Northcross Mall to Get a Face Lift

After a long period of uncertainty, plans are in the works to do something with Northcross Mall. Looks like they will keep the ice rink and increase the size of retail stores, with possibly two stories and a parking garage. Wonder what this will do to the traffic along Anderson Lane...


Changes set for Northcross
Austin Business Journal - March 31, 2006
by Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff


A major redevelopment of the Northcross Mall site in Central Austin is in the works.

Dallas-based real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. has put under contract a 27.8-acre site at the southwest corner of Anderson Lane and Burnet Road, according to the seller's representative.

Lincoln's plans include demolishing the western two-thirds of the existing mall structure and renovating the remaining one-third, according to plans filed with the City of Austin's planning department. The site features a total of 387,559 square feet. The redevelopment proposal comprises 373,110 square feet of retail space and a parking garage, filed plans show.

Robert Dozier, executive vice president of the retail group for Lincoln Property, is listed in the filing as the new owner's contact. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Jim Schissler of the Austin office of Houston-based Jones & Carter Inc. is listed as the project's engineer. A recent letter submitted by Schissler details Lincoln's plans for construction of five new retail buildings and a three-level parking garage.

One of the larger retail buildings will be two stories tall, and the most recent site plan calls for the inclusion of the popular Chaparral Ice skating rink, according to Schissler.

Northcross Mall was built in the mid-1970s and purchased by Midland Red Oak Realty Inc. in 1998. Then, sources said the mall was purchased for less than the $18 million sought by the seller. The deal marked the Midland company's first foray into Austin.

In the spring of 2004, Midland Red Oak tapped Robert Townsend of San Antonio-based mall consulting firm Robert Townsend Retail Consulting to help reposition the property.

A roughly $1.5 million overhaul was planned for the new tenants, including the return of Chaparral Ice. The transformation was expected to take two years.

Now, Townsend confirms Lincoln Property is under contract to purchase Northcross Mall.

Townsend says the repositioning made it "a more viable atmosphere to get a redevelopment buyer to the table."

The repositioning was designed to aid a major overhaul. Leases gave the landlord a one-time termination right in the event of a redevelopment, and this January the lease with Oshman's Supersports was reduced to 24 months.

Townsend says Midland Red Oak, the real estate arm of an oil company, decided to sell Northcross because it determined the project could be done better by a more experienced company.

"You've got to have the confidence to invest the dollars, [and] experience and expertise to be able to determine the upside and feasibility of the redevelopment," Townsend says.

makaspar@bizjournals.com | (512) 494-2519