Noblesville offered generous incentives to Simon for mall
The old adage that retail follows rooftops is only partially true; retail also follows taxpayer-funded incentives.
The old adage that retail follows rooftops is only partially true; retail also follows taxpayer-funded incentives.
During one of the worst markets for real estate in decades, at a time when developers of all sizes are shedding employees, officials with Simon Property Group Inc. continue to insist they have had zero layoffs.
The Simon family’s role in building the city has come at a steep price for taxpayers. Simon and
its business interests in the last 20 years have collected local government incentives
worth more than $400 million, an IBJ tally of those deals shows.
Despite assurances of strength, Simon Property Group Inc. has decided to pay 90 percent of its dividend in stock, a move that allows the company to hold onto $925 million in cash this year but could alienate shareholders drawn by the dividend.
Kite Realty Group Trust has joined local peers Duke Realty Corp. and Lauth Group Inc. in laying off employees as it copes
with dried-up credit and a soft retail market.
Simon Property Group Inc. has been readying its balance sheet and sizing up buyout targets in hopes of capitalizing on
a worldwide markdown on shopping-center owners.
Come Sept. 19, Nordstrom Inc.’s got a brand new bag–and, well, shoes, hat and ensemble to match–as the department store
opens a second Indianapolis location, in the Fashion Mall at Keystone. Residing in Parisian’s former quarters,
the new store is poised to burnish the mall’s reputation as the region’s highest-end shopping destination.
The retail juggernaut at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue could get even stronger in the next several years. Locally based
Premier Properties USA Inc. revealed plans in 2007 for a $750 million redevelopment of a prime corner near The Fashion Mall
at Keystone.
Premier Properties USA Inc. is preparing to go head-to-head with Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest and most
powerful mall developer, across the street from Simon’s top-performing The Fashion Mall at Keystone. Premier is proposing
a 2.3-million-square-foot, $750 million development at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue called Venu.
Excluding the fourth floor, Circle Centre mall’s 11th full year of operation was a big success. Profit in 2006 increased nearly
18 percent to $9.3 million, according to an annual report filed with the city. But on the top floor, abandoned bar stools
have now collected four years of dust in the former home of a nightclub complex.