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Nordstrom Rack to open in Charlotte
Luxury retailer's outlet store planned for 2011 in
Carolina Pavilion's old Circuit City space.
A big name in off-price shopping is on tap for Charlotte: Nordstrom
plans to open its first local Nordstrom Rack store next year in the
former Circuit City space at Carolina Pavilion.
The 43,000-square-foot store on South Boulevard at Interstate 485 is
slated for a spring 2011 debut, the Seattle-based department store chain
said Thursday.
Rack stores sell clearance apparel, accessories and home goods from
regular Nordstrom stores at 50 to 60 percent off regular price. The
stores also sell items purchased just for Nordstrom Rack at 30 to 70
percent off original prices.
Nordstrom has long wanted to grow its Rack presence in North
Carolina, spokesman Colin Johnson said, and thinks Carolina Pavilion is
the right place to do that locally due to its established retail mix and
relative proximity to the full-line Nordstrom at SouthPark mall. The
first Rack store in the state is set to open in Durham in September.
Nordstrom Rack started in 1975, a couple of blocks from Nordstrom's
flagship store in Seattle. But the company has been expanding the
concept, which has fared better during the recession than full-priced
Nordstrom stores. There are currently about 70 Nordstrom Racks
nationwide.
In Nordstrom's 2009 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, sales at
regular Nordstrom stores open a year or more fell 7.2 percent, while
Rack same-store sales increased 2.5 percent. Such sales are key gauge of
retail health.
The Charlotte store will fill a space that has been empty for about a
year and bring Carolina Pavilion, which had seen turnover in previous
years, to nearly 100 percent occupancy, said Bob Mitzel, director of
operations for Atlanta-based Equity One Realty Management, Inc.
Equity One controls DIM Vastgoed, the Dutch company that owns
Carolina Pavilion. Its remaining vacancy is the Rafferty's restaurant
that closed late last year.
"We're seeing a lot more activity this year, and we're excited to
continue that," Mitzel said. "(Nordstrom Rack) is such a fantastic
tenant. It should help all businesses in the center."
The Rack in Charlotte will join another department store's off-price
brand on the local retail scene: Saks Fifth Avenue's Off 5th, located at
Concord Mills.
It also comes as other high-end retailers are branching into outlet
concepts, too - though not here, at least yet.
Neiman Marcus operates Last Call stores, the closest of which is near
Atlanta. Bloomingdale's, which doesn't have a Carolinas store, announced
last month that it plans to open its first outlet stores this year.
Plans for more Rack stores were in place before the downturn, Johnson
said, but the company has seen better real estate opportunities
recently.
Nordstrom will open 16 Racks this year, up from 13 in 2009.
Huntersville’s Toast to relocate
Toast Café plans to relocate in Huntersville to the planned
three-story Norcom Properties building at N.C. 115 and Gilead Road,
owner Brian Burchill said.
The new space will be two or three times larger than Toast’s present
nearby location in a house at 100 Huntersville-Concord Road, Burchill
said. The new location will also have more parking, he said.
“We couldn’t be more excited about it,” Burchill said of the planned
relocation.
Toast’s present site will remain open through Feb. 28, he said.
Burchill opened the breakfast, lunch and dinner eatery in 2005 and
opened a second Toast at 101 N. Main St. in Davidson in 2008.
Both locations have developed strong followings, and Burchill urges
patrons of the Huntersville location to visit the Davidson Toast until
his new Huntersville eatery opens in November or December.
Toast will anchor the first floor of the Norcom building, Burchill
said.
Mama’s Pizza, which restaurateur Gaetano “Tommy” Giordano opened in
2008 at Old Statesville and Mount Holly-Huntersville roads, is among
several other tenants planning to open in the building.
The building is a partnership with the town of Huntersville and
Discovery Place of Charlotte. A separate three-story building will house
a Discovery Place Kids on the first two levels and town offices on the
third floor.
Charlotte Motor Speedway
is partnering with regional tourism bureaus and area hotel operators
to secure lower room rates for race fans attending the NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Race on May 22 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 30.
About 50 hotels within an hour of the 1.5-mile superspeedway have
agreed to reduce their race week room rates by 15 percent and waive
minimum stay requirements, said Marcus Smith, the speedway's president
and general manager.
A full list of participating hotels is at
www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/hotels. Fans can also call the
speedway's ticket office at 800-455-FANS (3267).
Major Mooresville park gets go-ahead
Work will begin this spring on a major new Mooresville park that will
bring the first ball fields to the side of town west of Interstate 77.
The Mooresville Board of Commissioners on Monday night unanimously
agreed to award a construction contract for Cornelius Road Park to T.K.
Browne Construction Co. Inc., which built the first phase of Bellingham
Park in town and has started on Mazeppa Park.
Cornelius Road Park will include two ball fields, six tennis courts,
two trails and open space that could someday be developed for soccer.
The board agreed to spend about $2.6 million in voter-approved
recreation bonds on Cornelius Road Park.
The board at the same time agreed to trim such plans for the park as
two additional ball fields, which would have cost $623,000.
Commissioners will put those savings to other parks. Town staff will
draw up a list of other park priorities and bring it to the board for
its approval, Town Manager Steve Husemann said.
Commissioner Chris Carney said the two ball fields still planned for
Cornelius Road Park will be the first ball fields west of Main Street.
Wanda McKenzie, Mooresville director of parks and recreation, said
officials plan to break ground on Cornelius Road Park in the spring.
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Hough High School on Bailey Road in Cornelius opens
in the fall
Since being selected as William A. Hough
High School's first principal in June, Terri Cockerham's life has been
hectic.
With the task of building a school from the
ground up, Cockerham has been in charge of everything from monitoring
the construction of the school, which is located on Bailey Road in
Cornelius, to hiring its staff.
"It can sometimes get stressful," she admitted.
Cockerham has already overseen the naming of the school, as well as
choosing the school's mascot, the Huskies, while also iring key staff
members such as department chairs, assistant principals and an athletic
director.
In the last few weeks, her time has been consumed by interviewing
perspective staff members. Her days have been long, with a number of
afternoon and evening meetings in order to not pull the teachers out of
their current schools.
Cockerham, who has a long tradition with Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools after graduating from Olympic High School in 1979 and working
for the district for her entire career, doesn't mind the work she's put
in this year because she knows how important it is.
"The decisions I'm making now will impact this area, these students
and the community," said Cockerham. "It's fun creating something from
the ground up, knowing that you're going to put your mark on something
that will be there for years and years to come."
One of the reasons Cockerham, 48, was hired was because of her
experience with construction. During her eight years as principal at
Eastway Middle, she oversaw a two-year relocation to allow for building
renovations to the school.
She said that she was comfortable with the construction aspect of the
job, but she's found that staffing a new school is much more
challenging.
This process can be long and grueling as Cockerham not only has to
think about teaching positions but also how to strategically place her
staff of about 100 people. She needs to fill important roles such as
student council advisor and coaches.
"We want to be able, when August gets here, to hit the ground running
with everything in place," said Cockerham.
Hough will have Advanced Placement courses and most of the perks
other schools enjoy, including a booster club and a full athletic
program, when the estimated 1,450 students attend their first day of
school.
Hough will not have a senior class during the 2010-11 school year, so
the number of students is projected to increase to 1,800 during its
second year.
Cockerham will be glad when classes start.
She said it's been odd working at CMS's North Learning Community in
Huntersville - an office building - instead of being at a school.
"It's a different world," she said. "It's made me realize how much I
do like schools and that that's where I belong."
Cockerham, who makes the commute from Charlotte every day, added that
not being able to interact with students or attending afterschool
activities has been the hardest part about this year.
"I realize more and more that that's the piece of my job I enjoy the
most," said Cockerham.
As a student at Wake Forest, Cockerham thought she wanted to go to
law school after graduation, but after student teaching she fell in love
with the students and made a last-minute switch to education.
Cockerham, who was the principal at Providence High for four years
before taking her current job, started teaching at Olympic High School -
her alma mater - after graduating from Wake in 1983.
It was at Olympic that Cockerham started looking into taking an
administrative role.
While still teaching, Cockerham went back to school - this time at
UNC Charlotte - to get her master's degree in education. After
finishing, she was offered a job at Smith Junior High. She went on to
get her doctorate in education from UNCC in 2005.
"I missed teaching a lot at first - still do sometimes," she said.
To fill that gap, Cockerham sometimes teaches courses at colleges
such as Winthrop and Queens University.
But for now she's focusing on getting Hough ready for its opening.
"I'm looking forward to it - I can't wait."
Jordan has deal to buy Bobcats
A group of investors led by NBA hall of
famer Michael Jordan has reached an agreement to buy a majority
interest in the
Charlotte Bobcats, the team announced Saturday
morning.
Terms of the deal weren’t released in the brief statement. Robert
Johnson, the majority owner of Bobcats Sports and Entertainment, had
been seeking a buyer for months.
Former Houston Rockets executive George Postolos led the other
group bidding to buy the team.
Johnson paid $300 million for the expansion franchise in 2003.
Forbes puts the Bobcats’ current value at $278 million.
Jordan, the Bobcats' managing member of basketball operations and a
minority owner, joined the team in 2006. It’s not clear who the other
investors are in his MJ Basketball Holdings LLC.
The deal is subject to NBA approval.
NBA Commissioner David Stern expressed support for the Jordan
acquisition in a statement. "We have been anticipating an agreement
for transfer of a majority interest in the Bobcats and are pleased it
has occurred. Bob Johnson brought the excitement of the NBA back to
Charlotte and I am certain that as Michael Jordan returns to his home
state as the principal owner of the Bobcats the team will continue its
growth as a success on the court, as a business success and as a
valued community asset. We expect the expedited approval process to be
completed by the end of next month."
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