New Owner Eyes Makeover for 1 MSF Topeka Mall

Advisors Excel Co-Founders Cody Foster and David Callanan outside West Ridge Mall in Topeka, Kan. Image courtesy of Advisors Excel

Advisors Excel, a financial and investment services company, has acquired the West Ridge Mall in its hometown of Topeka, Kan., from Long Island, N.Y.,-based Kohan Retail Investment Group for an undisclosed amount. The firm plans to convert the aging enclosed 992,000-square-foot shopping center into a mixed-use lifestyle center.

Plans by the new ownership group include converting some of the space into offices for the company’s headquarters. Advisors Excel expects more than 500 of its employees to work at the renovated mall once that work is complete. The owners, led by Advisors Excel co-founders Cody Foster and David Callanan, also want to incorporate co-working spaces, entertainment, retail, dining, event and green space into their plans for the revitalized mall. New tenants and uses could include theaters, fitness centers, spas, breweries and cafes.

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Built in 1988 by Simon Properties on SW Wanamaker Road, West Ridge Mall is the third-largest enclosed mall in Kansas. Anchors when the mall opened included JCPenney and Dillard’s, which are still located there, and Sears, which closed in 2018. Macy’s was also a former tenant but left in 2012. More than half the retail storefronts are currently empty, but Advisors Excel is working to retain all current tenants, mall employees and management during the transition and to add more retailers and dining options.

The company’s purchase includes more than 30 acres of the property, the connecting wings, the former Burlington Coat Factory store area, west parking lot and roadways around the mall. It doesn’t include spaces occupied by JCPenney, Dillard’s, Furniture Mall of Kansas or the former Sears spaces, which are owned by several holding companies, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Giving malls a facelift

Foster said in a prepared statement developers are looking to shift shopping centers to multi-purpose lifestyle hubs with the goal of getting consumers, tenants and professionals in the doors again.

Molly Howey, president of GO Topeka, an area economic development agency, said in prepared remarks the 21st century mall has the potential to offer dynamic mixed-use spaces that include lifestyle amenities and office space sought-after by young professionals and provide multifaceted experiences for diverse demographics. Howey added that local ownership will ensure a customized approach that will be tailored to the community’s needs.

Foster also heads AIM Strategies, a public equity company focused on developing downtown Topeka. AIM Strategies has invested more than $60 million in commercial properties and ventures in the city, including the Cyrus Hotel and office properties.

Also in Kansas, RockStep Capital recently purchased Manhattan Town Center, a 367,000-square-foot regional shopping center in downtown Manhattan, Kan. Anchors include Dillard’s, JCPenney and the AMC Dine-In IMAX theater.