Awaiting redevelopment, an Oregon mall fills spaces with indie retailers
When the Lloyd Center in Portland, Ore., opened in 1960, the 1.5 million-sq.-ft. open-air shopping center was one of the largest in the country, anchored by JCPenney, Woolworth, Nordstrom, and J.J. Newberry.
It also was the first center in the nation to feature an ice-skating rink.
For the last 10 years, however, the mall owned by the Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group has found itself on thin ice. Sears left in 2016 and was followed by Macy’s, Marshalls, Old Navy, and several other brands.
The Lloyd Center, once Portland’s premier shopping destination, became Portland’s “ghost mall.”
Now, however, it has been revived with an interim leasing strategy focused on local tenants and startups. The Oregonian, Portland’s hometown newspaper and news website, reports that nearly two-thirds of its 90 tenants are independent retailers, nonprofits, or activity spaces.
The brands include Gambit’s Games and Anime, a Lego shop called Brickdiculous, and Star Tropics Pinball Museum. A large space was snapped up by Jumbo’s Pickleball.
In 2021, Urban Renaissance announced plans for redevelopment that would add 5,000 residences to the property. The old Nordstrom store is being demolished to make room for a music venue, but the company expects that the newly envisioned Lloyd Center won’t be completed for at least two years. Its new tenants, therefore, could not sign five-year leases.
But traffic is high, and most of the new arrivals are overjoyed to be inhabiting space they never could have afforded before.
“The big selling point is that the rent was insanely cheap. Like, cheaper than when I first opened my store 16 years ago,” Jason Levian, owner of Floating World Comics, told The Oregonian. “It’s kind of like old Portland, which is independent businesses, weird businesses. The key to old Portland was cheap rent, and that’s harder to find out in various neighborhoods now. The Lloyd Center has it.”
Some new tenants at the Lloyd Center pay monthly rents of just $1,000. Food and beverage brands such as Stoopid Burger, La Korita, and Yummy Treats get charged a flat utility fee by Urban Renaissance and pay a rent based on percentage of sales.
“ The community, the Lloyd Center district, needs the mall,” said Darell Preston, who moved his LoRell’s Chicken Shack cart into a space in the food court. “We need the people to come back. I know COVID had turned this thing upside down, but we’re slowly but surely getting it back together. It’s good that they’re giving us a shot.”
Meanwhile, Urban Renaissance’s interim leasing strategy is keeping the historic property’s concourses alive with traffic.
“It’s amazing to see what’s been happening at Lloyd Center during this time of transition,” said Tom Kilbane, Urban Renaissance’s managing director in Portland, in a press release. “Small, local businesses…have brought a great sense of energy and creativity to the mall. There’s a very entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of community that’s developed. It’s a very Portland vibe.”
