KENNER, LA (AP) — For sale: One mall in the New Orleans suburbs.
Esplanade Mall in Kenner is on the market, The Advocate’s Ramon Antonio Vargas reported.
Last week, Simon Property Group of Indianapolis handed management of the mall to California-based Pacific Retail. Kenner's acting mayor, Mike Sigur, said the new manager is working with investors on a possible purchase in the next few weeks.
Sigur declined to discuss a potential sale price or identify the investors. But he said the prospective owners intend to restore the mall "to its past glories."
"That's certainly something we would welcome," he said.
The Esplanade opened in 1984. Although it has been one of Kenner's biggest sources of tax revenue, it has struggled to keep retailers.
The Esplanade has competed with Lakeside Shopping Center and Clearview Mall, both in Metairie, which have both undergone renovations.
With tax incentives from Kenner, the Esplanade landed a Target store and a 14-screen movie theater in 2011 and 2013. Tax incentives also helped Macy's return to the Esplanade in 2008, three years after the retailer had closed there after Hurricane Katrina.
Yet, vacant storefronts are still common at the mall, and that frustrates Kenner officials who see a brisk pace of business at Lakeside and Clearview.
