ST. CHARLES – City and mall officials exuded optimism Wednesday as they announced that the new owner of Charlestowne Mall is a group of California-based investors with experience in revitalizing distressed malls.
"I have every faith this organization is on the right path," Mayor Donald DeWitte said over the sounds of children playing in the area adjacent to the center court stage.
Charlestowne Mall Investments LLC is a privately funded California real estate investment company led by Alan Wong and Bobby Montanye, DeWitte said. City Administrator Brian Townsend said the shopping center they own in Cupertino, Calif., was distressed when they purchased it and is a case study in what can be done here.
Willis Johnson, president of Tivoli Enterprises Inc., the operator of Classic Cinemas, said he is thrilled about the new ownership.
"The people that have had the mall have done nothing," Johnson said. "They've kept it clean and neat and all of that, but they've certainly not done any leasing."
Representatives from Charlestowne Mall Investments were not at Wednesday's midday press conference, but mall manager and St. Charles resident Kathy Kekatos spoke about plans to bring attractions and events to the nearly 850,000-square-foot facility.
She could not, however, disclose specific information, such as the ratio of entertainment facilities, restaurants and retail shops, because the sale just finalized Monday.
To be successful, Kekatos said, they must concentrate on the future and not dwell on past struggles and its reputation as a dead mall.
"We want to bring it back to its glory days," she said.
Although Kekatos said the facility is at 75 percent occupancy based on square footage, the individual storefronts tell a different story. No wing is completely full, and one – the lower wing anchored by Sears – has only one retailer and kiosk. Excluding the food court and anchors, the mall directory lists slightly more than two dozen shops between the two floors.
In the eight years Jawad Mateen has worked at the Universal Accessories kiosk on the first floor wing anchored by Sears, he said he has seen the mall go from a bustling shopping center to a ghost town of empty storefronts. Gymboree is his only open neighbor.
He hopes the new ownership will attract a nice restaurant or a miniature golf course – anything that attracts more foot traffic, he said. Weekends have gotten busier since the schools let out for the summer, he said, but the problem is shoppers don't return.
"Normally you don't even see this much people," Mateen said of Wednesday's light crowds.
City officials on Wednesday blamed the demise not on the Randall Road shopping corridor but on the mall's past management and ownership.
Charlestowne Mall opened in 1991 under the ownership of Wilmorite Inc., which defaulted on its debt and went into receivership to a bank that then sought to sell it. Midland Loan Services Inc. began overseeing the property in 2007 and, after listing the property at a lower price, received interest from six potential buyers – including Charlestowne Mall Investments – late last year, DeWitte said.
Johnson said he learned of the sale Tuesday.
"We've been told for some time a deal was pending," Johnson said. "It was long enough you had to wonder if there really was a deal and it really was pending."
Neither city officials nor Kekatos would share the purchase price Wednesday, and it was not yet available through public records.
Kekatos expects the new owners will arrive in St. Charles within the next two weeks but was not sure whether they will establish residency here.
Stabilizing the existing tenants and filling the mall to capacity is the owner's immediate goal, Kekatos said, noting talks are pending with retailers. She said none of the anchors are expected to leave.
"Filling vacancies is what it's all about in this mall," said Chris Aiston, the city's economic development director.
The city has the potential to generate $400,000 in annual sales tax revenue if 100,000 square feet is filled, Aiston said. Furthermore, he said, the increased traffic would likely benefit the rest of the East Main Street corridor.
West Chicago resident Yesenia Cortez said she visits Charlestowne Mall nearly every weekend and, depending on her schedule, sometimes during the week because it is the closest mall to her house.
Watching the shopping center lose stores has been sad, she said. She said she hopes the new ownership will attract a better variety of shops.
"Bring it in because we need it," she said.
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