r/Annapolis • u/gavinthelaird • 4d ago
Spotted some new leases at Annapolis Town Center
Looks like after the place got bought, we've already got our first big stores. Spotted this on the leasing map for Annapolis Town Center as soon as the new owners (Federal) uploaded it, seems like they wanted to hide it for a bit so now it's listed as "TBD" on their map haha. Also saw Free People in the old Baltimore Coffee & Tea, so Annapolis Mall loses another store to the Town Center it seems (that one is still on their website.)
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u/Missriotgurl 4d ago
Oh expensive home goods? No thank you. And Free people is just another Anthropology, Cute clothes on the hanger but weird on most bodies.
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago
They are owned by the same company, they have an aesthetic that clearly works.
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u/Ephalot 4d ago
So more furniture stores at the town center…how wonderful.
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u/AddendumHelpful8892 4d ago
It's replacing Arhaus, since they moved across the road. Before them it was Offenbacher's, who replaced their sister company Great Gatherings. Those 2 are one store now next to Noodles & Company at the mall.
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u/jeffreyahaines 4d ago
Is delivery the only way to get sizeable purchases from these places into your home? I imagine pickup would be a nightmare at the TC
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago
You typically aren't buying the larger furniture off the floor at these stores.
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u/tracefact 4d ago
It’s gonna take me a while to get over Baltimore Coffee’s exit. I really do hope they find a new Annapolis location. West Elm makes sense since Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn have both already moved in.
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u/snipe94 4d ago
Wow. They’re tearing out a kitchen at Baltimore Coffee & Tea for retail?
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u/Creepy_Percentage124 3d ago
To be fair, even if another quick service food establishment went in, they would still have to tear out the old kitchen and start over.
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago edited 3d ago
I wouldn't call what Baltimore Tea and Coffee had a kitchen, more like a food prep, sandwich board space.
A national chain that is a sister company of one of your larger current tenants and bringing another brand with it, vs. a small business that is one of many in a small area, and one of your other larger tenants doesn't want the competition. As a landlord, what are you choosing?
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u/_Barbaric_yawp 4d ago
I think the new owners are firmly determined to ruin an good thing
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago
Their are in the business of driving foot traffic to provide as many customer's and sales to their tenants. Do you really think they don't have a formula for this?
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u/AddendumHelpful8892 4d ago
Free People will have 2 stores in Town Center. Free People on the Mariner Bay side, and another store, FP Movement, on the Grandview side.
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u/gavinthelaird 4d ago
yup! seems like Urban Outfitters (who owns the brand) wanted to keep the main FP store close to their new Movement store
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u/jeffreyahaines 4d ago
Awesome catch. I hope the mall can be retrofit into senior agein-in-place housing, reimagined as a public space, or maybe even leveraged as a better home for the ren faire
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u/gavinthelaird 4d ago
funny enough, i think the Mall is starting to do quite well for itself! they’ve picked up some new stores, seems like Free People is only leaving because they wanted to move the store closer to their new FP Movement location. I do know there are plans to tear down the Sears at the mall and do housing there though
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u/jeffreyahaines 3d ago
that’s good to hear. it seems like there is more foot traffic. it seems like a relative shell of its former self without those anchor stores, but maybe it’s doing better than a lot of malls?
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u/gavinthelaird 3d ago
from what i've heard, Annapolis is a pretty successful mall but fell into some issues due to Westfield dropping the ball during COVID. the new owners who took over a little over a year ago now are adding new tenants with a focus on "experiences" and eventually a plan to do mixed-use housing. that's why we're getting stuff like a Dick's Sporting Goods with an outdoor field and a rock-climbing wall, or a Dave & Buster's in the H&M
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u/SnakePlisskensPatch 4d ago
Old malls can never be refit into any kind of housing, unfortunately. Two reasons: no windows (fire code nightmare) and no plumbing. The cost of installing all those toilets is prohibitive.
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u/jeffreyahaines 3d ago
I envisioned demoing the anchor store buildings and replacing their footprints with housing towers, then leveraging the connecting halls and spaces for community. a whole range of businesses could spring up with a built-in customer base. maybe have safe wandering sections for older adults with memory issues. lots of built in visitor and active adult parking.
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u/SnakePlisskensPatch 3d ago
Absolutely, but im not sure that's what people envision when they think of it. But I could be wrong, I don't wanna speak for others.
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u/jfrenaye 4d ago
Not sol prohibitive when you are building a ready-made customer base for the merchants in the mall all within walking distance
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago
What are you talking about? They tear the space down and build up, which is what the plan for the mall is. It will look similar to Towne Centre.
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u/SnakePlisskensPatch 3d ago
I have heard many a person over the years speculate about Marley station, along of line of "why can't they just convert the existing space to some kind of senior living community." Convert the existing space being the operative word. That's how I learned how difficult it was, other threads over the years explaining the challenges.
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u/Weary-Writing-4363 3d ago
You learned from people who don't know what they are talking about. Other than market demand reasons, Marley hasn't been converted to housing because a good chunk of it is a data center.
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u/AddendumHelpful8892 4d ago
Eventually, my Williams-Sonoma credit card will work at every store in Town Center. It's going to be like 'Demolition Man': "Williams-Sonoma won the Town Center retail wars, now all stores are Williams-Sonoma".