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October 29, 2008
Forest City in the News
Tampa Bay Oline, Optimistic, New Mall To Open
The Shops at Wiregrass couldn't have found itself with a gloomier time for a grand debut.
The new mall is opening with a likely global recession in the works and many people finding that their retirement accounts are down 30 percent or more this month.
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The owners of the Shops at Wire- grass mall, its 72 retailers and hundreds of newly-hired store employees are betting that shoppers in this part of the Tampa Bay area are so hungry for a new mall that even a beaten-down economy won't keep them - and their money - away.
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Like most new malls, Shops at Wiregrass is an open-air "lifestyle center," instead of an indoor mall. It aims to re-create a downtown shopping district. Mall owners Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland and the Goodman Co. of West Palm Beach arranged the 90 small mall stores in 12 separate buildings and laid them out in a semicircular pattern.
CNewsPubs.com, Q&A: We have answers to your Shops at Wiregrass questions
Q. Why is The Shops at Wiregrass not enclosed like some other area malls?
A. The configuration of The Shops at Wiregrass — it is an open-air, regional lifestyle center — lends itself perfectly to shopping as well as community activities, Lenners said. The Shops at Wiregrass will offer people the sheer experience of spending time in a park- like environment while shopping in a setting resembling a downtown-shopping district. ...
Q. How much did it cost to build The Shops at Wiregrass?A. It cost $156 million. The Shops at Wiregrass is a joint effort of Forest City Enterprises Inc. and The Goodman Company.
Posted by lumi at October 29, 2008 5:04 AM