Old Navy gives plans for mall remodeling

Old Navy, a popular clothing retail chain, submitted plans to the city of Cape Girardeau on Wednesday to remodel a large section of Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

If the plans are executed, the new store would become one of the largest in the shopping mall, roughly the same size as Lerner. The new 11,600-square-foot store would include the space that Garfield's restaurant recently vacated at the mall as well as the now-empty storefronts across the corridor that formerly housed Holiday Happenings and Southeast Missouri Hospital's Kids Be Fit program.

Holiday Happenings has temporarily moved into the space vacated by Maurice's, a women's clothing store. Kids Be Fit is also at a new location inside the mall.

According to the plans, a wall would be erected at the back of the store that would cut Old Navy off from the rest of the shopping mall's interior. For that reason, a new exit would have to be created in order to meet the city's building codes.

The plans call for a wall to be moved across the corridor in Gospeland Bookstore to create a hallway and additional exit.

The exterior walls of the mall would take on a new look as the storefront would be extended out roughly 10 feet.

No final contract

Joyce Hunter, the senior marketing director at Westfield, would not comment on the renovation because no contract has been finalized.

Messages left at Old Navy's corporate office were not returned Wednesday.

Hunter said the mall is in an era of transition and that it's not unusual for customers to see stores coming and going, particularly in January when leases end.

Despite numerous empty stores, she said the shopping center is in a progressive phase. She said the mall has made improvements to parking lot lighting, added new carpeting, paint and benches.

"We're poised to grow," she said.

However, many customers, not party to the behind-the-scenes dealings, wonder about the state of the shopping center. Westfield Shoppingtown West Park has lost two staples -- Maurices and Garfield's -- as well as other small shops in recent weeks. And one of the shopping center's anchor store locations -- which is not owned by the shopping center -- has been vacant for years.

"I think the businesses in the mall don't stay in the mall long enough," said Loretta Rhodes of McGee, Mo., who was leaving the mall Wednesday afternoon. "Cape is a big town. The mall ought to be growing. You go to Paducah; they have a bigger mall. You go to Carbondale and they have a bigger mall. Businesses don't stay in this mall."

Other stores that closed at the mall in January include Sun Studios and Hansel and Gretel. Some stores are moving to accommodate the renovation.

Hunter said she couldn't comment about stores that may be coming in to take over the vacant spaces.

She says much of the shopping center's turnover is beyond its control and points out that Hollister, a clothing store that went to great lengths to redesign the storefront and interior, now adds a different look to the shopping center. Vitamin World opened in mid-December.

"When we finished December, most of our stores were up," Hunter said. "Stay tuned. The best is yet to come."

Scott Moyers contributed to this report.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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