Pabst Farms teams with rock star of mall management

Oconomowoc Focus, June 20, 2006

Gabe Wollenburg
Staff Writer

City of Oconomowoc - The people behind Mayfair Mall and Chicago's Water Tower Place have signed on to be the brains behind more than 1 million square feet of retail space planned for Pabst Farms' retail sector.

General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP) and Pabst Farms Development Inc. have entered into a partnership agreement to build an open-air regional shopping and entertainment center on 110 acres in the Pabst Farms development.

Pabst Farms developer Peter Bell was quick to emphasize that the retail center will not be an indoor mall. "It will be open-air," he said Thursday. "It's still going to be something really special," he said.

Bell said he selected to work with GGP because it is the best at developing retail success stories.

"They're the New York Yankees of (mall management), in my opinion," Bell said.

The project will feature national department stores, upscale merchants and restaurants, and a multiscreen theater in a pedestrian-friendly environment, according to a statement released by General Growth.

The open-air streetscape will provide the area with a carefully conceived blend of offerings with regionally inspired architecture.

"General Growth owns and manages Mayfair, the largest mixed-use shopping center in the state, and we're looking forward to creating another center that Wisconsin residents will be proud of," said John Bucksbaum, chief executive officer for GGP. "Creating special places and experiences is our company vision, and we will work closely with the City of Oconomowoc and Pabst Farms to deliver on that."

Locally, General Growth Properties owns and manages three regional shopping centers: Fox River Mall in Appleton, Oakwood Mall in Eau Claire, and Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa. In the Chicago area, where GGP is headquartered, the company owns and manages Water Tower Place on Chicago's "Magnificent Mile," Oakbrook Center in Oakbrook, Ill., and Northbrook Court, Northbrook, Ill.

Pabst Farms Town Centre, the new shopping and entertainment complex, is the second phase of retail development planned at Pabst Farms. Opened last summer, the Market Place at Pabst Farms consists of convenience and service retail, including several national retailers such as Starbucks and Cingular. It is anchored by a new prototype Pick 'n Save grocery store, which in its first year surpassed new-store revenue projections.

"The open-air center will offer a rare shopping experience to customers within Wisconsin and beyond," said Peter Bell, president of Pabst Farms Development Inc. "General Growth Properties brings tremendous expertise as the nation's second-largest owner, manager and developer of shopping centers.

"We are very excited to be working with General Growth on one of the most important components of our master-planned community."

The Waukesha County area, including Oconomowoc, has experienced tremendous growth in the past several years. In particular, the I-94 corridor west of Milwaukee is emerging as a hub for commercial and retail activity. It is anticipated that the emerging spending power of a growing population base in Southeastern Wisconsin will be attractive to national, regional and local retailers.

"Pabst Farms continues to raise its own high standards with this new partnership with General Growth Properties. This affiliation will not only enhance the overall appeal of Pabst Farms, but also complement the Oconomowoc community as a whole, bringing with it new recognition and visibility as the ideal place to live, visit, work and raise a family," said Oconomowoc Mayor Maury Sullivan in a statement released by GGP.

General Growth Properties Inc. is the second-largest U.S.-based publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). It has ownership interest in or management responsibility for a portfolio of more than 200 shopping malls in 44 states, as well as ownership in planned community developments and commercial office buildings.