Cameron officials say the aquarium would be built by US Aquarium Team, and would hold 1.5 million gallons with up to 300 species of up to 15,000 fish. Also, the officials revealed three more parts of the project: Syracuse, NY-based Widewaters Group Inc. will build and operate the hotel, and two more retailers, Urban Active and Studio Movie Grill, have signed on. The Lexington, KY-based Urban Active company has almost 30 family-gym locations, and it will bring a 47,000-sf development here. The eight-screen theater specializes in dinner-during-the-movie presentations, and will take 37,000 sf.
A Cameron spokesman says the mall was failing, but the company realized the area still has a strong retail draw. His firm bought the site and allowed the city to perform a needed culvert expansion on the land, he says. After several incarnations of plans, the new design was formed, with up to $105 million of the project's costs coming from state and local incentives. "This is a well-established trade area," the spokesman tells GlobeSt.com. "This area serves well-heeled residents from Country Club Hills and Mission Hills."
He says the focus of the retail will be for about 40-to-50 stores, and four junior anchors. "We want to provide all the basics, such as electronics and sporting goods stores, but it's not going to include like a 90,000-sf Kohl's or JC Penney's," he says. "We think this would be a great opportunity to mix in national players along with some local icons, to bring in some unique tenants that are from the Kansas City area."
New residential and a hotel are also desperately needed for the area, he says. The company was reportedly interested in a Sheraton flag, but the spokesman refused to comment on negotiations for the brand. He says there's demand for office, but says no tenants are signed, and would not elaborate if negotiations are ongoing. Previous plans had included another 80,000 sf of office.
The spokesman says more tenants should be announced in the next two months. The completion date is expected to be in fall 2010.
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