East Town Mall

East Town Mall is an enclosed shopping mall owned by Lexington Realty International and Case Equity Partners, in Green Bay, Wisconsin in the United States. It is the only enclosed shopping mall within the city of Green Bay.[2]

East Town Mall
Main entrance
LocationGreen Bay, Wisconsin, United States
Coordinates44.4853°N 87.965°W / 44.4853; -87.965
Address2350 E. Mason Street
Opening dateOctober 1982, renovated in 1998 & 2010
DeveloperCenter Companies
ManagementLexington Realty International
OwnerLexington Realty International & Case Equity Partners
No. of stores and services27
No. of anchor tenants4 (Kohl's, Hobby Lobby, Office Max, Petco)
Total retail floor area283,216 sq ft (26,311.6 m2)[1]
No. of floors1
Parking1,312 spaces[1]
Websitelexingtonco.com/project/east-town/

History

A mall on the east side of Green Bay was first proposed in 1980 by Dayton-Hudson Properties.[3] The original name of the mall was the East Towne Fashion Square, and was planned as a 575,000 square foot shopping mall. Economic uncertainty in the early 1980s contributed to the scaling down of the mall project by about half of the planned size.[3]

East Town Mall opened in October 1982 by the Center Companies.[4][1] It was the third shopping mall in the Green Bay area. Original anchors included Kohl's (on the east side where Hobby Lobby currently resides) and Prange Way. Other original stores included Braun's Fashions, Maurices, The Athlete's Foot, Radioshack, and Regis Salon.[5]

In 1995, Prange Way closed following the bankruptcy of the company. Soon after, Kohl's moved across the mall into the former Prange Way space.[1] A remodel of the mall took place shortly after, creating space for a new Office Max out of the west side courtyard and vacant retail space. The mall was expanded to create a new corridor to connect to the new Kohl's location, creating new retail space.[1]

Original East Town Mall logo

The mall enjoyed new success in the late 1990s, as Hobby Lobby took over the old Kohl's anchor location, and Toy Works, Schlotzsky's, and Fashion Bug opened new locations in the mall. A new Budget Cinema was also carved out of several vacant spaces at the back end of the mall.

In 2007, Cabot Investment Properties purchased the mall for $12 million.[6]

In 2010, the mall was given a new front entryway and street signs. The interior of the mall and the center court were also renovated. Seven Windspire Energy wind turbines were added to the front plaza, which helps to reduce the energy costs of the mall.[7]

In 2017, Silver Cinemas closed their East Town Mall location.[8]

Ponzi scheme
Center court in East Town Mall in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In 2014, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin filed fraud charges against Cabot Investment Properties, accusing them of operating a ponzi scheme.[9] In the preceding years, the owners of Cabot Investment Properties had embezzled over $9 million.[6] Local investors, many of whom were retired or elderly, had each paid $213,000 for a three percent ownership stake in the mall, which was then lost due to embezzlement.[9][10]

After Cabot Investment Properties defaulted, the court placed the mall in receivership, with Jones Lang LaSalle being appointed as the receiving owner.[6][11]

Redevelopment

In 2016, Lexington Realty International and Case Equity Partners purchased East Town Mall, and plan to redevelop the mall into a regional power center.[12][13] The renovation, which will total $12 million, was approved by the Green Bay City Council on November 14, 2016.[14] Future planned tenants include a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market grocery store and a new branch of the Brown County Library.

Anchors

References
  1. "East Town Mall Fact Sheet" (PDF). East Town Mall. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  2. Ben Krumholz (September 27, 2016). "Changes proposed for Green Bay's East Town Mall". WLUK-TV. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  3. Dennis Chaptman (July 8, 1980). "Uncertainty shrinks size of mall proposal". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 1.
  4. "Prange Way on N. Quincy to close, new store to open". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. June 4, 1982.
  5. "From Our House to Yours". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. November 24, 1988.
  6. Doug Schneider (June 20, 2014). "'Ponzi scheme' costs East Town investors more than $200K". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  7. "Wind power is coming to East Town Mall" (PDF). Cabot Investment Properties, LLC. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  8. Jeff Bollier (February 2, 2017). "East Town cinemas will close Feb. 10". Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  9. "'Ponzi scheme' costs East Town investors more than $200K". Detroit Free Press. June 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  10. Beth Healy (July 24, 2015). "Cabot stepson, partner face criminal fraud charges". Boston Globe. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  11. "JLL TAKES OVER AS RECEIVER OF EAST TOWN MALL". ReBusiness Online. April 27, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  12. "Case Equity Partners Acquires Green Bay Mall Redevelopment Project". Case Equity Partners. February 12, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  13. Jeff Bollier (September 27, 2016). "Group to buy, revamp East Town Mall". Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  14. Adam Rodewald (November 25, 2016). "City Council OKs East Town Mall project". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
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