<p>Recently bought some new clothes at Nordstroms…place was jammed…</p>
<p>That’s a higher end store…</p>
<p>I am a higher end guy. ;). Lol</p>
<p>I trust the views of tax preparers. Mine couldn’t wait to dump me in 2007 … (held onto my documentation for six weeks, started working on the return at 3:15 PM on April 15th, and called me to come pick it up at 5:30 “because it won’t get there in time if we mail it to you”). For the last couple of years I’ve been getting calls and letters about coming back.</p>
<p>In CT some are doing well and some are really suffering. Median income was down 6% last year. Taxes and government spending and are up. The assessed value of my modest abode is down a quarter since 2007 … but my property tax is up 10%. Higher-end malls are mobbed … lower-end malls and shopping plazas offer many lease opportunities (if you catch my drift). Real Estate? Well, I suppose things COULD be worse. A realtor friend says nearly all her business is negotiating short sales … usually as a last resort to avoid foreclosure.</p>
<p>Interesting, NewHope33
Our mall is obviously struggling
Sure it has the usual stores that almost every mall in the US has , but aslo a disturbing number of stores that are covered in dry wall with a " coming soon " vague suggestion that the store will have a new tenant…though they remain vacant
The stores that once housed larger chains have vinyl , temporary signs of odd-ball merchants selling anything from crappy quality synthetic fabric , pageant style dresses for little girls to incense and equal quality trash</p>
<p>We rent a unit in a local but national level strip mall that has anchor stores such as Target, Best Buy and Petsmart , but we have many days when no one even walks thru the doors…yet we have another store in a seasonal, mostly deserted summer town that holds it’s own and sometimes carries the one store where you would think would do killer business…hard to figure out what’s behind it</p>
<p>DH works in a field which is intimately linked to the Sacramento housing market, which has been among the hardest hit in the country. In fact, his workload is a leading indicator of the housing market. He’s been very busy in the last month or two.</p>
<p>Funny, i have never seen Best Buy ,Petsmart or Target as an anchor store, though i live in an area where anchors are Macys, Nordstrom, or Bloomingdales</p>
<p>“We rent a unit in a local but national level strip mall that has anchor stores such as Target, Best Buy and Petsmart , but we have many days when no one even walks thru the doors”</p>
<p>I have wondered what is was like to have nobody walk into a store. I wonder what the owner is thinking. </p>
<p>I am a part owner of a failing shoe store…but I don’t see the comings snd goings…</p>
<p>LasMa…homes are so cheap there…a friend bought a couple in 2009 and the prices are higher today…</p>
<p>Dstark, i haven’t purchased a shoe from a brick and mortar store in years…many online retailers are cheaper and have great selections…</p>
<p>That might be true…but unless you are a transvestite…you won’t be interested in the store’s selection of shoes.</p>
<p>Lmao…i love a my Louboutin’s…</p>
<p>I had to look up Louboutin’s. :)</p>
<p>I have no idea what brand my dress shoes are…and I wear tennis shoes 99% of the time. Bought them at Costco or Payless. I can’t remember. :)</p>
<p>@qdogpa , it’s a shopping center , not a mall</p>
<p>I’ve bought my shoes at the New Balance Factory Outlet for the past 14 years. But I might start going online - to the New Balance Factory Outlet online.</p>
<p>Received an email from our local Town Patch website. There’s a job fair at the local community college - they are looking for 1,000 retail workers for the new mall coming in. I forwarded it our daughter who will be looking for work this summer. My guess is that she’d be happier with something in Boston so I’m going to encourage her to look down there too.</p>
<p>There will be other businesses moving in to after the mall opens.</p>
<p>^^^ ok, now i understand, my bad…</p>
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<p>[News</a> Headlines](<a href=“http://www.cnbc.com/id/46679432]News”>Jobless Rate Flat at 8.3% Even as Payrolls Grow 227,000)</p>
<p>Looks like people are eating and drinking out more these days.</p>
<p>“There’s a job fair at the local community college - they are looking for 1,000 retail workers for the new mall coming in”</p>
<p>That is a lot of jobs…</p>
<p>Are these jobs minimum wage? I’m just wondering what kind of housing these workers can afford in the community. Two full time workers in retail…can afford?</p>
<p>One idea is the people from Massachusettes can shop there?</p>
<p>Your community is going to get a quite a bit of money flowing through it. You’re right.</p>
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<p>Here’s the list of the stores moving in so far. I’d guess that there will be minimum-wage jobs but there are stores here where shoppers expect knowledgeable salespeople. Can you get by on minimum wage? I think that would be difficult in our town. We don’t have a bus system and this mall isn’t terribly accessible without a car. There isn’t any low-income housing nearby. That said, if you’re willing to walk back and forth three miles, then it is doable as there is low-income housing in the next city. I expect a lot of jobs to go to teenagers and young adults living at home and those that aren’t working that might be looking for a little more household income.</p>
<p>Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store, Bass, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Calvin Klein, Chico’s, DKNY, Ecko Unltd,
Elie Tahari, Esprit, Gap Factory Store, Guess Factory Store, Hanes Brands
Izod, J.CrewJockey, Kasper, Lane Bryant Outlet, Levi’s Outlet, Loft Outlet
Lucky Brand, Maidenform, Michael Kors, Nautica, Nike Factory Store, PacSun
Puma, Reebok, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen
White House / Black Market, Wilsons Leather, Zumiez, Coach, Ultra Diamond
Carter’s, Gymboree Outlet, OshKosh B’gosh, Aerosoles, Clarks Bostonian
Cole Haan, Converse, Easy Spirit, Ecco, Famous Footwear Outlet, Naturalizer
New Balance, Nine West Outlet, Rockport, Timberland</p>
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<p>Kids going to the local community college living with their parents would probably make good candidates which may be why they are having the job fair there.</p>
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<p>Not at minimum-wage jobs. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be some $50K to $80K jobs there.</p>
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<p>The marketing concept is that people from MA will shop there to avoid sales tax and not deal with parking hassles. The list of stores is hard to find in other places and probably really hard to find all together.</p>
<p>When this was first brought in to the town, the dollar was falling and the Euro was flying. So the thought was that Europeans would come here for ski and shop vacations and avoid the VAT there. Canadians already come to NH to shop to avoid their high sales taxes but another big outlet mall would give them more options.</p>
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<p>We much prefer high-tech, biotech, healthcare and manufacturing jobs and we are slowly getting some of those to move here. The company (Simon Property Group) made a pretty strong campaign despite a lot of local opposition but they won enough votes to get it through.</p>
<p>On the downside for us - more traffic, probably more crime too. The cost of economic growth. I am hoping that some of the half-deserted strip malls will get tenants too. This should also help the mom and pop stores that haven’t done well in the downturn.</p>
<p>One last thing is that this mall will help the state highway budget. There is a tollbooth at the mall interchange which barely breaks even. They should do quite well when the mall opens.</p>
<p>Are all the stores outlet stores? It’s a little confusing because some stores have outlet in their names and some don’t.</p>
<p>That is quite a large list of quality stores…looks like that mall can be a big success. I would go there if I lived nearby and the traffic wasn’t too bad. (and if I shopped).</p>
<p>Are people going to drive from Boston to the mall? </p>
<p>Do you think you will be personally impacted by the traffic?</p>
<p>I wonder if the mall will help mom and pop stores.</p>
<p>There is the idea that the best place to open a business is near a similar, successful business…but…I don’t know in this case…I guess it could if more people see the mom and pop stores…but the mom and pop stores could also lose business to the mall. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Did mom and pop stores support the building of the mall?</p>