OCALA, FL-An aging shopping center in Ocala has seen occupancy rates rise from 62% to 92% in just 12 months. And Six Gun Plaza witnessed this turnaround during a time when Florida’s retail market was at a near standstill outside top tier markets like Miami.

Bealls Outlet and Ross Dress for Less are among the new tenants. Bealls is the current anchor, Bealls Outlet has singed a seven-year lease for 35,000 square feet of space that’s expected to open this fall. Ross inked a 10-year lease for 32,000 square feet that will debut in 2012.

“The downturn in the economy is forcing national retailers seeking to
 expand to consider smaller, infill markets due to the lack of new
development,” Kevin Hipes, director of leasing for the Shopping Center Group’s Florida Division, tells GlobeSt.com. “Six Gun Plaza in Ocala meets this criteria.”

The Shopping Center Group headed up the turnaround efforts on the 222,000-square-foot center. Hipes represented Southeast Properties, the shopping center’s owner. John Dottore, a partner with the firm, and Marc Sullivan, a tenant rep, represented Ross. Bealls was represented in-house.

“Our strategy was to focus on filling the two empty anchor boxes first,” Hipes tells GlobeSt.com. “Once leased, the strength of three large, anchor tenants, Bealls, Bealls Outlet and Ross Dress for Less, would enable us to fill the remaining vacancy with quality tenants.”

Bealls Outlet and Ross join a national tenant line up that also includes Bealls, Dollar General, Outback Steakhouse, Starbucks Coffee and KFC/A&W Restaurant. Built in the 1980s, the shopping center is located in East Ocala along Silver Springs Boulevard.

“The biggest challenge was two-fold,” Hipes says. “The two big box spaces were vacant for many years creating the perception that there was something wrong with the center. Additionally, the center’s position on the east side of Ocala, a secondary market, made it difficult to attract the attention of national retail chains.”