Well if you read this blog you have been able to follow the story of the ailling Echelon Mall. The mall that was one where I hung out at the most during my teenager years. Well if you have been there recently you may have noticed that it is litterally at this point only 50% full of stores at this point. Before the new news lets recap the story.
Sears left after two years oddly enough aftered they build an addition on to the mall for them. The building was owned by Sears and was recently purchased back by the mall. Not long after J C Pennys bounced out leaving only two anchor stores. In the past few years the stores in the mall have been bailing left and right. It was going down in flames and showing signs of age.
PREIT bought the mall over a year and half ago, and after years of scratching their heads and watching their investment sink even more it seems the ball has started rolling. After enough rumors to fill a book that included everything from IKEA to Dave and Busters opening up shop there and even more about the entire mall closing they made huge move a month ago. Just weeks after announcing the puzzling decision to tear down the now vacant J C Penny's store the made it public that a new Wal-Mart store will stand alone in the place of the former Penny's store.
This move got mixed reviews from my readers and people that I know who work and shop at the mall. On one hand the Wal-Mart will bring people in. On the other hand stores Boscov's might get more competition than increased traffic. Plus people though wonder if the mall can last to 2006 when the Wal-Mart finally opens. Not to mention that it is not going to be connected to the mall.
Well the are now rather loftly plans to overhaul the mall including updating the interior. If you recall Sears and Penny's actually shared a parking lot. So since the Wal-Mart will stand on the grave of Penny's the Sears building is going to somehow be converted into another enterance into the mall. The plans are some what vague but it will make it more appealing to just drive or walk across connecting parking lot and enter the mall there. It's not clear if there will be a new anchor store there, or if shops will take over the new wing at this point. Something tells me another big announcement might be not too far off.
PREIT has plans to add "dinning options" soon and recently claimed that the Mall still owns a liquor liscenes (before my time there was a steakhouse and bar there Im told) which would help draw people in and give them something to do after dinner. If its' done right this really could work, and I can invision a well down landscape bettween Wal-Mart and the new enterance or anchor store.
The Food Court shouldn't be too affected since the employees of the mall have to eat some where cheap, and just look at Deptford to see how they can co-exist. It would be cool to have a Bennigans or something that isn't really in this area.
So, keep your eye on the mall, and it should be interesting to watch the next few years. I slammed PREIT for not doing anything after a year, but now it seems like they are fully commited to the project. Hopefully, in a few years you can walk through the pimped out mall and say remember when this was a dive? Yeah and that Tucker guy blogged about it all the time?
What do you think? Will the Wal-Mart bring the wrong crowd? Is is all smokescreen only to have the mall leveled next year?
Friday, August 20, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
"NIGHTmare Fishing"
This past Tuesday I cut out of the office early, and hung out with Price at his new house in Williamstown which is located right on a beautiful private lake. It was the first time that I can recall that I had a chance to go fresh water fishing (now that I think of it I likely had to of at a really young age) Price and spend a good part of the afternoon on a canoe relaxing and fishing. It was an awesome day weather wise and it gave us a chance to really catch up on each others lives for the most part. I hoisted up what we figure was a Sunfish and Price got about 3 fish of his own.
Later, that day Price’s wife cooked us an awesome meal after Liza, and Price’s sister-in-law and boyfriend joined us. She really out did herself and after finishing the meal we decided to take the canoes out on the water and tour the lake and do some night fishing. I was excited at the prospect of Liza being on a boat for the first time. However, she was uneasy when she realized I would be navigating the boat and told me she would leave me if I sent her into the bottom of the lake. I did not send my loving Liza to her watery grave, but had some navigated related difficulty compared to the more seasoned canoe people on the lake that night The other boat had Price his wife and a random girl, the 3rd boat had Price’s sister in law and boyfriend.
So, after all this bragging about boating a flounder the heat was on in front of my girlfriend. Well, let me tell you it was quite dark out there and I am surprised I got the worm on the hook with out shoving a hook through my finger. Now there are some slight differences in fresh and salt water fishing mostly in how you hold the rod, and to some extent how you react when you feel a bite. Anyway my first cast was fairly uneventful and overshadowed by the fact that someone (it was dark I don’t recall who) pulled up catfish literally seconds after casting.
So, my 2nd cast was uneventful, but since it was so darn dark I cranked the line all the way to the top of the rod. It being so dark and a lighter rod I didn’t notice. This is usually and easy fix and I did it once successfully, then I followed it up by another cast the resulted in cranking it up to high. So, here I am the only one in the boat with a rod (Liza was just chilling) trying like a madman to fix it again in the pitch black. The other boats were just mere shadowing images floating on the water. Although, the one dude had a flashlight on him I was still fumbling with the rod in the dark. I knew it would be a matter of time till someone asked how were doing. Much to my horror they did before I could get the rod fixed. At some point, the problem went from an over cranked line to that fact that the act reel was falling off the rod. Having no clue what happened any very little vision I tried desperately to fix the situation.
For all I know at this point that an important part to the reel feel quietly an unnoticed to the floor of the boat. The reel just kept whoobling off. I tried both ways, but it just refused to screw back in. Eventually, I realized that I couldn’t solve the problem. So, Liza and rowed over to Price’s boat who had his wife and some random girl I met only a few times on board. It turns out that it was not only the random girls’ rod, but I ended up having two girls strip my of my manhood as they tried to perform surgery on the stubborn rod. The two of them failed as I did and at this point I didn’t know what to root for either A. I will be shown fools since it was an obvious easy fix, or B I had broken the fishing pole of the random girl who was getting increasingly upset. Well lets just say I offered to buy a new reel about 4 times in the minutes that followed.
A few minutes later Price got snagged on a lily pad. Liza and I were sent to find the line and yank it out of the lily pad. I really tried to fine the damn thing on the moonless starless nigh. It was so dark that I could barely tell if Liza had fallen over board or not let alone find something that was virtually invisible. I guess Price should have pulled up the anchor and paddled to it the lily pad in or order to release stress on the line, and perhaps had I suggested that in time I could have redeemed myself to a certain extent. However, when the thought surfaced in my brain it was too late and the line snapped. Then the third boat yelled that they were already out of worms. Needless to say it was a short fishing trip.
So, there I was after my flounder I caught earlier this summer that somehow seems more like 6 inches then 22 inches looking making me more like Clark Griswold than a bass master in front of my girlfriend who never saw me fish. Now I feel as though that I the random girl will wish to see our next trip on the lake to end with me at the bottom. For all I know it was fixed later that night, but I still think I have to boat the lake monster that Price claims is lurking in the waters in order to regain my manhood.
Later, that day Price’s wife cooked us an awesome meal after Liza, and Price’s sister-in-law and boyfriend joined us. She really out did herself and after finishing the meal we decided to take the canoes out on the water and tour the lake and do some night fishing. I was excited at the prospect of Liza being on a boat for the first time. However, she was uneasy when she realized I would be navigating the boat and told me she would leave me if I sent her into the bottom of the lake. I did not send my loving Liza to her watery grave, but had some navigated related difficulty compared to the more seasoned canoe people on the lake that night The other boat had Price his wife and a random girl, the 3rd boat had Price’s sister in law and boyfriend.
So, after all this bragging about boating a flounder the heat was on in front of my girlfriend. Well, let me tell you it was quite dark out there and I am surprised I got the worm on the hook with out shoving a hook through my finger. Now there are some slight differences in fresh and salt water fishing mostly in how you hold the rod, and to some extent how you react when you feel a bite. Anyway my first cast was fairly uneventful and overshadowed by the fact that someone (it was dark I don’t recall who) pulled up catfish literally seconds after casting.
So, my 2nd cast was uneventful, but since it was so darn dark I cranked the line all the way to the top of the rod. It being so dark and a lighter rod I didn’t notice. This is usually and easy fix and I did it once successfully, then I followed it up by another cast the resulted in cranking it up to high. So, here I am the only one in the boat with a rod (Liza was just chilling) trying like a madman to fix it again in the pitch black. The other boats were just mere shadowing images floating on the water. Although, the one dude had a flashlight on him I was still fumbling with the rod in the dark. I knew it would be a matter of time till someone asked how were doing. Much to my horror they did before I could get the rod fixed. At some point, the problem went from an over cranked line to that fact that the act reel was falling off the rod. Having no clue what happened any very little vision I tried desperately to fix the situation.
For all I know at this point that an important part to the reel feel quietly an unnoticed to the floor of the boat. The reel just kept whoobling off. I tried both ways, but it just refused to screw back in. Eventually, I realized that I couldn’t solve the problem. So, Liza and rowed over to Price’s boat who had his wife and some random girl I met only a few times on board. It turns out that it was not only the random girls’ rod, but I ended up having two girls strip my of my manhood as they tried to perform surgery on the stubborn rod. The two of them failed as I did and at this point I didn’t know what to root for either A. I will be shown fools since it was an obvious easy fix, or B I had broken the fishing pole of the random girl who was getting increasingly upset. Well lets just say I offered to buy a new reel about 4 times in the minutes that followed.
A few minutes later Price got snagged on a lily pad. Liza and I were sent to find the line and yank it out of the lily pad. I really tried to fine the damn thing on the moonless starless nigh. It was so dark that I could barely tell if Liza had fallen over board or not let alone find something that was virtually invisible. I guess Price should have pulled up the anchor and paddled to it the lily pad in or order to release stress on the line, and perhaps had I suggested that in time I could have redeemed myself to a certain extent. However, when the thought surfaced in my brain it was too late and the line snapped. Then the third boat yelled that they were already out of worms. Needless to say it was a short fishing trip.
So, there I was after my flounder I caught earlier this summer that somehow seems more like 6 inches then 22 inches looking making me more like Clark Griswold than a bass master in front of my girlfriend who never saw me fish. Now I feel as though that I the random girl will wish to see our next trip on the lake to end with me at the bottom. For all I know it was fixed later that night, but I still think I have to boat the lake monster that Price claims is lurking in the waters in order to regain my manhood.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
"Manhattan Madness"
Well it is pretty common knowledge that NYC is mainly a liberal city. It is also pretty common knowledge President Bush is generally one of the most intensely hated men in modern American history. Although, he still has his supporters the haters of Bush flat out loathe him. I have never seen anything like it in my life. In fact I wonder who would when in a hate poll between him and Saddam sometimes.
The Republican Convention is going to be held in the big apple in roughly a week and some people think it's just an awful idea. The one article getting a lot of attention in the past 24 hours I am not sure it is this bad, but then again I don't live there.
There is going to be A LOT of protests, and their is the potential for things to get out of hand. I would even say it could get historically ugly in the city that never sleeps. Republicans are being blamed for exploliting the 9/11 attacks, and they are defending themselves claiming only good can come from pumping some cash into the NYC economy that has struggled since 9/11.
So what do you think loyal readers is all hell going to break loose in NYC?
The Republican Convention is going to be held in the big apple in roughly a week and some people think it's just an awful idea. The one article getting a lot of attention in the past 24 hours I am not sure it is this bad, but then again I don't live there.
There is going to be A LOT of protests, and their is the potential for things to get out of hand. I would even say it could get historically ugly in the city that never sleeps. Republicans are being blamed for exploliting the 9/11 attacks, and they are defending themselves claiming only good can come from pumping some cash into the NYC economy that has struggled since 9/11.
So what do you think loyal readers is all hell going to break loose in NYC?
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