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New anchors, live entertainment Photo by Jeffery Cutler
Northway Mall is banking on new anchor tenants, fresh paint, landscaping and colorful murals to bring new customers. One of those new anchors is Burlington Coat Factory, which is working on a build-out of 60,000 square feet in the former Gottschalks’ space.
BY GAIL WEST
T
ucked away at the east end of Anchorage’s Sixth Avenue as it turns into the Glenn Highway sits one of the city’s oldest shopping malls – the Northway Mall, which first opened its doors in 1980. Since that time, many malls have been built across town and many have “morphed” into things they weren’t initially built to be. The University Center, once a premier mall, is now home to parts of the University of Alaska Anchorage, where UAA offices mix with an organic grocery and a furniture store. REI helped save the Northern Lights Mall when it was in decline, and the Anchorage School District populates the Boniface Mall.
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NEIGHBORHOOD CUSTOMERS Through the years, Northway Mall stores have ebbed and flowed, come and gone. Competition has been heavy, particularly with two new malls opening relatively nearby – Glenn Square Mall and Tikahtnu Commons. Through it all, however, the mall has persevered and is, once again, looking forward to a resurgence in popularity. Mall owners are targeting the neighborhoods from which it draws the mall’s primary customers, and have recently brought an Anchorage icon on board to manage the mall. Mao Tosi, former pro football player and founder of Alaska Pride youth programs, has brought his
enthusiasm for his hometown and his neighborhood to his new job. “The mall has not had many changes for a while,” Tosi said, “but that’s changing. When Security National Properties hired me, they said: ‘Mao, this is your home, build it.’” That’s just what Tosi intends to do. “Without having to actually build things,” Tosi said, “we can give the mall what it needs – a fresh coat of paint, artwork, murals, landscaping and cultural opportunities. Our mall is different because of these things, and we provide free entertainment on weekends. My charge is to bring customers to the mall, and that’s been my focus.”
www.akbizmag.com • Alaska Business Monthly • September 2011