By Jeremy Walsh
Neighbors are noticing a shift in the winds as the new management at the Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale begins to change the way things are done at the struggling mall.
Michael Mattone, vice president of the Mattone Group, said he would pursue more mid−level retail opportunities, using examples like clothing store Aeropostale, which was mentioned during a Glendale Civic Association meeting.
“I think that those are kind of on our hit list,” he said.
Peter Faccibene, a spokesman for the mall’s tenant businesses, could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday.
Mattone said the company will also consider changing its parking rates and install planters around a central fountain that was previously an attraction for parents and children in summer months.
Kathy Masi, president of the Glendale Civic, was enthusiastic about Mattone’s statements.
“Mid−level [retail] such as Aeropostale, Ann Taylor, American Eagle, all would be on target for the area,” she said in an e−mail. “However, they clearly made no promises — business is business and I think they made it clear that they are there to make a buck.”
Mattone was not prepared to say how the parking rates, which many neighbors have complained about, would change.
“After a couple of weeks, we’ll probably be in a position to decide how to process that,” he said. “It’s like anything else: There are people who will pay, there are some people who will never pay, and there are some people who if the rates are adjusted properly, will not take it at a detriment.”
The fountain, which was designed as an open space to attract families in the summer, will no longer serve as a wading pool.
“When you have a fountain and make it open to the public, you technically have to meet standards for water parks, which means heavy duty filtration and things of that nature,” Mattone said. “I think at the end of the day we’re probably going to … take some steps to discourage that.”
Masi agreed with the decision. “It should be a fountain for atmosphere, not a sprinkler for playing in,” she wrote in the e−mail. “Unfortunately, we are low on park space so parents with young children will miss it. The liability is clearly too high.”
The mall was built in 2006 on part of Atlas Terminals, an industrial park dating back to the turn of the 20th century that the Hemmerdinger family has owned since 1922. The 12−acre outdoor shopping center struggled after it opened as upscale stores came and went, shoppers complained about the parking rates and the economic downturn hurt the viability of many of the national franchise stores with locations at the mall.
Hemmerdinger announced his company, ATCO Property Management, would no longer be involved in managing or leasing sites in January. The Mattone Group took over in February.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
