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Growing the mall

Manager says mall is ‘moving forward’

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari
Rolimar Cruz, left, of Fort Dodge, speaks with Michelle Dorage, manager of Riddle’s Jewelry, at the Crossroads Mall bridal expo Sunday. The bridal show is just one of many events the mall hosts.

The past few months have been busy at the Crossroads Mall.

Not only did the mall welcome two brand-new businesses among its tenants, but another mall business relocated to a larger space inside the building.

All of that, according to Melissa Verschoor, the mall’s general manager, goes against the common belief that the mall is going to close.

“It just means that the rumor out there is not true,” she said. “The mall is not closing. We’re really looking forward to the future and we’re still here for the community.”

In October, New Age Media Productions, which had been located in downtown Fort Dodge, moved into the mall. Verschoor said Joel Johnson, co-owner of the business, had approached her and said he was interested in relocating.

And just last week, The Fish Room, which had also been located in the downtown area, opened its doors in the mall as well.

Verschoor said owner Tom Bethke had been in discussions about opening at the Crossroads Mall even before the original location on Central Avenue opened.

“When talking about getting into the fish business, he had come to Larry (Jessen), who was the general manager before me, and talked with him,” Verschoor said.

But due to circumstances involving different timelines, The Fish Room wasn’t able to open at the mall at the time.

“But we were talking around Christmas time, and we were able to accommodate, find a space that fit for him and it worked out that it had exactly what he was looking for for his business,” she said.

The Tony Bacon Racing League also relocated to a larger location, because, according to Verschoor, it had outgrown its previous location.

Since the mall went under new ownership about a year ago, Verschoor said she and the mall’s three owners — Namdar Realty Group, Mason Asset Management and CH Capital, all of Great Neck, New York — have been working to get new tenants in the mall.

One thing that the owners are looking to do is find a representative with a background in real estate that can help bring businesses not located in Iowa into the state.

“Being from New York, they know that their needs are very different from what we need here in Iowa,” she said. “So they’re trying to accommodate that as they can.”

The mall’s owners also frequently travel to retail conferences, where Verschoor said they meet with representatives from different companies, “whether it be a big box or some of the more medium-sized box stores. And they speak with them on our behalf and say, ‘Hey, we have this amount of space available in this market. Would that be something you’re interested in?'”

Locally, Verschoor said if she hears about someone that’s looking to open a business or relocate, she’ll get in touch with them about coming to the Crossroads Mall.

She said something that bothers her is when people say that the mall is too expensive to rent space in.

“That’s a common thought process with our community,” she said. “Our rent is very competitive out here. In fact, I’ve found that sometimes we’re almost cheaper than other places.”

But the mall doesn’t just serve as a place to shop. Verschoor said it’s also available for a variety of events.

Just this past Sunday, the Crossroads Mall hosted a bridal expo, and it recently hosted a DECA conference for five area high schools.

“We have blood drives and indoor trick-or-treating,” she said. “There’s always something going on. We also have a community room available that people can use for birthday parties, anniversaries, meetings.”

And she said the recent additions to the mall aren’t the only ones.

“There’s so many changes coming,” she said.

However, at this point she can’t go into details about what exactly is on the horizon.

“There are definitely some irons in the fire,” she said. “I really wish I could say and share some of the emails that go back and forth, almost on a daily basis.”

But she said the mall is looking ahead to the future.

“We just want everybody to know, yes, we are moving forward and we appreciate everybody’s patience,” Verschoor said. “We understand there is some disappointment because it didn’t happen overnight, but there are great things to come.”

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