Inside-Out Redevelopment Turns Bayfair Mall’s Fortunes Around

San Leandro, CA – Bayfair Center –

It took guts and a good deal of confidence for MadisionMarquette to take on the aging and steadily declining Bayfair Mall in 2003.  The 820,000 square foot regional shopping center was originally built in 1957 and was starting to see an exodus of some of its national tenants.  In fact, many of the national tenants with term were on the fence or simply not planning on renewing.  About 5 years prior to the acquisition, Edwards Theatre, PetSmart and 24 Hour Fitness had all opened in pad locations surrounding the mall.  These were welcome additions, but they did little to turn the tides at Bayfair.  At the time, the mall was anchored by Macy’s and Montgomery Ward’s, and fortunately, Target had purchased the old Montgomery Ward’s building just prior to Madison Marquette’s acquisition.

Madison Marquette saw tremendous upside potential in redeveloping Bayfair and expected that their national retail relationships would add significant value to the property.

Inside-Out

The first phase of the redevelopment, which built off of the momentum of Target’s arrival, was to flip a portion of the mall “inside-out” in order to bring in some of the big-box retailers that the community wanted.  Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond were the first to open with a strong exterior orientation.  Although, Kohl’s now frequently takes over former mall anchor spaces, at that time this was one of their first stores connected to a mall.  Old Navy and Staples eventually landed next to Bed Bath and Kohl’s

with some smaller shops adding some soft goods, convenience and food uses to the exterior of the center.  Multiple pylon signs were added at the key intersections to signal a positive momentum swing and broadcast the new tenant mix. Adding to the energy from the inside-out move, Starbucks and Chili’s opened freestanding stores at the corner of Fairmont & East 14^th Street.  Starbucks built their branded prototype drive-thru, which even today is a rare sight in the notoriously “slow-growth” and generally drive-thru resistant Bay Area.

Overcoming the Past

These exterior changes were a big hit with the community and the existing tenants, but more work was needed to turn the center around.  The inside-out strategy decreased the interior shop space to just around 100,000 SF, but simply minimizing the interior did not solve all of the mall’s problems, the biggest being it’s past perceptions.

“Our largest challenge was to change the image and reputation of the center within the San Leandro community and among retailers.  We wanted to transform Bayfair Mall into a more upscale, modern destination – a polar opposite of its reputation as an outdated, unsuccessful regional mall,”  as stated by the company.

To round out the redevelopment, the second phase aimed to revitalize the mall’s interior.  In addition to the typical mall rehab practice of refreshing the interior finishes, Madison Marquette also completely overhauled the food court in 2009 and has focused on creating a third-place environment and fostering a sense of community ownership.  Inviting common areas now serve as a gathering area for over 50 local community groups and professional organizations including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local Town Hall meetings and BART meetings.  The improvements also included a soft play area for children and a stage where Bayfair Center frequently hosts Friday and Saturday night performances.  During the week the stage is also made available for local choirs as well as dance and music recitals.  In addition to building a sense of reciprocity with the community as a whole, the local groups and meetings help to drive traffic to the center at all hours.

Shared Vision

From the outset, the City of San Leandro was a very positive force.  They were impressed with Madison Marquette’s track record of revitalizing and enhancing retail properties and welcomed their vision as well as their expertise.  The city maintained a shared vision and worked very harmoniously with the developers throughout the project and also contributed $4 million towards the redevelopment effort.

Overall, the transformation of Bayfair Mall into Bayfair Center took more than four years and $35 million.  One of the biggest keys to the momentum and success of this project is that the initial improvements to the physical appeal of the property were swift and dramatic.  The inside-out strategy quickly gave the center a brand new look as well as some new traffic generators.

Going forward, Madison Marquette would like to see Bayfair Center continue to strengthen its ties to the adjacent BART station.  They envision a transit oriented commercial node that will bring waves of revitalization throughout the immediate trade area and the surrounding community.

(You may click on any of the plans or images above to view a larger image)

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Madison Marquette (www.madisonmarquette.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based investor, developer and operator of retail and retail mixed-use real estate throughout the United States. The company specializes in creating unique retail destinations that respond best to consumer preferences. With regional offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, New York and Charlotte.  Madison Marquette seeks investment opportunities in growing markets. The company maintains a sophisticated in-house operating capability and oversees 21 million square feet of retail real estate. This diverse national portfolio includes many properties that Madison Marquette manages and leases on behalf of third-party owners.



2 Responses to “Inside-Out Redevelopment Turns Bayfair Mall’s Fortunes Around”

1. Mark says:

   August 10, 2010 at 12:04 pm

   Here is an interesting story where Legends Village West in Kansas City is repositioning itself as an outlet center. It has seen a five percent increase in comparative traffic since the outlet conversion 5 months ago.

   You can read more here:
   http://factoryoutletinsiders.blogspot.com/2010/08/legends-outlets-kansas-city-has-signed.html
2. Seth Parker says:

   August 10, 2010 at 12:10 pm

   Thanks for the lead and the link Mark. That makes sense. The outlet segment has been one of the bright spots in retail throughout the recession. I’ll look into profiling this here.