As dozens of Macy鈥檚 stores close nationwide, the city of Mesquite is trying to keep theirs open.
The city council earlier this month approved an incentive that would keep the anchor store at Town East Mall for at least five more years.
The proposed agreement between Mesquite and Town East Mall, LLC, an entity of Brookfield Properties, which owns part of the mall, would provide a 50% rebate on Macy鈥檚 two-cent local sales tax for up to 10 years.
鈥淲e've already had Sears leave the building and we don't want to have to anchor stores empty," said Council Member Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross. 鈥淲e want to incentivize Macy's to stick around also to improve their facade, make some improvements to their parking lot and just all-around reinvestment in the site itself.鈥�
According to , Brookfield would conduct $250,000 in repairs and maintenance, with improvements to things such landscaping and lighting, and the city would provide $150,000 worth of entryway improvements as needed.
Kim Buttram, the city鈥檚 economic development director, said in the March 3 council meeting that the proposed agreement requires the Macy鈥檚 store retain a merchandise mix and image comparable to other North Texas locations, such as the NorthPark Center store, and maintain a minimum of $15 million annual sales to qualify for the rebate.
The proposed agreement comes after Macy鈥檚 announced the closure of 66 stores across the country, including five in North Texas. Buttram said Brookfield approached the city 鈥渁s a pre-emptive and proactive measure鈥� to keep the Town East location in place.
四虎影院 reached out to Brookfield and Macy鈥檚 and has not received a response.
Christian Marquez, who works in the community economic field, grew up in nearby Pleasant Grove and has shopped at Town East his entire life. He said keeping an anchor store like Macy鈥檚 at the mall has an impact not only on the community, but other businesses.
鈥淢y parents, they go and maybe buy a shirt, but then they're stopping at Chick-fil-A, or stopping at a donut shop or stopping to get some coffee, or maybe get a [bite] to eat,鈥� Marquez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to understand how it affects more than just that business.鈥�
He said having a store like Macy鈥檚 close would have a significant economic effect on the area, including job losses, as well as loss of revenue for the city and the county.
Mesquite City Council Member Brandon Murden said many of the retailers in the mall depend on traffic generated by the anchors for their business.
鈥淟osing another anchor would significantly impact the health of those retailers,鈥� he said during the council meeting earlier this month. 鈥淭he overall look and activity at the mall is also important. As the mall begins to be redeveloped, new retailers will look at traffic counts and store sales. If those are down, retailers will look to other areas.鈥�
He also said the sales and property taxes generated by the retail areas provide significant revenue for the city and lessens the tax burden on residential property owners.
Macy鈥檚 and Brookfield still need to approve the proposed agreement.
Fellow council member Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross said the mall is a big part of the city鈥檚 identity, and keeping an anchor store like Macy鈥檚 thriving attracts people to the area.
鈥淚 think that when most people think of Mesquite, they think of the mall as being the center of the city,鈥� Rodriguez-Ross said. 鈥淵ou know, I think most people think that this is the downtown area when it's really not. It's a huge meeting place for our community.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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