Hammond Square: 2013 – A Year to Try New Things
Based on the positive sales reported by many of my tenants at Hammond Square, it looks like the residents of Tangipahoa Parish and the surrounding area had a very active Holiday season. Several retailers’ sales were the best in December 2012 from any other month since they opened! These numbers tell me that managing Hammond Square is going to keep me pretty busy.
So what does 2013 have in store for Hammond Square? This Saturday, January 26, kicks off our first heavily marketed event of the year. The Tangi Humane Society will have on-site pet adoptions starting at 10 am. The Shopping Center is giving away branded flying disks to people who stop by and donate $5 or bring stainless steel water/food bowls. This was the first time we used a promoted post on Facebook to let our shoppers know about the event. Another event that is new to the Center is in its final planning stages and is scheduled for Wednesday, February 13 from 7-9 pm. The Lover’s Lane Valentine’s event will bring a classic car show down Palace Drive with wine tasting stations and a photo booth. All are free to the community! We are using several outlets to promote this event – Facebook, banners, landscape signs, flyers, prizes for the car show participants and a radio remote.
In 2013 we are also working closer with two major businesses in Hammond: North Oaks Health System and Southeastern Louisiana University. Based on meetings held with both in early January, there will be more events and community involvement in the coming year at Hammond Square.
In regards to our leasing approach, we are aggressively pursuing some locally owned businesses for locations on Palace Drive. Locally owned businesses can bring character and sense of community to our Center.
It looks like 2013 will be a busy year for me, the leasing team, and Hammond Square’s retailers! Shop in Tangi! Shop Hammond Square!
President’s Message: Lucky 13!
As we embark upon a new year – 2013 (lucky 13!), I look back in amazement at how much our Stirling team has accomplished over the last twelve months.
We started the year with the acquisition of Avant Properties in Shreveport, Louisiana and capped it off with our recently announced joint venture development deal with CBL Properties of the Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, Louisiana.
In between those two milestone bookends, consider the following list of other accomplishments:
- The kickoff of Mid-City Market in New Orleans.
- The historic redevelopment of the American Legion Building into a state of the art Walgreens Drug Store on Magazine Street in New Orleans.
- The opening of The Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
- The $24 million acquisition of Tiger Manor Apartments in Baton Rouge.
- The securing of two new Walgreens development deals in Terrytown & Gulfport.
- The opening of Sam’s Club at River Chase in Covington.
- The successful closing of over $100 million in financing.
- The increase of over 16% of our commercial brokerage volume.
And while all of this was happening, we were also able to implement a new, state-of-the-art accounting software, introduce a brand new corporate website and complete a major restructuring of the company.
These accomplishments are all tributes to the outstanding team of professionals at Stirling Properties. We are now setting our sights on an outstanding new year and plan on making some additional major announcements soon. 2013 will certainly be a banner year – and lucky too.
Mid-City Market – January Update
Framing Walls and Slab at Winn-Dixie – 1/12/13
Steel Framing, Slab, Site Work at Retail A/B – 1/8/13
Since last month’s update, we have moved forward rapidly in the site and building construction at Mid-City Market. At Winn-Dixie, despite the rainy weather, we have poured almost all of the concrete slab for the building with the remainder to be poured this week. We have constructed two of the exterior load bearing metal stud framing walls and after the third wall is constructed, we will be erecting structural steel on the outside of the building.
At the former retail building we are renovating, we have completed the metal stud work at the perimeter entrances. We are finalizing the preparation for roof work which will be underway this month. The two small-shop buildings fronting Carrollton are progressing quickly as well. The “Retail B” building slab was poured Saturday and the “Retail A” building slab will be poured by the end of this week. Over the next two weeks the metal stud framing of the walls in both buildings will take place and be immediately followed by structural steel.
We are excited to announce that we have executed a lease with LA Nail Spa for 1,551 square feet in one of the small shop buildings. We are seeing strong leasing activity for the remaining space and are working towards opening 100% occupied, while seeking the right tenant mix for long-term success.
Hammond Square – New Manager, New Town
Relocating from Atlanta to the Northshore of New Orleans, Louisiana to manage a shopping center in Hammond for Stirling Properties is a pretty big culture shock; however, it does help a bit that I am from the New Orleans area originally.
In my new position as the Hammond Square Property Manager, a large part of what I am looking forward to is meeting and learning about the tenants at Hammond Square. This will be the first time I have the stores Kay Jewelers, Zales, Charming Charlie, Maurices and many local merchants as tenants.
From what I have learned in my first two weeks, Southeastern Louisiana University and North Oaks Health System are a big part of the Hammond economy; meeting with representatives from those two institutions will be a 2013 priority. Hammond will be an interesting place to learn more about the economy, the importance of Hammond Square to the area, and the successful events put on by the Downtown Development District.
I can only hope that this blog will help me learn more about Hammond, Tangipahoa Parish, and the surrounding areas. In turn, I would like to share my knowledge about Hammond Square and the area with others. If all goes well, this can be a win-win situation!
Shop in Tangi! Shop Hammond Square!
Walgreens on Magazine – Update 12/26/12
With the holidays upon us, Magazine Street is buzzing and so is the Walgreens construction site. The interior work now revolves around finalizing all the sheetrock work, floor preparation for italian tile, electrical services and the placement of the American Legion Medallion Logo. When we first looked at the development of this building it was clear from the beginning that the heritage of the American Legion Post should be maintained in the final form of our new store. One piece of the original building is the old terrazzo floor medallion that was carefully lifted out of the floor, and is now being prepared to be repositioned near the rear entrance of the parking lot. This will be a striking feature as you enter the building and will highlight the high level of standard of our Nation’s Armed Services. The frontage along Magazine Street is now complete with the brick vineer and precast stonework and will now see the final detail work of stucco. It will not be long before the scaffolding is down and it will be a beautiful sight.
Photos from Stirling Holiday Gala 2012
Stirling Holiday Gala 2012 December 14, 2012 Blue Room Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans, Louisiana
