thousands of downtown residents, commuters and the 1.5 million annual visitors to the Bradley Center.”

The emphasis on the retail project is to provide synergy with the existing arena. In addition to the Bucks, the Bradley Center hosts Marquette University’s basketball teams, the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, and numerous concerts and other events throughout the year.

“This project is being designed to encourage patrons of the Bradley Center to arrive early or stay after events,” Evinger says. “It will be the focal point of rallies, community attractions and cross promotions that wish to use this exciting destination center as an extension of the arena.”

The project will be developed in phases, with the retail/entertainment component coming first. Later phases of the project tentatively include a high-rise residential, office or hotel tower — depending on market demand.

Lauth is currently finalizing the project’s design, and marketing it to potential tenants. The developer hopes to break ground on the first phase in 2010, with completion coming in 2012.

Plaza at the Speedway
Kansas City, Missouri

On the heels of Red Development’s successful Legends at Village West lifestyle center, local development, brokerage and investment sales stalwart Block & Co. is building a power center that will add even more retail options to the Kansas Speedway area in Kansas City, Missouri. Known as Plaza at the Speedway, the project is designed to complement the existing shopping centers in the area, as well as draw people from the many entertainment facilities in the area.

Situated on 100 acres at the interchange of Interstate 435 and Parallel Parkway, Plaza at the Speedway is expected to have 850,000 to 900,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space upon completion. It will be constructed in two phases; the first phase, which will include about half of the center, broke ground last month and is scheduled to open in 2009. Phase II, which consists of the remaining half of the center, will open in 2010.

Even with the dirt barely turned over, leasing has been brisk. Wal-Mart Supercenter has signed on as the main anchor, and will occupy 184,000 square feet. Best Buy will also occupy 50,000 square feet of anchor space, and will join Office Max and Michaels as the center’s additional anchors. Block is also close to signing two large national clothing stores to a total of 150,000 square feet within the center, and a national sporting goods chain is close to inking a deal for 40,000 square feet. Restaurants will also be featured in Plaza at Speedway, with tenants including Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Taco Bell. These restaurants will join an already opened Wendy’s.

Plaza at the Speedway is located directly across from Legends at Village West. But rather than compete for the retail dollars of the area’s millions of annual visitors, the new center will fill in the retail gaps of the area.

“We believe, based upon our experience, that these two developments will be extremely complementary to each other,” says David M. Block, principal of Block & Co. Realtors. “The Legends is really more of a lifestyle/destination type of environment, whereas Plaza is more of a power center/service type of shopping center. We believe that people will be extremely happy with the experience.”

Forming this synergy with the surrounding retail and entertainment options is what Block believes will make the center successful. It will also benefit from direct I-435 access, which will only help to increase the population area the center can draw from.

“Because of the population in the trade area that [Plaza at the Speedway] is drawing from, it can sustain traffic and be viable on its own. But that fact that it is contiguous to major developments such as Kansas Speedway and The Legends, leads us to believe that all the parties are going to benefit from each other,” Block says. “There will be a lot of cross-traffic and a lot of cross-shopping from one center to the other.”

Jordan Valley Park
Springfield, Missouri

In the case of Springfield’s Jordan Valley Park, the construction of an entertainment venue opened the development floodgates in the adjacent downtown area and beyond. Jordan Valley Park is home to Jordan Valley Ice Park, which is the only indoor ice-skating rink in southwest Missouri, as well as Hammons Field, the home of the Springfield Cardinals minor league baseball team. The park never would have become a reality, though, if it wasn’t for the long-term planning of the city of Springfield.

“In the early 1990s, the city was going through a planning process called Vision 2020 that was initiated by the mayor and the community at large,” says Rusty Worley, executive director of the Urban Districts Alliance.

During the creation of Vision 2020, hundreds of members of the community voiced their opinion on what direction the city’s long-term planning should take. Jordan Valley Park was one of the first projects to come out of this plan. Much of the plan also focused on Springfield’s downtown area, located just five blocks away from the park.

“We certainly see Hammons Field and Jordan Valley Park as major entertainment draws that bring in fans and families from across southwest Missouri,” Worley says. “And when they’re down here, they explore other parts of downtown; we have 40 restaurants downtown, so it’s a great opportunity for them to check out restaurants while they’re down here, either before or after the games. Our challenge now is to help strengthen that connection between downtown, the ballpark and Jordan Valley Park.”

A diverse mix of downtown projects is currently underway to accomplish this goal. This fall will see the completion of College Station, an approximately 100,000-square-foot retail center that will feature a 14-screen movie theater, as well as additional restaurant and retail space. Redevelopment of Herr’s Tower is also continuing. The former department store, which is located on the city square, is being converted by Blue Urban into 38 condominiums with a Mike Shannon’s Steaks & Seafood on the ground floor. Two new parking structures totaling 750 spaces are also being constructed downtown to handle the increase in traffic.

Next door to the city’s existing convention center, a new Embassy Suites Hotel is being developed by John Q. Hammons. Also, local accounting firm BKD has enlisted Opus Northwest to develop a 100,000-square-foot office tower for the company.

The new development has made downtown a popular place to be. Missouri State University, which is located just outside downtown, is in the midst of constructing an 11,000-seat arena for its basketball teams. The venue will also be able to host concerts and other events throughout the year. The opening of the arena will provide a large-capacity, indoor venue that the city has been lacking until this point.

Back in Jordan Valley Park, the city is also looking at options to create a waterfront district along the Jordan Valley Creek, which flows through the area. It has looked at successful waterfront developments in San Antonio and Oklahoma City to provide inspiration for the project.

The West Meadows area is also proving to be a development hot spot, and area to watch in the future. Due to the success of its Jordan Valley Innovation Center, Missouri State University is proposing the IDEA Commons, which stands for Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship and Art. The area would court businesses in the fields to create a business corridor in the area.

While Vision 2020 is far from complete, the effects of the long-term community plan can be seen throughout Springfield.

“The progress that we’ve seen in Jordan Valley Park radiates well beyond just the properties that are adjacent to it,” Worley says. “It radiates out into the urban neighborhoods and into these historic business districts, so it’s paid significant dividends for us.”

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis

Residents of Indianapolis have been waiting anxiously for the completion of Lucas Oil Stadium, the future home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The construction of the $702 million project, as well as the $275 million expansion of the adjacent convention center on the grounds of the former RCA Dome, has turned the area into one of the city’s biggest construction hot spots.

The downtown area is preparing to experience tremendous growth in the number of hotel rooms, with an assortment of developers recognizing that the new stadium and expanding convention center will be drawing large numbers of new visitors to the city’s urban core.

JW Marriott Indianapolis

Arguably one of the area’s biggest projects is the development of the $425 million JW Marriott complex at the intersection of West and Washington streets. The project actually includes the construction of four hotels: the 34-story JW Marriott tower will be accompanied by a 294-room Courtyard by Marriott, a 168-room Fairfield Inn & Suites and a 156-room Springhill Suites. The hotel complex will also contain a 1,000-space parking garage, along with 105,000 square feet of meeting space. Completion of the smaller hotels is scheduled for March 2011, with completion of the JW Marriott coming in March 2011.

The $425 million JW Marriott complex, which is being developed near the new Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, will include a 34-story JW Marriott hotel, as well as three additional hotels with more than 600 guestrooms, when it opens in 2010.

Another talked about project is Ralston Square, a $60 million hotel and residential development located at 365 South Meridian Street. The 14-story building features 40,000 square feet of commercial space and an approximately 150-room hotel, as well as 40 condominium units and 550 parking spaces. Groundbreaking is expected to occur this fall. Joining Ralston Square will be West Merrill Tower, a $67 million hotel and residential project that broke ground in the second quarter.

Finally, three hotels from Dora Brothers Hospitality totaling $94 million are going in around the stadium. The hotels include a 113-room Staybridge Suites, a 108-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, and a 130-room Comfort Suites. The three hotels are part of the City Centre Hotels complex Dora Brothers is developing across from the stadium. With Lucas Oil Stadium set to open in time for the 2008-2009 season, and the expanded Indiana Convention Center following in 2010, expect even more projects to be announced in the future.

Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Entertainment District

Splash H2Otel, Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois

The Village of Hoffman Estates’ Entertainment District is a perfect example of a city that has successfully created a good mix of entertainment and retail projects. Already located amongst the many office buildings of the city’s huge Prairie Stone Business Park are Cabela’s and the 11,000-seat Sears Centre arena. This month, construction begins on Jam Productions’ Poplar Creek Amphitheater. The 9,400-seat outdoor amphitheater is scheduled to open in May 2009. Permits have also been awarded for the construction of Splash H2Otel. Formerly known as Sun Island, the project has gone through many different revisions during the course of its development, but the final plan includes a 240-room hotel, a 60,000-square-foot indoor waterpark and an 18,000-square-foot conference center.

Construction begins this month on the 9,400-seat Poplar Creek Amphitheater, which is being developed by Jam Productions within Prairie Stone Business Park in the Village of Hoffman Estates’ entertainment district.

Adjacent to the already-opened Poplar Creek Crossing Center is The Arboretum of South Barrington, a 600,000-square-foot lifestyle center that was designed to complement the power center across the street. Scheduled to open in the fall, the center has already attracted high-profile tenants such as L.L. Bean and Gold Class Cinema.

With the entertainment district gaining popularity, the village of Hoffman Estates is currently working with Hitchcock Design Group to create a unifying brand for the area, including signage and a marketing plan. There remains 200 acres in Prairie Stone to develop, so be prepared for even more entertainment, retail and office projects to be announced in the future.

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