PREIT Solidifies Woodland Mall Redevelopment with Addition of The Cheesecake Factory as Dining Anchor

PHILADELPHIA, March 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PREIT (NYSE: PEI) announced a series of milestones with scheduled openings at Woodland Mall, further establishing its presence as the premiere retail, dining and entertainment destination in Grand Rapids, the second largest city in Michigan. The project will feature an exclusive line up of high-impact tenants, strengthening this market-dominant asset.  As the second largest redevelopment underway in PREIT's portfolio, Woodland Mall is expected to deliver nearly 20% NOI growth in 2020.

Expanded Dining Destination
In an effort to elevate the dining experience and expand the mall's trade area, PREIT has executed a lease with The Cheesecake Factory for its second location in Michigan and its only location in over 50 miles.  The 8,500 square foot restaurant is expected to open late October 2019. The Cheesecake Factory is known around the globe for its extensive menu, generous portions and legendary desserts. The restaurant features more than 250 menu selections including SkinnyLicious® dishes with 590 calories or less and Saturday and Sunday Brunch – all handmade, in-house with fresh ingredients – and more than 50 signature cheesecakes and desserts. 

"Since opening our first restaurant in Beverly Hills more than 40 years ago, The Cheesecake Factory has become known for creating delicious, memorable experiences for millions of guests around the country, and we're so pleased to be opening our first restaurant in Grand Rapids," said David Overton, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated. "We look forward to opening in Woodland Mall this fall."

The Cheesecake Factory will join Black Rock Bar & Grill, an award-winning steakhouse and first-to-market experiential dining offering, with an anticipated opening this summer.

New Retailers in the Region
First-to-portfolio retailer Von Maur, which will occupy 90,000 square feet in the former Sears space, is set to open in the fall. This location will be the high-end department store's first in the region. Von Maur will be joined by Urban Outfitters and a series of other new-to-portfolio and new-to-market retailers at the mall. REI will open in a 20,000 square-foot outparcel in the second quarter 2019 – bringing the in-demand outdoor clothing, gear and footwear brand to the region.

Complementing these high-quality and diverse retailers, this Fall, Woodland Mall will also welcome Tricho Salon, a best in class salon offering a personalized experience with most talented stylist in the region featuring the top hair styles, designs and products as well as makeup and waxing services.  An innovator in the salon business since 2003, Tricho Salons boasts 12 locations in the most sought after markets across the U.S.  Additionally, PREIT has continued to evolve the retail mix at the mall, having recently delivered new and upgraded store prototypes from key retailers including Altar'd State, Apple and LUSH.  These stores will also be joined by newly renovated prototypes from Williams-Sonoma and Bath & Body Works, which will relocate their stores to the newly-created Von Maur wing. These dynamic remerchandising efforts will further differentiate the shopping environment.  During the 2018 holiday shopping season, Woodland Mall experienced strong growth in foot traffic, which is expected to be enhanced with these new additions.

"With the addition of a fashion department store, the region's only Apple store and The Cheesecake Factory, this property will take its place as a trophy mall and a top-performer in our portfolio," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "The high-impact redevelopment of Woodland Mall is delivering a diverse and robust tenant mix that aligns with our portfolio quality improvement efforts."

Woodland Mall features an exclusive line-up of dynamic tenants, including Apple, Pottery Barn, The North Face, Williams-Sonoma, Dry Goods, H&M and Altar'd State along with several dining establishments, a movie theater and game-changing tenants soon-to-open.

About PREIT
PREIT (NYSE:PEI) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages quality properties in compelling markets. PREIT's robust portfolio of carefully curated retail and lifestyle offerings mixed with destination dining and entertainment experiences are located primarily in the densely-populated eastern U.S. with concentrations in the mid-Atlantic's top MSAs. Since 2012, the company has driven a transformation guided by an emphasis on portfolio quality and balance sheet strength driven by disciplined capital expenditures. Additional information is available at www.preit.com or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "may" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events, achievements or results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, our business might be materially and adversely affected by changes in the retail and real estate industries, including consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor tenants; current economic conditions and the corresponding effects on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing decisions; our inability to collect rent due to the bankruptcy or insolvency of tenants or otherwise; our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates; increases in operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; the effects of online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants; risks related to our development and redevelopment activities, including delays, cost overruns and our inability to reach projected occupancy or rental rates; acts of violence at malls, including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the potential effect on traffic and sales; our ability to sell properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain prices we seek; our substantial debt and the liquidation preference of our preferred shares and our high leverage ratio; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through sales of properties or interests in properties and through the issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market conditions are favorable; and potential dilution from any capital raising transactions or other equity issuances.

Additional factors that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include those discussed herein and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors." We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise. 

CONTACT:
Heather Crowell
SVP, Strategy & Communications
(215) 454-1241
[email protected]

SOURCE PREIT

Related Links

http://www.preit.com

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED