There were big plans for the Desoto Square mall. Are they working?

Desoto Square mall is losing Sears, renovations have slowed to a crawl, a $21.7 foreclosure lawsuit has been filed and the man who laid out his vision for the mall a year ago isn’t returning phone calls.

The primary challenge in reviving the mall was overcoming the negative public perception the mall had for years and depending on who you ask, that corner has not yet been turned.

“I don’t feel like there has been any difference between now and a few years ago,” said TJ Kelley around mid-morning on a Tuesday. “There are not a lot of people here.”

Kelley said he still likes to come to the mall, often just to hang out or grab some lunch even though he doesn’t feel like the safety concerns of the mall’s troubled past have been addressed. Kelley was having an early lunch with Alexis Serasino, who noted, “If anything, it seems to be going further downhill.”

Jerrell Davis, president of Madison Properties USA, which purchased the mall in early 2017 for $25.5 million, didn’t return several requests for comments. But Davis told the Bradenton Herald when the foreclosure lawsuit became public that the legal action taken was only a “financial step that ownership has taken,” and, “it doesn’t affect any of (the mall operations) whatsoever.”

Late last year, Davis outlined a unique vision for the mall that relied less on mega retail giants and offered a more local flair with local dining, local music and local events. Davis’ vision was simple: Give the community back its mall.

He knew his biggest challenge would be to overcome the negative perception the mall earned since spiraling downhill quickly even before the Great Recession began in 2007. Concerns about individual safety were legitimate. The roof was leaking. The painting was a remnant of its 1970s beginnings. Patrons described security officers that there were at the time as “rude” and “unhelpful.”

No one seemed to care. Lighting was poor, store spaces were emptying out and everyone seemed to accept the mall’s inevitable death. Davis vowed to change it and he’s had some successes.

Early renovations included improved lighting, a new roof and the resurfacing of some of the parking areas. It was the drop in a bucket of a $20 million renovation pledge.

Despite some perceptions, walking through the mall does feel better than it did. And while there are still plenty of vacant storefronts, there are fewer than there were two years ago. But it isn’t being noticed because sometimes you can build it and they still won’t come.

TripAdvisor reviewers showed a lot of excitement about the promised changes, but are disappointed in the progress thus far.

“There is the promise of new stores, but little evidence of any progress being made,” noted one reviewer in May. “This is a shame because there is no competition close by and, the new owners should be able to turn it around.”

It’s not for a lack of wanting. Davis even relocated to Bradenton to give the mall — his favorite project of all Madison properties — his utmost attention.

So what happened? Why have the promised new amenities not been delivered? What happened to the $5.1 million new movie theater? Where is the “Bradenton Prime” steakhouse, Frank’s Lounge and everything else Davis promised?

If it’s the recent financial problems, Davis isn’t talking but he did say in December of 2017, “Sometimes it takes years, but we are long-haul players.”

Davis also said then, he was in no hurry to fill the vacancies until the right tenant comes along and it didn’t have to be big chains, preferring, “Something fun and unique.”

Desoto still has the mall favorites. J.C. Penney doesn’t appear to be going anywhere and the mall’s latest anchor, Hudson’s Furniture, is showing no signs of wear. Stores like Spencer’s and Hot Topic remain popular destination points. Footlocker may be gone, but Rack Room Shoes and Payless have you covered.

Saturn 5 family entertainment center offers the unique experience of laser tag, an 18-hole black light mini-golf course, a full arcade and billiards room, an inflatable obstacle course and more.

Occupying the old Macy’s space, which has long been vacant, is Your Treasure House. It’s a conglomeration of small businesses offering expert appraisals, auctions, antiques and an opportunity find that unique gift or personal treasure you just can’t find anywhere else.

It’s doing so well that the second floor will soon offer much more of the same, although finding something in the “same” category would be difficult. To say there is nothing to do at the Desoto Mall would be inaccurate.

Business owners across the mall were hesitant to speak on the record. There are some concerns about the slow pace of improvements and they would like to see more foot traffic, but in general, had no complaints. Most of the businesses rely successfully on their loyal customers.

If you are looking for something from Bath and Body Works, or Victoria’s Secret, you are already going to the mall. If you are a fan of some of the new stores like Street Scenes, Teez By Design or the mall’s latest tenant, 3 J’s music store, then you are going to the mall.

“We have our loyal customers that come to us, but if you are asking if I’ve seen an increase in foot traffic, the answer is no,” said one business owner. “But I think it’s very much a work in progress. They’ve added lighting and redid part of the parking lot so I see it as slowly but surely.”

In April, another TripAdvisor reviewer stopped in to get out of the rain before her dinner plans. Her observation was, “It was the most depressing mall I’ve ever been to,” going on to say, “The mall would be good as a disused mall for a zombie movie.”

Ouch.

She admits she’s not a mall goer and only stops by “every few years,” and that’s the challenge Davis has cited in the past to overcome public perception from a portion of the population that wouldn’t give it a chance anyway.

Not all of the perception is negative and some Desoto devotees are pleased with some of the changes, albeit they would like to see things move at a quicker pace. On Wednesday, Jimmy Malone was among a crowd of about 30 having lunch in the food court.

“It’s disappointing there are still three restaurant spaces closed in the food court and I thought the other promised restaurants would be up and running by now,” Malone said. “But this place definitely has a better feel than it used to and I hope they can get it all to work out. I’m not driving to UTC and dealing with that headache. This is our mall and this is where I want to come.”

Renovations on the promised $5 million, seven-screen theater have grounded to a halt. The movie poster outside sill proclaims that “Coming Soon” is the Sylvester Stallone movie “Creed,” released in 2015. Another TripAdvisor reviewer from April touted the exciting new changes that were promised. He seemed to understand that it would take some time and as long as anchors like Sears were still in place, “There is hope.”

Sears is on its way out, but that doesn’t mean hope has to join it.

It’s not all bad news

A Yelp reviewer summed it up best when she said, “The mall is older, they are trying to revive it and all of us locals should be supporting that!”

Losing Sears isn’t helping the perception that the Desoto Square mall can be turned around. But Davis anticipated the eventual closure of the once retail giant back in December, though it still came as “very sad news” to management staff. He said in December that should it close, he would consider something unique for the space like a large trampoline fun zone.

He loves his retail chains, but his vision isn’t about large retail. It’s about local retail and local events.

The foreclosure lawsuit announcement certainly doesn’t help the perception battle, either. However, corporate foreclosure proceedings don’t signal the end either, which is why Davis is remaining optimistic. According to Alllaw.com, corporate foreclosures do operate somewhat similar to residential foreclosures with some exceptions..

For example, If you fall behind on the payments, the lender can call the mortgage due like in any foreclosure process.

In this case, the amount is more than $21 million owed to Rompsen U.S Master Mortgage LP. The notice of the lawsuit is just the first step to give Madison Properties USA notice that they have time to remedy the default. There are several potential outcomes of a corporate foreclosure, all of which depends on the language with the mortgage contract.

Rompsen could ultimately take possession, but leave Madison as its junior partner. Options from there vary, including a possible future sale of the mortgage and it all could happen without any interference to the day-to-day operations. The only question is what kind of impact will it have to those promised improvements. Only time will tell.

Though Davis isn’t talking, his confidence after the foreclosure announcement could be an indication that mall operations won’t be affected, which is why Davis said last month, “The mall is healthy and will continue to do business as usual.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 11:54 AM with the headline "There were big plans for the Desoto Square mall. Are they working?."