The Peninsula Town Center Continues Development Plans
August 29, 2006
With the $85-million interchange at Interstate-64 and Mercury Boulevard now complete, Steiner + Associates and Mall Properties are moving forward with the first phase of The Peninsula Town Center.
The first phase kicks off this month with the demolition of the old Dillard's location (currently vacant), making room for a new J.C. Penney's store. The new Penney's store will be the chain's new prototype and one of the first of its kind. Steiner will deliver the building site to Penney's in December, and the store will open next August.
While construction is ongoing on the Penney's pad, Steiner will also start work on the retail buildings that will front Penney's and the parking structure on the site's northern edge. The structure, which will be constructed of pre-cast concrete, will feature state-of-the-art speed ramps that are designed to get shoppers in and out quickly. Digital signs posted on the streets around the parking structure will tell shoppers which floors have open parking spaces — and how many. Eventually the parking structure will be wrapped with town homes and serve as a dynamic entry point to the town center, says Justin Leyda, a Steiner development executive overseeing The Peninsula Town Center.
In December, Steiner will start construction on the street and utilities infrastructure, which are funded by $65 million from the Community Development Authority. "The Peninsula Town Center is another example of how Steiner, Mall Properties, and local municipalities can work together," Leyda notes. "We always strive to be a good neighbor, so we're working to extend the city's street network and help re-establish the urban fabric of the neighborhood."
The final piece of the project – the construction of the new town center and the demolition of the rest of the mall – will begin in February 2007. The entire project will open late 2008.
