With liquidation looming for all remaining Borders locations, the Mall of Louisiana will soon find itself in need of a new anchor retailer for its open-air lifestyle center. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 16. The bookseller has enlisted DJM Realty, a New York-based firm, to handle disposition of remaining properties. Borders, which boasted more than 900 locations prior to filing for bankruptcy, currently has 259 remaining sites. DJM’s liquidation brochure lists the Mall of Louisiana location as a 25,000-square-foot property with a current rent rate of $13.45 per square foot, with a lease expiration date of Jan. 31, 2019. It is the only remaining Borders in Louisiana. That store was one of the anchors of the mall’s lifestyle center, which opened in August 2008.
Andy Graiser, co-president of DJM Realty, says that the properties have “generated very strong interest from retailers.”
Dottie Tarleton, vice president of Stirling Properties, is equally confident that the soon-to-be empty spot on The Boulevard at the mall won’t stay vacant for long. “I think it will be scooped up in no time at all,” Tarleton says, citing “a lack of big-box space available in Baton Rouge” and a turnaround in the market. The mall space, she says, is “such a great location.” Tarleton cited her success in leasing a former Linens N Things building to Home Furniture as a possible indicator. “Took less than three months,” she says. Tarleton says she did not yet know which retailers might be interested in the mall site. Representatives for Mall of Louisiana and the space’s leasing agent were not available for comment. —Ian McGibboney
Today’s poll question: How long will the Borders space at the Mall of Louisiana remain vacant?
