Peachtree Mall to fill large space with 'value-priced' fashion retailer

Peachtree Mall continues to shore up the JCPenney wing of the shopping center, with the latest major piece of the puzzle a clothing retailer that will fill space formerly housing at least three tenants.

"The new large tenant we have coming in with 11,000 square feet is Citi Trends. They plan to open in late July," said TaVida Rice, general manager of the mall at 3131 Manchester Expressway.

A city building permit shows the indoor shopping center, listed as GGP Peachtree Mall, is spending $180,000 to get the space ready for Citi Trends, a Savannah, Ga.-based company that bills itself as "a value-priced retailer of urban fashion apparel, shoes, accessories and home décor for the entire family. "

There currently are two Citi Trends stores in the local market, one at Heritage Corners shopping center on Victory Drive in Columbus and the other at Phenix Plaza shopping center on 13th Street in Phenix City.

Citi Trends, which operates more than 550 stores in 31 states, says on its website that its customers should find prices 20 percent to 70 percent lower than at competing department and specialty retailers. "Our merchandise offerings are designed to appeal to the preferences of fashion and value conscious consumers," it says.

For perspective on the size of the new store, the Forever 21 fashion store that opened in 2014 near the mall's food court is about 11,000 square feet, while the popular H&M clothing outlet is roughly 21,000 square feet. Those both opened in 2015.

Peachtree Mall is owned by General Growth Properties. The Chicago-based real-estate investment trust and its leasing staff have been working for several months to fill vacancies in the wing of the shopping center that is anchored by JCPenney. The mall's other anchors are Dillard's, Macy's and At Home.

In recent weeks, tenants that have been added in the wing include iParty, an upscale party and event space for children, Pavi Perfume and Vanity Lounge, a beauty salon and spa. An urban clothing and shoe retailer, Jimmy Jazz, has relocated to the wing while its existing space is being renovated. A building permits shows $75,000 is being spent on the 6,145-square-foot store to refresh it.

An escape room called All in Adventures also made its debut recently in the former Picadilly Cafeteria space around the corner from Dillard’s. The 5,381-square-foot attraction is part of a company that already has more than 30 locations in 15 states and more on the way.

The smaller retail fish aside, the biggest hole at Peachtree Mall was filled in early 2017, with At Home, an 86,000-square-foot superstore landing in a renovated area of the center that was home formerly to a Parisian department store that had been closed years ago.

Peachtree Mall has avoided most of the nationwide store closings this year. Those include the shuttering of 170 stores carrying the Kay, Jared and Zales brands by its owner, the elimination of 110 Foot Locker outlets and the departures of about 60 Abercrombie & Fitch locations. The center did lose a Best Buy Mobile store several weeks ago, with its smartphone and tablet inventory being shifted to the large Best Buy store adjacent to the mall.

"There’s a lot of movement going on," Rice said recently of the leasing process at the shopping center and the retail industry as a whole. "Leasing is never ending. It’s about paying attention to the sales and the retail mix and what your customers are looking for. That’s why shifting is always ongoing."

Peachtree Mall opened in 1975 and encompasses 809,653-square-feet of space. It has just under 100 tenants and was last renovated in 1994.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Peachtree Mall to fill large space with 'value-priced' fashion retailer."