Springfield Mall will undergo an upgrade, remerchandising and expansion program to add a mixed-use component.

Vornado Develops Town Center at Springfield Mall

Retenanting to capture greater share of trade area.

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA – “The fact that there are 580,000 people living in the primary market area is huge.  It’s what everyone in retail would like to have in their trade area.  We want retailers to compare Springfield Town Center to opportunities in other markets, outside Washington D.C.” says Sandeep Mathrani, executive vice president of retail for Vornado Realty Trust.

           In order to take advantage of the area’s potential, the interior of Springfield Mall in Fairfax, will be upgraded and expanded to include a town center/lifestyle component, increasing the existing 1.4 million square feet to approximately 1.9 million square feet.  Once finished, the Springfield Town Center feature a completely remerchandised mall, a new streetscape with lifestyle retailers and specialty restaurants, new office buildings, hotels, multi-family residential towers and additional parking structures.

The doors of Springfield Mall opened in 1972 and have seen countless numbers of shoppers since then.  Despite overwhelming density and wealth in the primary trade area, the mall has not been poised to capture its fair share of the market potential.  On February 1^st, Vornado Realty Trust, a Paramus, N.J. real estate investment trust, took control of the partnership that owns Springfield Mall and its management.  Vornado is one of the largest owners and managers of commercial real estate in the country, with a portfolio of approximately 87 million square feet with four major focuses: New York City office buildings; Washington, D.C. office buildings (formerly Charles E. Smith); retail properties in seven states and Puerto Rico; and Merchandise Marts.

Vornado has already instituted major changes to housekeeping, security, and the operations of the mall as they develop the master plan for the redevelopment.  Divaris Real Estate has been retained by Vornado as the retail development consultant and exclusive leasing agent.

            The three-story mall is currently situated on 79 acres of land and is anchored by Macy’s, Target and JCPenney.  The new tenant mix will include an upgrade of all merchandise categories from moderate to better retailers, including junior anchors, a new, state-of-the-art multi-screen cinema complex and a food court area.  A new exterior lifestyle streetscape component will be introduced along the Loisdale Road frontage with a mix of retailers, restaurants and outdoor cafes fronting each other to create a more urban environment.  And in the future, as demand builds, offices and residential buildings will be integrated into the decks and mall structures. 

          “The expansion/remerchandising program is necessary because the market demands it.  Our goal is to increase our market share of both the primary market area and the secondary market in Prince William County, one of the fastest growing areas in population and affluence in the U.S.  That is our main focus,” says Rockie Gajwani, senior vice president of Vornado Realty Trust and Springfield Town Center’s project manager for Vornado.

The demographics of Springfield Town Center’s primary trade area include a projected population base of 580,000 residents and 220,945 households by 2009.  There is a daytime population of over 1.5 million workers within 15 miles.   Also by 2009, the average household income is expected to exceed $111,600, in its primary market area.   That’s evidence of the incredible density coupled with the substantial wealth of Washington, D.C.’s Northern Virginia suburbs.  

The mall has the best location in the Northern Virginia market, at the intersection of Interstate 95 at the Capital Beltway (I-395 and I-495), Fairfax County Parkway and Franconia-Springfield Parkway.  The access and road system is superior to any mall in Northern Virginia.  The Commonwealth of Virginia and the federal government have spent several billion dollars completing what is commonly known as “the mixing bowl.”   The completion of the mixing bowl project will further enhance access to Springfield Town Center.

Several billion dollars were spent to complete the "mixing bowl" highway project in Fairfax, Va.  Springfield Mall is outlined in the distance.

The mall has always enjoyed the main ingredients for a successful mall – location, location, location!  In July 2002, Fairfax County received title to 2,324 acres of the former D.C. Correctional Facility at Lorton (approximately three miles south of Springfield Town Center).  This acquisition has opened a large area to rapid development of upscale housing, parks and schools.  And recently, Fairfax County and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) have created more research and development opportunities in the immediate area, improving the location even further. 

Even more importantly, Springfield Town Center is one of the only shopping areas in metropolitan Washington, D.C. to have its own Metro Station.  The metro stop at Springfield Town Center is the terminus of the Metro Blue Line and the Fredericksburg Commuter Rail Road coming up from the south.  The shuttle leaves every 15 minutes from the Franconia Springfield Station, to the mall.  

“With these demographics and great access, the location is extraordinary. Fairfax County has committed their support to this major redevelopment and mixed-use project  because of the existing highway infrastructure and the metro stop.  Fairfax County’s strategy has been to allow greater density in areas adjacent to Metro Stations to encourage use of the metro,” concludes John M. Millar, the Springfield Town Center project manager for Divaris Real Estate, Inc., and Divaris’ executive vice president.

Springfield Town Center’s superior location and access attracts customers from all areas of Fairfax and Prince William Counties, two of the fastest and most affluent growth areas in the United States.  With the completion of the “mixing bowl,” new shoppers will be pulled from the north and south on I-95 as well as east and west on the Fairfax County Parkway.