Taubman dumping Fairlane & Partridge Creek

[nain rouge]

I've never understood the logic of placing a mall 1 mile away from another mall, eventhough it caters to a more affluent crowd in some respects. I don't see how adding yet another outlet mall 2 miles away from Partridge Creek will do anything but cannibalize sales from Lakeside and Partridge Creek.

It makes sense when you can find an overheated retail market, build your shiny, unsustainable, overpriced mall there on relatively cheap real estate, and then get out once the newness wears off.

Stony Point Fashion Mall in Richmond,VA - which Taubman also let go in this deal - is a perfect example. The Richmond area has way too much retail, about 60 feet of retail per person. That's roughly double what Charlotte or Nashville has. Taubman saw the "demand" and built a Partridge Creek-style mall just south of the James River at the same time another developer was building a nearly identical outdoor mall just north of the James. The market isn't big enough in Richmond for two upscale outdoor malls that close, but they went ahead anyway.

Now, if you knew Richmond, you'd know that south of the river is the equivalent of Macomb, and north is the equivalent of Oakland. Taubman had the clear loser location in such a duel. And Taubman understood that, and everything else. But the company also knew the short-term demand was there, the land was cheap enough, and they could get out before the crap hit the fan. Long-term was irrelevant.