The owner of Crossroads Plaza has upped the ante in the tug-of-war to keep Nordstrom on Main Street.
Clayton Foulger, vice president of Crossroads owner Foulger Pratt Cos., said the mall will soon present Nordstrom with a "substantially increased" plan to improve the structure and bring in stronger anchor stores, including Dillard's department store.
Dillard's has expressed a renewed interest in locating at the mall, conditioned upon Nordstrom's presence, Foulger said. In the latest effort to keep the store from leaving, Crossroads will present Nordstrom with a $45 million proposal, which includes updating the outer facades, redoing the interior common areas, repairing the parking structure, negotiating a more Nordstrom-friendly lease and providing both Nordstrom and Dillard's with tenant improvement allowances.
Nordstrom has long expressed its dismay with Crossroads Plaza, citing an unsatisfactory tenant mix and disappointing sales figures, among other concerns. It has voiced its desire to move to The Gateway when its lease is up in 2005, something Salt Lake City officials say won't happen. If it doesn't, Nordstrom says it will leave the downtown area altogether.
Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White said Monday that the store has established no hard and fast deadline for deciding its next move. However, she said, "We've essentially run out of time."
White said Nordstrom had not received the proposal from Foulger and thus could not comment on it. But she said Nordstrom would be willing to discuss any proposals, adding that the store was still in discussions with ZCMI Center for a possible location there.
If Nordstrom agrees to stay, Dillard's likely would occupy the space currently held by Mervyn's, Foulger said.
Mervyn's spokesman Greg Terk denied the store planned to vacate, saying, "I am absolutely unaware of any movement by the store at that location."
Mervyn's would consider leaving only if another tenant agreed to come, Foulger said.
"Mervyn's has indicated an interest in getting out of its lease commitment, so that would be a natural transition for Dillard's," he said. "But they (Mervyn's) don't have any intention of leaving unless we come up with another anchor."
Salt Lake City Council chairman Carlton Christensen said the city is open to hearing any proposals the mall or Nordstrom come up with and is willing to consider putting city dollars behind mall improvements.
"We already have a standard set of loan packages out there that Crossroads or any downtown business can apply for," Christensen said. "As a council, we've talked about reserving some money from those existing loan funds should Crossroads come to us for help.
"I know that we would be very open to that. We just haven't seen any details or know what dollar amounts would be involved. But we'd be open to the discussion and are very hopeful that we can keep Nordstrom there."
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