A Moving Target
I'm a Warwick boy. I've been here for a long time, and I plan to be here for a long time to come. I love it here. If you know me in "real life," then you know that I know the city inside and out... its people, its places, its players. "Warwick Boy" is one-half of my dual-identity status (the other half being "TV Boy," of course!).
As a by-product of my Warwick Boy status, I seem to have gained a reputation as a go-to guy for people who want to know what's going on in the city of Warwick. Among the more frequent questions I've been receiving as of late have been "when are they going to start the airport runway expansion?"... "when will the new Apponaug bypass road be finished"... and "what's going to move into the old Macy's at the Warwick Mall?"
Well, it took me a while to get to the bottom of the latter question, but at long last I have the secret details surrounding changes coming to the Warwick Mall. Be warned that I'm now shifting into "spoiler boy" mode, so if you'd rather be surprised and wait for the official announcement, then stop reading right here. Otherwise, read on:
Get ready for a major redevelopment at Warwick Mall.
The big news is that Warwick Mall has scored a coup by luring America's hip, trendy discounter, Target, to its property. What's this, you ask? Doesn't Target already have a store in Warwick... right there on route 2, about three miles from the mall? Well, the inside word is that Target will be relocating from its current site high-atop Bald Hill Road (a/k/a route 2) to the mall. Major score for Warwick Mall.
The catalyst for this redevelopment occurred in 2006 when Macy's moved from its long-time anchor spot at the south end of the mall to the former Filene's building, as part of the Federated Department Stores takeover of the May Company stores.
The former Macy's (which began life in 1972 as Jordan Marsh) will actually become several stores. As the plan exists today, Target will occupy the first floor of a vastly-renovated Macy's building.
Also as part of the mall redevelopment... one other route 2 retailer will be relocating to the mall. The Sports Authority, currently located about 4 miles south of Warwick Mall on route 2, next to Sam's Club (near the intersection of routes 2 and 117), will move into the extreme-makeover Macy's building, most likely on the second floor.
This renovation will also include new access points for the upper floors of the former Macy's building.
And now, from the "but wait, there's more" category: in addition to the renovation of the former Macy's property, Warwick Mall will be ADDING new retail space... about 100,000 square feet of new retail space. Known in the retail industry as "lifestyle" retail, it will likely be referred to by Warwick Mall as a "main street" development It'll be called this because most of the space will exist OUTSIDE of the mall, connected by sidewalk-style walkways designed to invoke the feeling of a good old-fashioned, downtown-style "main street." The "main street" shops would extend along the immediate outside of the existing mall building; for example, on the eastern side the new space would start at the former Macy's building and run down at least to the entrance of Old Navy. As for what would live in this new space, expect a mix of national retailers and restaurants to populate the new Warwick Mall main street.
As for when to expect all of these changes... the mall management would love to have the new Target and Sports Authority stores open this fall, but that's highly unlikely. Both the newly-renovated Macy's property and the new "main street" would likely open for business sometime in 2008.
And now, with the Warwick news out of the way, please allow me to shift out of "Warwick Boy" mode and shift into "TV Boy" mode; after all, it's almost time for tonight's episode of The Surreal Life Fame Games. Yeah, Warwick Boy may live here, but I guess that it's TV Boy who really calls the shots.
As a by-product of my Warwick Boy status, I seem to have gained a reputation as a go-to guy for people who want to know what's going on in the city of Warwick. Among the more frequent questions I've been receiving as of late have been "when are they going to start the airport runway expansion?"... "when will the new Apponaug bypass road be finished"... and "what's going to move into the old Macy's at the Warwick Mall?"
Well, it took me a while to get to the bottom of the latter question, but at long last I have the secret details surrounding changes coming to the Warwick Mall. Be warned that I'm now shifting into "spoiler boy" mode, so if you'd rather be surprised and wait for the official announcement, then stop reading right here. Otherwise, read on:
Get ready for a major redevelopment at Warwick Mall.
The big news is that Warwick Mall has scored a coup by luring America's hip, trendy discounter, Target, to its property. What's this, you ask? Doesn't Target already have a store in Warwick... right there on route 2, about three miles from the mall? Well, the inside word is that Target will be relocating from its current site high-atop Bald Hill Road (a/k/a route 2) to the mall. Major score for Warwick Mall.
The catalyst for this redevelopment occurred in 2006 when Macy's moved from its long-time anchor spot at the south end of the mall to the former Filene's building, as part of the Federated Department Stores takeover of the May Company stores.
The former Macy's (which began life in 1972 as Jordan Marsh) will actually become several stores. As the plan exists today, Target will occupy the first floor of a vastly-renovated Macy's building.
Also as part of the mall redevelopment... one other route 2 retailer will be relocating to the mall. The Sports Authority, currently located about 4 miles south of Warwick Mall on route 2, next to Sam's Club (near the intersection of routes 2 and 117), will move into the extreme-makeover Macy's building, most likely on the second floor.
This renovation will also include new access points for the upper floors of the former Macy's building.
And now, from the "but wait, there's more" category: in addition to the renovation of the former Macy's property, Warwick Mall will be ADDING new retail space... about 100,000 square feet of new retail space. Known in the retail industry as "lifestyle" retail, it will likely be referred to by Warwick Mall as a "main street" development It'll be called this because most of the space will exist OUTSIDE of the mall, connected by sidewalk-style walkways designed to invoke the feeling of a good old-fashioned, downtown-style "main street." The "main street" shops would extend along the immediate outside of the existing mall building; for example, on the eastern side the new space would start at the former Macy's building and run down at least to the entrance of Old Navy. As for what would live in this new space, expect a mix of national retailers and restaurants to populate the new Warwick Mall main street.
As for when to expect all of these changes... the mall management would love to have the new Target and Sports Authority stores open this fall, but that's highly unlikely. Both the newly-renovated Macy's property and the new "main street" would likely open for business sometime in 2008.
And now, with the Warwick news out of the way, please allow me to shift out of "Warwick Boy" mode and shift into "TV Boy" mode; after all, it's almost time for tonight's episode of The Surreal Life Fame Games. Yeah, Warwick Boy may live here, but I guess that it's TV Boy who really calls the shots.
posted by TV Boy at 3:30 PM
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