Many Palm Bay and West Melbourne residents saw the Florida Today story several days ago reporting on the new mega-shopping center at the northwest corner of Palm Bay Road and I-95. CBL and Associates Properties, the property developer, and their 50/50 partner on the project, The Benchmark Group, estimates completion of the project’s Phase I by October 2009.
The mega-center, called Hammock Landing, is to be styled almost identically to The Avenue at Viera, except it will be larger by 100,000 square feet of retail space. The planned Phase II expansion will add an additional 250,000 square feet. Hammock Landing seems an appropriate name, since it could very well be large enough for small aircraft to land in its massive parking lots.
Phase II will encroach the backyards of many new West Melbourne residents in the Minton Cove subdivision, a 210-home community being built off Minton road by Mercedes Homes. How will future residents feel about having not only the existing Publix plaza to the south, but a major shopping center to its east?
In this period of high home foreclosures, and with Palm Bay Road’s long history of tumultuous turnover of business tenants, along with Palm Bay’s slightly lower per-capita income than other areas of Brevard, one wonders if the new mega-shopping center could become an eye sore that the City of West Melbourne will have to deal with someday. Of course, the shopping center is in the absolute southeast corner of the City such that Palm Bay residents would be affected most by any detriments. It’s possible that these two developers, both from out-of-state, despite being well-versed in general demographics, may not be getting the full story about the economic situation in south Brevard.
Restaurant Woes
The plans, available online at CBL & Associates website (Update: More plans here at The Benchmark’s site, too) call for twelve initial smaller outbuildings along Palm Bay Road, the kind that would normally house such restaurants as Pinera Bread and Crispers. But guess what?
The day after the story broke, Crispers announced the closing of two of their three restaurants. Think about this. Crispers is a moderately-priced restaurant. They kept their Viera restaurant open, but are closing their Merritt Island and Indian Harbour Beach ones. Crispers is the perfect kind of tenant for a project of this scope, but they couldn’t find enough business in two south Brevard areas that are far more likely candidates for an upscale shopping center than Palm Bay or West Melbourne.
Also, consider that Pinera Bread, only a mile away at the corner of Stack Blvd and Palm Bay Road, didn’t last a year upon their grand opening. Their old building has been vacant for over a year. So, who are the twelve Hammock Landing out-parcel tenants supposed to be? McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Starbucks? That’s about what most Palm Bay residents feel comfortable spending money on - not Crispers. And there’s already an Applebee’s, Chili’s, Carrabba’s, and Boston Market at the corner of Palm Bay Road and Babcock.
A New Depressed Area in Palm Bay?
Is it the developer’s plan to woo away businesses from the current eco-center of north Palm Bay (Palm Bay Road and Babcock) to the mega-center, possibly creating a depressed area at Palm Bay Road and Babcock? And even if it isn’t the developer’s plan, could businesses find themselves moving there just because of more favorable lease options, newer facilities, and closer proximity to higher-income households?
It took the City of Melbourne over twenty years to redevelop and revitalize the downtown Melbourne area after the Melbourne Square Mall was built. Think we’re making an unfair analogy? Melbourne Square Mall’s distance from the center of downtown Melbourne is 2.25 miles - exactly due east/west from each other and with a major connecting road between them.
The distance from Hammock Landing to Palm Bay Road and Babcock? Exactly 2.25 miles.
A New Movie Theater?
It’s likely that CBL & Associates will seek a theater tenant as this helps late-night traffic - just like The Avenue at Viera. Up there, The Rave Theater helps keep businesses like Books-A-Million, Ice Cold Creamery, and the Pizza Gallery & Grill busy, sometimes until after midnight. A movie theater would seemingly be an excellent tenant to attract.
However, just down the road, the now infamous Roxy Theater on Palm Bay Road has gone in and out of business for almost ten years. Most recently, when the 2004 storms damaged it, it stayed closed for over two years, finally reopening this year as a dinner-and-a-movie enterprise. Did Palm Bay residents finally bite? Apparently not. It closed just last week after being open only six months. The landlord is looking for yet another theater tenant.
Culver Drive Traffic
The Palm Bay City Council is continuing a nearly year-long series of studies and discussion on various ways to expand (or not expand, depending on your politics) the Culver Drive “cut through”, as many Palm Bay residents call it. Culver Drive helps residents from the more affluent Lockmar Estates development get to Palm Bay Road quicker, avoiding the traffic hoopla on Minton Road. Many of these residents are Harris employees trying to get to work (or come home). The City wants to widen Culver. Or maybe just add a center lane. Or possibly do nothing. Their real intent, it seems, is a mystery.
Culver Drive will empty into the main entrance to Hammock Landing. So, if Palm Bay residents think there are problems now, just wait. Getting on and off I-95, already a challenge at certain times of the day, will become a lesson in Orlando-esque traffic for many.
Interesting side note: The completion of a five-office professional center on Culver Drive, walking distance to Hammock Landing, has remained completely vacant since its official opening several months ago.
Palm Bay Road - Home of the Forever Pothole
Palm Bay Road, in desperate need of more than just a resurfacing, is scheduled to be widened to six lanes. Eventually. We think. The city, already bogged down in a massive road improvement project funded through 2009, didn’t seemingly placed much effort on keeping up Palm Bay road’s appearance due to the “imminent” widening. While the $50 million dollar project was finally awarded in August, it’s unclear if the widening would be done in time for the Hammock Landing opening.
Zoning and Comprehensive Plans
Those familiar with city planning and zoning are aware that changes are constantly being made. No one can plan for every eventuality. City councils are tasked with doing the best they can under the circumstances. But, one has to wonder about major, sweeping changes, done based, apparently, on the mere knock of an opportunity. The area currently being considered is zoned agricultural. The City has to change it to Commercial for this to work. While everyone might expect that area to eventually be zoned commercial, considering its location, it might be a surprise for some to see it go from pasture lands to a mega-shopping center (read: small village) nearly overnight.
Would Bayside Lakes be a Better Fit?
Palm Bay already has an “upscale” area, with an award winning golf course to boot. Much more like Viera in both its appearance and economic base, Bayside Lakes, the old “dough-nut hole”, has become the pride and joy for the city. Malabar Road, already teeming with new construction and development, not to mention an already widened road that can handle its traffic well, is a perfect exit to choose.
So, why did the developers not choose Bayside Lakes, or Malabar Road? We don’t know for sure, but maybe they received a better tax subsidy from West Melbourne. Or maybe they don’t know what we Brevard residents know about the Palm Bay road area. Or maybe they couldn’t find enough land that the City of Palm Bay would approve for development (doubtful). Or maybe they couldn’t find enough land with interstate exposure. Or maybe the Bayside Lakes residents didn’t want it nearby. Or any or all of these things. But in terms of where it makes the most “sense”, it would seem that south and west of Malabar would be more fitting.
Summary
The project isn’t set in stone. No project is until the last brick is set. But it seems there is more than the usual concern over the Hammock Landing development. We don’t intend to be anti-development. We do intend to be common-sense development. This doesn’t seem to be the time, and possibly the place, for a large-scale metropolitan project of this kind. The governing bodies should require 70 percent tenancy leases prior to approval.
17 comments.
Actually it was an Atlanta Bread Company at the corner of Stack Blvd and Plam Bay Road that didn’t last because it was a dump. Panera Bread up at the Avenues and at Post and Wickham Rd is of much better quality.
By quality I mean at least they kept the place clean, something Atlanta Bread seemed to have a problem with.
Alan
Much of what’s written about the planned shopping center, Hammock Landing, on the NW corner of I-95 and Palm Bay Road seems like it was written by one of the following:
A shop owner in Viera
A business owner in Viera
A resident of Viera
A jilted developer
This is going to hurt the Avenue of Viera significantly, as a substantial part of their patrons come from Palm Bay and the other communities south of Palm Bay. Hammock Landing will fill a void in the Palm Bay area, and be a great success! I look forward to avoiding I-95 and the other clogged arteries when I go shopping.
I was shocked to hear the Crispers on Merritt Island was closing as of yesterday (10/1/07). Ilene and I used to go there from time to time, and seldom were there many people dining, but the food was good, the menu was extensive and healthy and the prices were moderate. Crispers pulled out of the new CrossRoads Shopping Center on Hwy 405 in Titusville, just before opening. It was the one restaurant I was looking forward to having here in T Town.
I think its a great idea but only if they seek a theater tenant. I think this will make a difference to keep the place busy. It will be nice if they put another Rave like Viera. I think it will suceed due to the location and the amount of people in the area. They will not have to go to Viera. It also brings lots of jobs to the area. I am looking forward to having it in 2009.
I think the development of Hammock Landing on Palm Bay Road is a great idea, and I look forward to shopping there. I live nearby, and I want a large scale modern shopping venue near my home to protect the resale value of the area. And with the price of gas these days, I am in favor of local shopping options, and do not care about Viera, as they do not care about us. In my opinion, those old dilapidated buildings at the corner of Palm Bay and Babcock need to be torn down or renovated anyway, not left as they are continuing to attract the less desirable residents of the community. We either build the area up, or watch it decay. My vote is to build.
The biggest problem is: Hammock Landing is Planned for the biggest clogged area in NE Palm Bay! Good luck when you make your way there. Mostly just be careful. We have lots of crazy, inpatient, drivers with no regard for the safety of others.
The Mayor of PB said that what W.Melbourne does has NOTHING to do w/Us, so you might ask PB City Hall what we are going to get out of it aside from good shopping & more traffic.
I believe that there are good and bad sides to the new development, but everything in life is that way. Yes, it will bring a great deal more traffic to an already congested road, and no Palm Bay will not receive the type of compensation that they likely should. However, it will add jobs, tax revenue that is desperately needed by the City of West Melbourne as well as options to this region for food, entertainment and shopping. It does appear that the author of this article seemed very biased and very well could be a tenant in Vierra’s Avenue. I think the primary concern has to be for the community, and right now the bigger picture for Brevard is the loss of jobs at the Cape.
Okay, everyone. Let’s settle down. I wrote the story under my real name. I’m the editor of this website as well. I’m about as transparent a person as you can find these days on the web. Just google my name and you’ll find plenty on me.
I own Brevard Web Hosting and work out of my home (south Brevard). I do not have a shop in Viera, nor do I know anyone who does. Come on, folks. Read my arguments against this ghastly complex. They have little to do with any business being lost from Viera, but more to do with business being lost from Palm Bay Road and Babcock (the City of Palm Bay) and going to West Melbourne, analogous to the black hole left in downtown Melbourne by the building of the Melbourne Square Mall 20 years ago.
Not only am I not a shop owner of Viera (suggested by at least two folks above), I’m not interested in that complex either. It’s a nice complex, and it seems to do well where it’s at without negatively affecting places like Merritt Island Mall, Cocoa Village, Downtown Melbourne, Melbourne Square Mall, etc. I imagine it’s existence is one reason that has spurred downtown Rockledge to try and revitalize it’s area, but that’s probably about it. The population grew rapidly in the Suntree/Viera area with little shopping nearby for those residents.
Contrast that to Palm Bay. There’s plenty of shopping nearby (within three miles) for most Palm Bay residents. Maybe a giant complex like this might have fit better down near Sebastian, Micco, or Barefoot Bay, but as you’ll see, this complex is going to hurt many Palm Bay businesses in the long run. I’m hardly anti-development, but this, so far, is merely development for the sake of development without a thorough understanding of the Palm Bay and West Melbourne markets.
“Phase II will encroach the backyards of many new West Melbourne residents in the Minton Cove subdivision, a 210-home community being built off Minton road by Mercedes Homes. How will future residents feel about having not only the existing Publix plaza to the south, but a major shopping center to its east?”
WHAT,WEST MELBOURNE, CULVERT? I HAVENT HEARD ONE TIME THE SUB-DIVISION “OAKVIEW ESTATES” MENTIONED, NOT ONCE! THE HAMMOCK LANDINGS WILL BE AT ATHENS DRIVE RESIDENTS FRONT DOORS, ALONG WITH THE ALREADY 3000 PLUS CARS THAT TRAVEL/FLY DOWN ATHENS EACH DAY. WE ARE WITHIN THE 500 FT OF THE HAMMOCK LANDING ENTRANCE
I wish they would of put it down here where Waterstone is..near Micco and the new interchange(coming soon). It is too busy up in that direction…and not an attractive place to put it..but nobody asked us!
Many of my first objections to the article have been covered by other responses and/or answered in the author’s response. Except these two: what black hole in Downtown Melbourne? Sure there is turnover, as in any downtown, but it is not a “black hole”. There are many businesses there (some for decades) and Melbourne has numerous events that draw people to the area. Second, there is no access to the new mall from Culver. The new entrance does not line up with Culver and is too close to the exit from I-95 to have a light, so I can’t see how it will ever being connected.
As far as a reader suggestion to build the center further south. Nice idea, but the developer can’t wait for some interchange that may or may not be built. There is already one here. That will bring in business from travelers as well as locals.
To the residents of Oakview Estates, I understand your feelings. I never go that way from the Publix for the very reason you state. I try to respect that it is a neighborhood street and not a thoroughfare. I think the city should never have made it open to direct traffic from across the street. They should have kept it inaccessible from the shopping center parking lot.
The blackhole I was referring to was prior to the mid 90’s Melbourne City Council getting their act together and finally putting some teeth into the downtown Melbourne redevelopment district for some real tax and impact-fee breaks to encourage new businesses to consider downtown Melbourne. Prior to that, it had almost turned into a ghost town. Yes, a few businesses survived (although oddly one of them, Turner’s, is now going out of business).
To be clear about the Culver Drive matter, what I should have stated is that Culver drive ends across the street (Palm Bay Road) where the main entrance to the shopping center will be. But you are right that the entrance is not on Culver itself (although the name of the road going through the mall may eventually be named Culver). See the map here: http://www.benchmarkgrp.com/hammocklanding.
Sir, you obviously don’t know much about the Palm Bay/West Melbourne area. Many mistakes as to where things are located, the heaviest populated area of Palm Bay is the Northern part (bordering Melbourne and West Melbourne), and if you go to the Wal-Mart on Palm Bay Rd. you will notice there are probably more shoppers than you are even imagining right now. Anywhere south of Malabar Rd. would be much more of a “development bust”. No one I know goes to the Boston Market or the Carrabba’s near the Palm Bay Rd. and Babcock intersection. Oh, and since you say you’re from Southern Brevard, why haven’t you noticed that the widening of Palm Bay Rd. and Babcock is well under way? Perhaps you should visit more often. It’s a great place to do whatever!
Put it in “Sebastian, Micco, or Barefoot Bay”? You have got to be kidding. You are right, you are obviously not a shop owner in Viera, if you think those locations (Micco or Barefoot Bay) would be good for a complex like Hammock Landing you’d be OUT OF BUSINESS in no time!
Why don’t you start being honest with the people on this board, Lawrence. You are probably some has been hippie who hates development and wants the government to buy all vacant land to preserve it.
Let’s examine how you and your crazy ideas would affect the people:
1) “Crispers is closing 2 locations, so this development will fail…” The Palm Bay area has a severe lack of good restaurants. I live near city hall, and the only reasonable places to eat are in Bayside Lakes (though no major well known places) and the Texas Roadhouse on Malabar Road. If I want to take my wife somewhere special, we go to 192 in Melbourne. 100,000+ live in Palm Bay and we hardly have any standalone family casual (or dressy) restaurants nearby that are either part of a chain or unique to our area. If the food is good, prices are right and the service is reasonable, PEOPLE WILL COME. Even us schlubs in Palm Bay.
2) “Palm Bay Road and Babcock will suffer…” Well, GOOD! A little competition never hurt anyone. Lowes built a gorgeous building on Malabar Road recently. There were dire predictions on the former FL Today forums of Home Depot’s demise. Well guess what? Both palces are doing just fine, their parking lots are both bustling. Home Depot even buffed their floors and realized that a little customer service was in order to lure customers from Lowes. Competition is a GOOD THING. As someone else said, those commercial developments at Babcock/PBR need to be renovated. They are slummy, period. Currently, with no competition open yet, what incentive is their for the building owners to pretty up their investment and stay attractive to the public? Very little, they are the only game in town. But 2.25 miles from them, change is coming. They better class up or they deserve to go belly up.
3) “Roxy Theater went out, so obviously another theater will go belly up…” You have got to be kidding. A one or two screen, out of date, dollar theater is not in the same league as a Rave or Cinemaworld. Trust me, if the residents of Palm Bay have a good, modern movie theater to go to, we will go in droves. I frequent Cinemaworld and The Oaks, due to their modern technologies. Having an option closer to home will save me $$$$.
Lastly, you are a great example of a hypocrite liberal. You preach that we should not build any new commercial properties, yet what does that mean for the working people out here? A 15-20 minute drive @ $4/gallon to get to a decent movie theater. A 20-30 minute drive @ $4 to get to Viera for some decent shopping. How about the effects on the environment? Isn’t that a high concern of you libs? What about the “working man” who has to pay those gas prices? Isn’t that a concern of you libs? What about all the jobs that won’t be created if you have your way? Hypocrisy is in the air…
@Palm Bay Native (Juan in Orlando): Uh, I live pretty close to the affected area. I have for 15 years, and have been in Brevard for 36. Sorry you don’t know any folks who go to Carabba’s or Boston Market. Give me a call next time YOU are in town and we can meet there and have some chow. And yes, I’ve noticed the widening which isn’t the point of the article.
@Andy: Settle down. I’m about as right-wing as they come, my friend. You’re starting to see liberals in the wallpaper designs, I think. If you read my author bio, I hint at that. But, of course, a 20-second Google search of my name (along with a little perfunctory reading) could have saved you the trouble of your accusations.
You make some excellent points, particularly about the limited fine dining in Palm Bay.
The Roxy, just so you know, was a regular theater for years before becoming a dollar theater for economic reasons. I spoke at length the former manager of the theater about this over the years. She now manages the Merritt Island theater if you want to call her.
I certainly don’t preach that we should not build new commercial properties. In fact, as a general rule, I’m very pro-development, anti-taxation, and believe we should get government out of the way of business. That doesn’t mean that businesses don’t make mistakes and can’t be critiqued on that basis.
Last I heard on this development, the leasing agents are starting to sweat bullets. They’ve lost several key planned tenants (Linens N’ Things, for one) and they are asking over $40/sq. ft and having a very tough time getting merchants to bite on that. I imagine they’ll back off that and offer some incentives as they get closer to completion so they can open at 80% leased capacity.
It’s also interesting to me that the small professional center across the street on Culver has yet to lease to any real businesses a year after completion. They just leased a double unit for a kid’s dance club in the evenings (which should do wonders for other professional businesses that might otherwise have considered it), but I think it shows the trouble they are having.
Your Lowe’s/Home Depot comment should be directed to Florida Today. I didn’t make that prediction (nor would have agreed with it). Malabar Road is growing nicely and Lowe’s fits right in with the market.
Lawrence: If you are more to the right than the left, then fine. But your moment of progressive thoughts sure came out on your original post. After posting what I did, I did check out other parts of your site and found your bio, etc. I have debated with enough anti-development folks through the years and your original points seemed to mirror their comments.
Regarding Roxy — I only point to the success of other modern theaters across the region, they are doing fine and arguably have less people around them that Hammock Landing will. I have been to poor as dirt places in Appalachia and seen decent movie theaters bustling. Movies tickets don’t cost that much and particularly attract the young crowd - who have more disposable income in general.
Regarding potential business mistakes… In doing their due diligence, don’t you think the developers thought about economic conditions? They are investing in an area with decent fundamentals and also one that is primed for more growth. I know they have looked at the residential developments that are planned and/or being built already. I hardly call it a “mistake” to build a major shopping center at the intersection of 3 major roads (I-95, PBR and Minton) with 100,000+ people surrounding the center. This area can and will support such a center. It may not start off at 100% capacity, but opening at 80% is pretty good and leaves them room to grow.
Oh yeah, about the professional center on Culvert, this is a great example of how important location is. That location is not that great and they are suffering for it. Plenty of other new professional offices in the city have at least some good tenants, in part due to their superior locations.
Thank you for this blog, I appreciate having a good local blog like this to read. My apologies if I got excited in the earlier post, I tend to do that when the politics in me comes out. Just call me Hulk.
What do you think?
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