Mall of America - Bloomington

[mullen]

the west market was the best looking area of the mall.

[bapster2006]

Article on the strong demand for office space at MOA.

http://m.startribune.com/business/27960 ... =/business

[FISHMANPET]

It seems like a weird place to put an office building, but after reading that it seems like a pretty good location. You've got easy light rail access, easy parking (MOA parking demand is opposite office parking demand) and plenty of amenities for office workers.

[HiawathaGuy]

Article on the strong demand for office space at MOA.

http://m.startribune.com/business/27960 ... =/business

This was a very encouraging article. However, I couldn't help but think - if there's really that strong of a demand for office space near MOA, why aren't they getting started on Phase II of the addition sooner (across Lindau next to IKEA), since there is office space planned for there? With that said, this article made me question a) if they are being a bit too rosy with their statements about the desire or b) there is truly strong demand and phase II office space may come on line sooner?

I guess time will tell.

[Lancestar2]

Article on the strong demand for office space at MOA.

http://m.startribune.com/business/27960 ... =/business

This was a very encouraging article. However, I couldn't help but think - if there's really that strong of a demand for office space near MOA, why aren't they getting started on Phase II of the addition sooner (across Lindau next to IKEA), since there is office space planned for there? With that said, this article made me question a) if they are being a bit too rosy with their statements about the desire or b) there is truly strong demand and phase II office space may come on line sooner?

I guess time will tell.

http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014 ... -Of-Attent

Sounds like they got a good problem to have to much demand?


Does anybody know what the next phase is going to be after the North hotel and offices at MOA? Is that not planned yet? Also is Ikea built on the mall property and is it included into the MOA's Sq ft. already or will it ever be? I wonder how the MOA will stack up with it's total size and retail size as the largest mall of the world list.

[HiawathaGuy]

Does anybody know what the next phase is going to be after the North hotel and offices at MOA? Is that not planned yet? Also is Ikea built on the mall property and is it included into the MOA's Sq ft. already or will it ever be? I wonder how the MOA will stack up with it's total size and retail size as the largest mall of the world list.

There are tons and tons of documents on Phase II of the mall's northward expansion (across Lindau Lane). I think if you dig back in this thread, you'll easily find all the information you're looking for.

Here are some snapshots of the plans:




To answer your IKEA question - IKEA is it's own entity. Phase II will connect via skyway to the 2nd level entrance on the East side. So eventually, you'll be able to connect between everything without venturing out of doors, but I don't think their Sq Footage will be included in the overall count.

[Lancestar2]

Does anybody know what the next phase is going to be after the North hotel and offices at MOA? Is that not planned yet? Also is Ikea built on the mall property and is it included into the MOA's Sq ft. already or will it ever be? I wonder how the MOA will stack up with it's total size and retail size as the largest mall of the world list.

There are tons and tons of documents on Phase II of the mall's northward expansion (across Lindau Lane). I think if you dig back in this thread, you'll easily find all the information you're looking for. Below is a quick snapshot of the plans.


To answer your IKEA question - IKEA is it's own entity. Phase II will connect via skyway to the 2nd level entrance on the East side. So eventually, you'll be able to connect between everything without venturing out of doors, but I don't think their Sq Footage will be included in the overall count.

Ok thanks! I'll have to look around a bit tonight, things seem to change so quickly. I'm also am curious if you have a guess at the timeline. To you or anybody else who follows developments closely and have a better sense of everything it takes, plus the demand and finances. What segments do you think may likely come next and about what timeline do you think? Such as what parts of Phase 2 do you think would likely be completed or at least under construction by 2018? Will the Superbowl building boom fever hit the MOA or has it? Just wondering what the opinions are here, I swear I won't hold you to your guess haha.

[MN Fats]

Well the first graphic HiawathaGuy posted says "circa 2025" on the bottom. So probably not as soon as you'd like.

And I'm curious about the hockey rink, would it just be a skating rink in the middle of the mall, or an actual arena-type rink with seating for spectators?

[HiawathaGuy]

Ok thanks! I'll have to look around a bit tonight, things seem to change so quickly. I'm also am curious if you have a guess at the timeline. To you or anybody else who follows developments closely and have a better sense of everything it takes, plus the demand and finances. What segments do you think may likely come next and about what timeline do you think? Such as what parts of Phase 2 do you think would likely be completed or at least under construction by 2018? Will the Superbowl building boom fever hit the MOA or has it? Just wondering what the opinions are here, I swear I won't hold you to your guess haha.

The Superbowl building boom fever has very much hit the South Loop area of Bloomington, near MOA. There are 3 hotels currently under construction (one at MOA and 2 adjacent), with two others being proposed.

As for Phase 2, you'll see from the MOA plan, it says circa 2025 at the bottom. I'm sure it'll probably take that long too. Bass Pro Shop and Great Wolf Resorts have already signed on for Phase 2, but they both depend on the actual expansion of the shopping mall. So ultimately, they are up to Triple Five and how aggressively they want to expand.

Here's MOA's link to Phase 2 info: http://www.mallofamerica.com/about/futu ... n/overview

[HiawathaGuy]

And I'm curious about the hockey rink, would it just be a skating rink in the middle of the mall, or an actual arena-type rink with seating for spectators?

My guess is that it'd be a rink, for generic skating, like their mall in West Edmonton, Canada:

[HiawathaGuy]

Locked, but there's been a lot of MOA news lately...

Mall of America as micro-economy

[min-chi-cbus]

Maybe it's just me but I'm not loving the prelim designs of Phase II -- it just looks very helter skelter and poorly strewn together, and none of it is creative or innovative. I LOVE the original design of the MOA, as its circular flow makes all parts of the mall equally valuable. I was hoping for an annex that does something similar but largely separate from the main mall.

Also, I was expecting the retail portion to essentially double in size, but by the looks of it retail will be a smaller proportion of the expansion (and I for one don't consider hotels or office space to be part of malls).

[HiawathaGuy]

Maybe it's just me but I'm not loving the prelim designs of Phase II -- it just looks very helter skelter and poorly strewn together, and none of it is creative or innovative. I LOVE the original design of the MOA, as its circular flow makes all parts of the mall equally valuable. I was hoping for an annex that does something similar but largely separate from the main mall.

Also, I was expecting the retail portion to essentially double in size, but by the looks of it retail will be a smaller proportion of the expansion (and I for one don't consider hotels or office space to be part of malls).

The plans have changed several times over the past several years. I think the change in how people shop, as well as economics have both factored into that. If there's anything that I trust, it's that Triple Five knows their business. If they could build more retail, they would (or if markets change, and they can... they will).

However, I think it's smart to incorporate more than just more retail into their Phase 2 expansion plans. I think having a Bass Pro Shop is a HUGE pro, as well as the ice rink and largest indoor waterpark in MN (I really wish it was the largest in North America!) But diversifying their space makes sense for the future. Having more places for people to stay, eat, do business, shop & be entertained is good business. If they are going to keep up the pressure on MSP to have a direct China connection, and are going to keep spending tons of cash on marketing in China - it makes sense to have a Mall that is more than just places to shop.

[seanrichardryan]

Hard Rock is having a Grand Opening celebration tonight at 630.

[HiawathaGuy]

They're just a flood of news lately...

Mall of America buys parking lot next door (locked)
The mall exercised its long held option on the site, just east at 8200 28th Ave. S. and 8201 24th Ave. S. in Bloomington, in closing the deal for $22.78 million Tuesday

[mattaudio]

Wasn't that originally their expansion lot, but then they flipped with the MAC when Rwy 17/35 was built?

[MNdible]

That rings a bell.

I'd guess that most of this site has fairly restrictive height limitations.

[Silophant]

This is probably super reaching, but any chance that the block now being owned by MOA and the upcoming transit center rework could result in the tracks being moved to run parallel to 82nd from 28th Ave straight into the new transit center? Seems like it would shave a couple minutes off the train end-to-end time, since they apparently can't go more than 5mph from 28th to MOA. Also, though I've no idea what they plan to do with that block, it seems like it could only be an improvement to only have one block face cut off by the tracks instead of two.

[BigIdeasGuy]

I think it's really hard to judge the future expansion of the Mall based only on a two arial maps of the lay out. All it does is give you an idea what going to be in the future the mall. Not to mention over the years we have seen many different renderings what the expansion will look like so I wouldn't even put too much stock in either arial drawing because thing could have easily changed.

Also it it will be interesting to see what Triple Five does with the parking lot next to Mall. I believe in 555 plays things very close to the vest and wants to maintain control over everything they can and don't do a whole lot partnership in term of developments.

[Lancestar2]

I guess we can call this Phase 3? Anyone have any renderings for the "original expansion lot" I'm curious as to how they were thinking on connecting this to the mall. A skyway through the old Bloomingdales might connect well right?

Also the farmland directly south to this location any details on that site? Perhaps Phase 4? One thing is for sure there would be a nice opportunity to connect the MOA to some nice river bike trails. For the short term they will likely blacktop the entire thing in time for black friday/thursday right?