Massive changes are on the horizon for the Pine Ridge Mall property after it was recently acquired by SimonCRE, a national development and acquisition firm headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

SimonCRE officially closed on the mall property in May and distributed a press release detailing its plans to convert the 2.5 million-square-foot area of space into an open-air retail complex that will “draw in multiple large retailers that are desired by the local community.”

“The Pine Ridge Mall has been a major anchor for the community of the Pocatello-Chubbuck area, and we want to honor that longstanding history with this redevelopment,” said Joshua Simon, founder and CEO of SimonCRE. “Our goal is to revitalize this area by bringing in retailers that residents have been requesting, and ultimately support this community as it continues to grow and thrive.”

In January, the Idaho State Journal reported on the potential SimonCRE acquisition and hinted toward the possibility that the large-scale redevelopment project could, in a perfect world, bring one of the nation’s largest big box retailers — Target — to the Gate City area.

During a recent phone call with the Idaho State Journal, Simon would not comment on the Target news, but he did say the project will bring in a widely popular clothing, accessories and homeware store — Kohl’s.

“I can confirm that we have been working with Kohl’s to backfill the space that was the former home of the C-A-L Ranch store on the southern side of the mall property next to Hobby Lobby,” Simon said. “We think that would be an exciting addition to the property. And, we’re still working through a few pieces of the redevelopment, but I can say we are working with a large box user that is in excess of 100,000 square feet.”

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Much of the current mall property will soon have a date with a wrecking ball, aside from a handful of existing tenants that will continue to occupy their current locations on the mall property — including C-A-L Ranch where Shopko was formerly located, the Gem Prep: Pocatello Charter School, Hobby Lobby and Planet Fitness where Herberger’s was formerly located.

If and when it all comes to fruition, the Kohl’s store would occupy the former C-A-L Ranch location on the southern side of the mall.

“Everything north of the old C-A-L Ranch to where Planet Fitness is located in the former Herbergers would be demolished,” Simon said. “The enclosed portions of the mall would be demolished and reconstructed.”

In addition to converting the mall into an open-air center (for those that are familiar imagine something similar to The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City), the redevelopment project also calls for the construction of several outparcel retail pad sites for increased convenience.

Current tenants of the mall that intend to relocate to a different retail pad on the property include Deseret Books, Buckle and Shoe Dept. Encore. Other retailers in that Pine Ridge Mall corridor that will continue to occupy current locations include Panera Bread, Red Robin, Discount Tire, Panda Express and Olive Garden.

“With over 150 malls nationwide being repurposed as mixed-use properties, the natural evolution of retail spaces is evident,” SimonCRE said in its recent news release. “This shift toward redevelopment is a direct response to the changing preferences and needs of today’s consumers, who are increasingly looking for convenience and lifestyle integration in their shopping experiences. This type of transformation not only revitalizes aging properties but also injects new life into the surrounding areas, boosting the local economy and property values.”

SimonCRE says the trend of converting existing malls into open-air retail complexes highlights the necessity for mall owners and developers to find new and innovative ways to adapt their space at a time when traditional brick-and-mortar retailers face significant challenges when they do not adopt new models.

Simon pointed to the success that retailers such as Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods have seen in recent years, citing the adventure that shopping trips to those places bring.

Another successful approach for open-air retail centers, and one that SimonCRE is certainly no stranger to, is incorporating big box stores that are almost acting as fulfillment centers with the advent of online ordering and in-store pickup.

According to a recent article published in Chain Store Age, pickup sales, or orders that are received by customers either inside or outside a store at a designated location or locker, for April 2024 grew 2.1 percent from a year ago. Ship-to-home sales posted a 10.2 percent gain in April 2024 compared to last year.

“Tell me how you can deliver a 50-pound bag of dog food for free and make money, it doesn’t work,” Simon said. “What we’ve seen is just that need for that last mile and really making stores these final points of delivery. The retail of old, the knick-knack stores that were in an interior mall in the ’80s and ’90s, those days are gone.”

This trend of redevelopment and open-air conversions is the clear path forward for the Pine Ridge Mall, so that it can continue to act as a retail hub for the Pocatello-Chubbuck area, SimonCRE says.

“The region currently has an estimated population of 74,000 residents and this number is projected to grow 1.5 percent by 2028 to a total of 80,000 residents,” SimonCRE said in its news release. “As the community continues to grow, there will be a growing need for new retail options to become available.”

SimonCRE is well-suited to embark on such a massive development project that the Pine Ridge Mall project will be, having recently provided the growing community of Surprise, Arizona, with the massively successful Village at Prasada.

“Projects like this have given (SimonCRE) a wealth of insight on how to bring a retail center of this scale to a community and provide it in a way that directly supports the community in which it is developed,” the news release said. “The developer is eager to apply this knowledge to the Pine Ridge Mall redevelopment and build a relationship with the community focused on supporting its growth.”