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GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The “demalling” of Centerpointe Mall is nearly complete, and shoppers such as Gladys Hammond are impressed.

“I love it,” said Hammond, when she recently exited TJ Maxx. “The stores seem bigger and better.”

After more than a year of construction, the transformation of one of the region’s oldest mall into a power center is nearly complete.

The new Centerpointe is now 525,000 square feet, just over half of its former size.

Nearly half of the lost space was interior walkways, which were costly to maintain.

"We went from a B or C mall to a power center that will be one of the top square footage selling centers of its kind in the state of Michigan," said Chris Brochert, a partner in Lormax Stern Development.

The West Bloomfield Township-based retail developer owns the Grand Rapids shopping center at the corner of 28th Street and East Beltline Ave. NE, which remained open during the construction project.

The result is 100 percent occupancy for the first time since the firm bought the 1960s-era Eastbrook Mall in 2000.

New stores Dress Barn, Ulta, Rue 21 and Five Below complement existing ones such as TJ Maxx, Dunham’s, Nordstrom Rack, DSW, Old Navy, JoAnn’s Fabrics, Christopher Banks and David’s Bridal.

“They’ll do better because they have a better synergy of retailers that we couldn’t get before,” Brochert said.

New retailers are attracted to exterior entrances to the parking lot.

Centerpointe is benefitting from that trend, said Mark Ansara, a retail advisor with Colliers International, the area’s largest commercial real estate firm.

He says Centerpointe’s upgrade will complement Woodland Mall, the regional mall located across the street.

Woodland will also reach full occupancy for the first time in years later this month with the opening of the highly anticipated H&M, a trendy European clothing chain.

Centerpointe may have less space, but it is charging more for leases.

Ansara who negotiated the deal for Ideal Image, a laser hair removal chain that will open in Centerpointe on Nov. 12, says the owners “didn’t come down in their asking prices.”

What a difference five years makes.

In 2008, Centerpointe Mall was an aging shopping center losing one retailer after another. The economic recession created a string of retail bankruptcies that shuttered two of its largest tenants: Linen ‘n Things and Steve and Barry’s.

During the same period, upscale furniture retailer Klingman’s was bought by Israels and relocated, leaving a functionally obsolete building across the parking lot.

“When the bottom fell out of the market for Centerpointe Mall, it was a blessing in disguise,” said Brochert.

He credits the recession for clearing out bad developers who were hurting the industry.

"We couldn't have done it sooner," said Brochert. "The economic recession made it possible to get things done."

Brochert won’t say how much his company spent on the demalling, other than to say it was in excess of $50 million.

He believes the investment is paying off.

“It’s very lucrative for us because we had all this square footage that is no longer vacant,” Brochert said.

The company bought Centerpointe because it offered a prime location along one of the busiest retail corridors in the state.

Even before the renovation, retailers located here were doing some of the best volumes in the country, Brochert said.

Several of the Centerpointe’s retailers expanded their presence during the transformation.

TJ Maxx grew to 55,000 square feet from 33,000 square feet by bringing in HomeGoods, a sister brand that was first to the Grand Rapids market. The homewares retailer had a long line of eager shoppers when it opened in March and continues to be one of Centerpointe’s busiest stores.

The retail anchor is located where the former three-story, 182,000-square-foot Klingman’s once stood.

Men’s Warehouse expanded its retail space to 7,500 square feet from 5,000.

Other retailers shrank their footprints. David’s Bridal, located along the rim of the development, slimmed down to 10,000 square feet from 12,500. So did shoe retailer, DSW, which streamlined its quarters by a third to 18,000 square feet. Brochert noted DSW still saw a 20 percent uptick in sales.

There have also been some casualties.

Menards moved out over the summer because it couldn’t expand, but the mall already has tenants lined up. The space is being renovated.

Brochert says he has about 35 tenants, ranging the Secretary of State to Old Navy.

The transformation won’t be completed until next year. Arnie’s restaurant is slated to move out in March. The building will be demolished, replaced with other restaurants including Five Guys Burger and Fries and Red Olive.

Cost Plus’ World Market gave up some space to move to Centerpointe from its former 28th Street strip mall location.

The 18,000-square-foot footprint has been more functional, said Mike Cartwright, a supervisor at World Market, now a division of Bed Bath and Beyond.

“We can do things we couldn’t do before,” Cartwright said, referring to displays.

What really makes the location work is more shoppers.

“We have like-minded people coming to this," he said.