Things at Manassas Mall — They’re changing.
The indoor shopping center on Sudley Road just outside Manassas got a new property management company that is already breathing new life into the 43-year-old mall. New mall entrances, new soft seating, new landscaping, and a few new tenants are some of the changes happening.
Where there once was a Target store, the vacant 103,000 square-foot space will be divided up into separate parcels to make room for Autobahn Indoor Speedway and child’s indoor playground Billy Beez – two new entertainment destinations mall owners hope will draw a crowd.
“These new tenants represent new options that are currently not available in the county,” said J. Michael Gately, Manassas Mall’s general manager.
They will also be joined by a new burger and frozen yogurt joint. The changes are slated to happen this year, Gately told a crowd gathered at the mall Thursday morning for a Prince William Chamber of Commerce event.
Manassas Mall represents an expansion for Gately’s firm, Pyramid Companies, headquartered in Syracuse, N.Y. With 17 malls, Manassas is the only one in their portfolio of properties not located in New York or Massachusetts. Continued population growth and density made a Manassas a choice location for the company, said Gately.
Their investment into the mall comes at a time when malls across the U.S. are being closed or renovated, as was the case last year with the newly renovated Springfield Mall now dubbed “Springfield Town Center.” In recent years in Prince William, we’ve seen outdoor “lifestyle” centers like Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center (home of Wegmans in Woodbridge) and Virginia Gateway in Gainesville spring up. They’ve quickly become the face of the “new Prince William” as destinations where people can live, work, and play.
“There is always going to be a place for the indoor mall in the shopping community. People like to come in and see and touch. And, when you’re one of those outdoor centers on a poor weather day, you’re gonna get wet,” said Gately.
When the mall opened, the long-defunct Montgomery Ward was an anchor at Manassas Mall. Later, Hecht Company was an anchor (it merged with Macy’s in 2006), and so was Target until it closed about three years ago.
As Pyramid works to bring in new retailers to the center, it appears pre-existing business relationships help. Billy Beez is also featured in its Destiny USA mall in Syracuse.
Shoppers at Manassas Mall can also expect to see new signs erected outside and inside the shopping center this year. It will mark an end of use of the shopping center’s heavy turquoise color scheme and shamrock-styled logo.
