Santa Fe Place
4250 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505
PROPERTY OVERVIEW
After conducting thorough research and analysis, Spinoso Real Estate Group determined that Santa Fe Place was a promising long-term investment opportunity. Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the mall was situated at the most highly trafficked intersection in the market and served as the anchor of the main retail node. Moreover, Santa Fe Place was the only traditional enclosed mall in the greater Santa Fe marketplace, providing a unique opportunity for investment. Despite changing hands seven times in a 20-year period, the mall had been neglected and fallen into a state of physical disrepair and significant vacancy. At the time of acquisition, it was only 30% occupied with an NOI of less than $1 million. However, Spinoso’s plan was to restore Santa Fe Place to its former glory, through a combination of physical renovations, re-merchandising, and maximizing occupancy, sales performance, customer traffic, and overall value. The objective was to transform the property into a dynamic, hybrid project, featuring traditional mall-based retail, dining, entertainment, big-box category retailers, professional services, hospitality, and multi-family residential development, to provide year-round activities, events, and innovative programming for residents and tourists alike.
Purchased:
NOVEMBER 2014
Tenant Relations
Disconnected, minimal tenant support or engagement
Community Relations
Disconnected, unfavorable sentiment
At Disposition
Tenant Relations
Proactive tenant engagement, tenant supporting
Community Relations
Integrated, collaborative with city stakeholders, positive and supporting sentiment
SREG GOAL
Maximize value
and restore asset
to the crown jewel
of community
Strategy
Stabilize Existing Tenant Base
SREG’s goal of stabilizing the existing tenant base was identified to Communicate new ownership’s vision and commitment to the desirable remaining tenants and in doing so, secure new, long term commitments to the property including tenant investment in expansions, remodels and relocations
Reanchor Center
Building off strong performing Existing department stores (Dillard’s, JC Penney), redevelop space recaptured from vacant, former underperforming department stores (Sears, Mervyns) and other portions of the property to bring new anchors including category big-box anchors and entertainment (Cost Plus World Market, Bed Bath and Beyond, Regal Cinemas, Conn’s, 2nd & Charles Booksellers)
Consolidate Quality Tenants In Market to Santa Fe Place
Relocate best-in-class, strong performing Tenants already in the market to new, expanded locations at Santa Fe Place while closing their former locations consolidating traffic flow to our property (Outback Steakhouse, Regal Theater, Hobby Lobby, Cost Plus World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.)
Attract new to market desirable Tenants
Curate mix of “New to Market”, desirable tenants opening their first/only location in Santa Fe (H&M, Sketches, Pink, 2nd & Charles, Forever 21, RAD Retrocade, Hibbet’s Sporting Goods, Shoe Department, etc.)
Maximize Specialty Leasing
Occupancy and income
Tastefully/Cost Effectively Remodel Physical Plant
Interior Common Areas, Landscaping, entrances, signage, etc.
Replat entire site
Complete parcelization & maximimum monetization
Reconnect asset to the community
Leasing
commitments
with remodel
Notable Deals
Boot Barn was previously located in a large, outdated space. SREG secured a long-term renewal and remodel with the tenant, with a right-sized space. Boot Barn has since seen a steady sales increase at their new location, benefiting from the remodel & redevelopment SREG has executed at the center
Victoria’s Secret relocated and expanded into a new long-term 6,600 SF lease with a state-of-the-art prototype buildout. In addition, the PINK store was added and a current prototype buildout was created. Doors opened amid Back-to-School season. SREG hosted a hugely successful grand opening event, helping VS/PINK surpass their opening day goal by $20,000!
Anchor Leasing
SREG secured a long-term deal with Hobby Lobby in the former vacant SEARS space. The tenant relocated from their previous location, where they occupied a space for 25 years, 3 miles from the mall. Included in the deal, Hobby Lobby incorporated a mall entrance to promote customer flow & synergy to the mall.
Anchor Leasing
Creation of
Parcel
SREG successfully parcelized the site, creating additional value and future parcel sales opportunity. Over the course of SREG’s ownership of the property, SREG received numerous in-bound phone calls from NNN Buyers to purchase this parcelized portion of the property
Anchor Leasing
- Converted nearly 45,000 SF area of long-term vacant space (former theater) to long-term permanent deals with Bed Bath & Beyond and Cost Plus World Market
- Cost Plus relocated from a former location 6 miles from Santa Fe Place
- Bed Bath & Beyond relocated from a former location 1.5 miles from Santa Fe Place
- Both Bed Bath & Beyond and World Market have experienced exceptional growth in their new location at Santa Fe Place
- Currently trending well ahead of sales plan
Anchor Leasing
Creation of
Parcel
SREG successfully parcelized the site, creating additional value and future parcel sales opportunity. Over the course of SREG’s ownership of the property, SREG received numerous in-bound phone calls from NNN Buyers to purchase this parcelized portion of the property
Anchor Leasing
- Converted nearly 45,000 SF area of long-term vacant space (former theater) to long-term permanent deals with Bed Bath & Beyond and Cost Plus World Market
- Cost Plus relocated from a former location 6 miles from Santa Fe Place
- Bed Bath & Beyond relocated from a former location 1.5 miles from Santa Fe Place
- Both Bed Bath & Beyond and World Market have experienced exceptional growth in their new location at Santa Fe Place
- Currently trending well ahead of sales plan
Anchor Leasing
SREG re-anchored the food court, and activated a long-standing 16,000 sf vacant space, by adding a 6-screen luxury Regal movie theater. SREG was able to get Regal to close their dated location, previously located at Devargas Center, and open a state-of-the-art prototype theater at Santa Fe Place. Adding a unique experience to the food court and Santa Fe Place. Since then, Regal has closed their other 14-screeen outdated cinema across from Santa Fe Place to leave their new, luxury Regal location at Santa Fe Place as the only Regal Cinema location in the market
in-market relocation
In-market to Mall Relocations
- While SREG was evaluating the acquisition of Santa Fe Place, many retailers who were seasoned in the Santa Fe market, confirmed that Santa Fe Place is the absolute best location in the market and since worked with SREG to close their original location in favor of opening a new location at SFP
- Santa Fe Place is the anchor of the largest Retail Concentration in the Market, providing the best real estate in the market for a curated mix of best-in-class Tenants
- All the residential growth in the market is immediately adjacent to Santa Fe Place
in-market relocation
Santa Fe Place is the single largest project that brought the most new retail to the market in the last 10 years.
Although Santa Fe may not be immediately considered as a major or top-tier market to retailers, SREG was able to fully unpack and understand the market’s potential through in-depth studies – and clearly illustrate to potential retailers the full scale of the market’s trade. This resulted in numerous new-to-market tenants establishing a storefront at Santa Fe Place.
Sample tenant mix includes:
Converted a 26,000 SF area of long-term vacant and specialty shops to a long-term permanent deal for a new-to-market prototype H&M store.
Converted a 16,000 SF area of long-term vacancy into a long-term permanent deal for a new-to-market prototype Forever21 Red store.
Inline leasing
Food Court
Leasing
As a part of the business plan, SREG identified a void of quality dining options in the Southern Part of the market, especially with the rapid residential growth. SREG identified the outdated food court of Santa Fe Place as a major opportunity to curate a mix of quality dining establishments while incorporating entertainment offers, utilizing the 40’ ft ceilings of this part of property, to create a one-of-a-kind dining & entertainment experience for the community. In short, the bones were there, it just needed SREG secret sauce
To further diversify the mall and maximize the underutilized 40ft ceilings and open space of the food court, SREG secured a deal with Liggettville Adventure Center to offer the tallest and largest Sky Trail® adventure ropes course in New Mexico. The deal not only activated the space with a unique use but added monetary value to the mall’s income.
SREG re-anchored the food court, and activated a long-standing 16,000 sf vacant space, by adding a luxury Regal movie theater. SREG was able to get Regal to close their dated location, previously located at Devargas Center, and open a state-of-the-art prototype theater at Santa Fe Place. Adding a unique experience to the food court and Santa Fe Place.
As a long-standing food court anchor vacancy, to maximize value to the asset and complement the food hall, SREG identified the 8K sf space as an ideal restaurant and entertainment use. Originally, the space was occupied by Jets Arcade, a community staple in Santa Fe. Through physical canvassing and leasing efforts, SREG was able to find desirable concept and a solid operator in the state of New Mexico – RAD Retrocade. SREG finalized a deal with RAD to fill the vacant 8K sf food court space, along with an outdoor patio – bringing to Santa Fe the first and only retro arcade bar and restaurant.
SREG saw an opportunity to transform a dated, vacancy-anchored food court into a central gathering place. Reactivating underperforming tenants and re-energizing the stagnant space by tastefully and cost-effectively renovating the outdated food court into a trendy fool hall with upgraded furniture and fixtures, and additional water and grease trap for future food hall stalls.
Specialty Leasing
The specialty leasing program at Santa Fe Place has and continues to be a robust program that provides a platform for both local and regional businesses to partake in the overall success of the center alongside national tenants.
The program has proven to be a great incubator for several new tenants including Fusion Taco, Fashion Dalary and others who have signed long-term leases after their initial success. The specialty leasing program has also been instrumental in driving occupancy rates along with year over year revenue growth. Since 2019 the occupancy rate has increased from 74% to 92%+ at the center through efforts of both specialty and permanent leasing. In addition to the impact on occupancy the revenue of the Specialty program has also seen continued growth of over 25% and is forecast to have the highest revenue ever for the center in 2022.
Santa Fe Place completely renovated the food court, and a new local food court tenant was needed to match the fresh look. The mall team heard about an amazing food truck not far from the mall. As soon as they tried the food at Fusion Taco, they knew it would fit perfectly in the food court. Perla, the owner of Fusion Tacos came to the mall, saw the improvements, and agreed her restaurant would be a great fit. A specialty lease was entered into, and the restaurant opened quickly after. Sales continued to increase and even before the lease expired a new permanent lease was signed, ensuring they would be at the mall for years to come. Fusion Tacos has been a great addition to the food court and has brought their food truck to every event possible at the mall, the most popular being the massive 4th of July celebration held at the mall each year.
Since completing permeant deals with Fashion Dalary & Fusion Taco, SREG has continued its partnership with these best-in-class Tenants to bring their offerings to Cottonwood Mall, which SREG now leases and manages, in Albuquerque, NM
Remodel & Placemaking
Returned value
far-exceeded
invested resources
Tastefully remodeled Santa Fe Place shopping center at cost effective levels, bringing the center up-to-date. The perceived value of the remodel far-exceeds invested resources.
Common Area
Updated soft seating throughout
Newly-built functional fireplace in center court
Converted existing lights to updated interior LED fixtures and lights, achieving dramatic reduction of operating expenses with improved lighting
Renovated flooring, painting, lighting
Entrances
Renovated and upgraded mall entrances consisting of an updated design, locally-sourced material, water features and an updated wayfinder and identifier system.
Hardscaping
Updated Hardscaping created a more inviting entrance for shoppers and the community along with demonstrated a commitment to the future of the center
Pylons
Due to a height variance in Santa Fe, the height of the outdated pylon signage, with no Tenant names, at Santa Fe Place was grandfathered in. SREG worked hand in hand with the city of Santa Fe to approve the transformation of the pylons to include promotion for the property & its Tenants
SREG saw an opportunity to transform a dated, vacancy-anchored food court into a central gathering place. Reactivating underperforming tenants and re-energizing the stagnant space by tastefully and cost-effectively renovating the outdated food court into a trendy fool hall with upgraded furniture and fixtures, and additional water and grease trap for future food hall stalls.
Food Court
Leasing
SREG re-anchored the food court by adding a 6-screen luxury Regal movie theater, and a successfully owned and operated retro arcade restaurant and bar, RAD Retrocade. Further transforming the dining and entertainment in the food court.
Activation
To activated the food court space with a unique use, SREG secured a deal with Liggettville Adventure Center, the tallest and largest Sky Trail® adventure ropes course in New Mexico.
Parcel maximization
Outback Steakhouse was located in a freestanding building, which they owned, a half-mile south of Santa Fe Place. A first generation prototype, old and dated. Sized at 5,500 sf not allowing Outback to fully capitalize on the lunch traffic.
Since opening the new restaurant, Outback at SFP has become the number one volume Outback Steakhouse in the state of New Mexico with long wait times. Drivers of Outback better performance were:
New Prototype
Being in a more trafficked location as opposed to a standalone building
Synergy of being at the mall
Parcel maximization
Residential Integration
Abacus Capital is delivering a 240-unit residential development on ring road of Santa Fe Place. SREG identified the need for more residential in the Santa Fe market though working with the city and them expressing the need. As SREG went in to re-plat the Santa Fe Place site with the city, SREG also received approval to build a 160-unit residential tower (as depicted in the renderings) outside of The Market, Regal & RAD Retrocade to tie synergize the mall further with the growing residential demand in the market and the redevelopment of the center
SREG was able to further densify the Santa Fe Place site by securing these approvals, creating value in the parking fields of the site. SREG can either develop the site, sell the entitled parcel to a developer, or a number of different iterations to realize value.
Hospitality Integration
To add additional value to the asset, SREG initiated conversations and plans to integrate a new Marriott flagship, ground-up, 4-story, 118-key hotel. The hotel’s proximity to SFP would create an ideal win-win scenario. The process included parcel negotiations with JCPenney, and parcel sale.
Marketing
Zozofest
SFP hosted Zozofest, a annual community-building event to kick off the Annual Zozobra Burning. Featuring themed craft stations, giveaways contests, kids activities, magicians, live DJ and on-site entertainment. The event also included The Zozobra Art Show showcasing historic artwork, paintings, drawings, photography and contemporary works for sale by local Santa Fe artists.
Since opening the new restaurant, Outback at SFP has become the number one volume Outback Steakhouse in the state of New Mexico with long wait times. Drivers of Outback better performance were:
New Prototype
Being in a more trafficked location as opposed to a standalone building
Synergy of being at the mall
Marketing
Santa Fe Place Mall’s 2021 4th of July was a spectacular celebration. After a year of isolation and social distancing, the shopping mall’s fireworks brought the community together with the biggest event of the year. The guests were welcomed with live entertainment and activities for all ages including a bounce house and Liggetville – a new ropes course within Santa Fe Place Mall.
Since opening the new restaurant, Outback at SFP has become the number one volume Outback Steakhouse in the state of New Mexico with long wait times. Drivers of Outback better performance were:
New Prototype
Being in a more trafficked location as opposed to a standalone building
Synergy of being at the mall
Marketing
Covid
Food Depot
Giveaway
Marketing
Marketing
After acquiring a “diamond in the rough” and investing in the redevelopment of Santa Fe Place as the premier shopping, dining, and entertainment destination in the market, planning for a transformative marketing program began.
We kicked off the marketing initiatives at Santa Fe Place Mall with Midweek Madness; a two-day event hosted mid-week in April, filled with exciting activities and giveaways for people of all ages. With increased traffic in the mall and doubled/tripled sales for some of our tenants, this event was overall a success!
Each day we partnered with different organizations in the community to bring multiple FREE activities within the mall. This included things such as an art show, workout events, characters, a kid’s fun zone and more. Partnering with each of these companies allowed us to expand our initiatives out into the surrounding areas of Santa Fe and welcome the community into our mall.
Tenant Impact
An overwhelming number of SFP tenants were impressed with the success of the event. They were excited to see such large crowds at the mall during the middle of the week. Tenants were thankful for the foot traffic this event generated and expressed their gratitude to us. Many met or exceeded their sales plan from the two-day event.
600 teasordered, exceeding sales by 50%
Wednesday sales
exceeded by 60%
Sold over 350 pretzels
on Wednesday
Sold over 400 slices of pizza on Wednesday
“The event was a huge success for us! Our foot traffic tripled from the prior year and our sales increased 50% over last year! Keep up the kid friendly events.”
“Midweek Madness had more traffic than Black Friday and the Santa Fe Express sales were more than Black Friday!”
“It was exciting to see a large crowd in the center on a Wednesday night. We had a handful of sales from families attending the event that helped us to make our goal!”
“We were so stroked that the event drew a huge crowd! Our traffic and sales doubled because of the event.”
“It was very impressive to see a huge crowd on a Wednesday night. It was nice to see the town support an event at the mall. Our foot traffic increased from the event and I noticed that we had a handful of new customers that haven’t been to the mall in a while.”
“It was great to see the mall filled with shoppers and families. We started the week off slow, but the event assisted in making our plan for the week. Tons of families walked into our stores and half of them made a purchase.”
“The event was amazing and helped us exceed our plan! Loved seeing the mall filled with families enjoying themselves! Those that walked into our store made a purchase. We beat our plan!”
PROPERTY SUMMARY
Santa Fe Place
At Disposition
Tenant Relations
Proactive tenant engagement, tenant supporting
Community Relations
Integrated, collaborative with city stakeholders, positive and supporting sentiment
Transformation by the Numbers
Sales PSF
Occupancy
NOI
SPL income
SREG is the Industry’s leading Enclosed Mall Operating & Investment Platform
MORE ABOUT SREG
Our team excels at what we do: creating value for large-scale retail and retail-based mixed use projects from coast to coast.
Our team excels at what we do: creating value for large-scale retail and retail-based mixed use projects from coast to coast.