Although three stores – Eddie Bauer, Zoinks! and Le Gourmet Chef – recently left Providence Place mall, five others will fill the space they left vacant.
It’s been a busy few months at the mall, said Senior General Manager Tony Kalinowski; and it’s not just back-to-school shoppers.
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Kalinowski reeled off a list of store names that have left Providence Place since January, 10 in all. But most of those retail spaces already have new tenants open for business. In fact, for the 10 stores that left, 15 new ones are opening or have opened their doors.
Ann Taylor Loft, the Sony Style Store and New York & Company now fill the space on the first floor that Eddie Bauer/Eddie Bauer Home vacated in January.
The former Lord & Taylor space, which spans three floors and closed in June, is slated to open as a JC Penney in February, Kalinowski said.
“Penney’s was the No. 1 requested store in our research,” Kalinowski said.
Another of the mall’s anchors, Filene’s is scheduled to transform itself into a Macy’s some time next year.
Parade of Shoes left its second-floor home after the company declared bankruptcy, Kalinowski said. A Thom Brown shoe store is scheduled to open in its place in two weeks.
Gadzooks has also left the mall. The space will be filled by Baker’s Shoes this fall.
The Discovery Channel Store also left when the company declared bankruptcy earlier this year. A Build-A-Bear Workshop will open in the coming weeks. The former Swatch store has been replaced with Charlotte, a jewelry store.
“Charlotte is based in Germany, and this is their first location on the East Coast of the United States,” Kalinowski said.
Another jewelry store, Arias, left the mall and will be replaced by Piercing Pagoda Plus.
The former Xcessoreez Fashion Shop was replaced with Aldo Accessories. Aldo already operates a shoe store on the second floor.
Le Gourmet Chef and Zoinks!, which adjoined each other on the third floor near Filene’s, will be replaced by Hollister, a “young, urban store,” the Finish Line and Pacific Sunwear. Pacific Sunwear will move from its current third-floor location to its new space, gaining twice the square footage it currently has.
Kalinowski said the mall is finalizing a lease for a store to fill Pacific Sunwear’s former home, but he is unable to discuss it.
Gourmet India joined the restaurant selection on the third-floor food court in a previously undeveloped section of the food court.
Mastercuts, a hair salon, will fill another vacant space that was never built out, Kalinowski said.
General Growth Properties Inc. of Chicago acquired the mall in August 2004 when it bought out The Rouse Co. for $7.2 billion. General Growth now owns and manages more than 200 malls in 44 states.
“General Growth has only been here a short time, but they’ve done a great job of bringing new tenants in,” Kalinowski said.
