The makeover has become a teen drama, daytime talk show and reality TV staple for years. And now it could eventually be International Mall’s Ally Sheedy “The Breakfast Club” moment.
If the owner’s plans come to fruition, a spokesman recently said the currently near-empty shopping center — except for two remaining stores and anchor tenants Menards and County Market — may be or are being renovated. What those plans look like remain a mystery, for now, at least to most Borderland residents.
“Although nothing has been finalized yet, we are currently working on plans to expand our business in International Falls,” said Jeff Abbott, spokesman for mall owner Menard Inc. in an email to The Journal. “If all goes as planned, we hope to expand our lumberyard and store into the mall area some day.”
The Eau Claire, Wisc.,-based home-improvement giant’s comments are probably no secret to those with long-held suspicions as the once-thriving mall emptied out in the past year or so.
Still, Menards may be hedging its bets, since it still lists 13 storefronts totaling roughly 36,000 square feet available on its property leasing website.
Just take a walk inside, and County Market, though, clearly is in the process of modernizing.
It also has asked the city for an off-sale liquor license.
However, two potential competitors told the city the Falls can’t support another liquor store. The application is up for review.
Some former International Mall shop owners said they were told months ago their leases would not be renewed.
For now, only two traditional retail stores remain, and they are at the far end of the mall from Menards. Those are Fairview Healthline Medical Supply and Tools and More. The owners couldn’t be reached for comment.
When International Mall opened, it was a bustling place, locals said. Some said activity dropped off as the late ‘70s- or early ‘80s-era mall just didn’t keep up with the times, like so many others dotted across America.
Shopping center trends today tend to involve Delaware-sized malls large enough to house amusement parks, aquariums and ice rinks or closed-off outdoor plazas with fountains and stylish, comfy chairs, airy overhangs or there’s the Norman Rockwell Main Street U.S.A look with on-street parking in front of boutiques and gourmet restaurants.
Those are expensive and risky options for any property manager, especially in this economy and even more so in regions with a low-population and without high-median income levels, retail experts reportedly say.
Back in December, Rumors Up North bar owner Rosie Klemetsen confirmed she was told she lost her lease to make room for a Menards.
“We knew it was probably just a matter a time. We thought it was better to deal with now rather than later,” said Falls EyeCare owner Al Jensen. The store’s name in the mall was Exact Eye Care.
Incidentally, after leaving the mall in March, his business is focused on one of the Falls’ two authentic main streets, or Third Avenue. Jensen said he’d been seeing his neighbors depart, and, frankly, having a walk-up store was much easier for elderly customers.
“We’re in a great location now,” Jensen said.
At least four other former mall businesses never reopened in International Falls after leaving. Their phone lines are disconnected. And one of the bigger empty store fronts inside appears just to be used as fixture storage for what’s occurred or what’s to come.
In the past, Menards considered and then abandoned plans to tear down its store and rebuild, and ditched another attempt to expand into an empty lot, but was met with environmental concerns.
The popular mega-store, though, now has been authorized to use some of the city’s banked wetland credits to go bigger.
County Market is owned by Hermantown, Minn.,-based Miner’s Inc. The privately owned family business has not responded to repeated requests to comment about what is on County Market’s horizon in the store.
However, a simple walk about the grocery store shows that physical improvements are underway. To what extent County Market will look like apparently will just have to wait until the sheet rock dust settles.
