Ollie's to Anchor Columbia East Marketplace

By Susan Kim, STAFF WRITER



Forty-five thousand square feet of space have been leased at the underused Columbia East Marketplace in Jessup, as Ollie's Discount Bargain Outlet has signed a deal for 33,000 square feet in the center and Retro Fitness has leased an additional 12,000 square feet.

Ollie's, which is slated to open in spring 2009, will become the much-anticipated anchor tenant in a center that has been noted in the retail real estate community for its renovation as well as its high vacancy.

With 69 stores in eight states, Ollie's is the mid-Atlantic's largest retailer of closeout, surplus and salvage merchandise. It will be the largest store in the 170,000-square-foot center, which is mainly known as the home of My Organic Market (MOM's), plus a gaggle of smaller retailers and businesses that include Starbucks, Maaco, Jerry's Subs & Pizza, Kids First Swim Schools, Panda Express and Rita's Ice Cream, among others.



'Retail Safari'

The arrival of Ollie's will add to Howard County's interesting retail mix, said Peter Framson, principal of Green Light Retail Real Estate Services.

"Ollie's is definitely not upscale," said Framson. "But we're in a funky economy. These kinds of stores, the bargain basements, thrive in these kinds of environments."

Wherever Ollie's may fall on the economic scale, the store always has interesting merchandise, Framson said. "It's like a retail safari."

Much of the merchandise comes directly from manufacturers, including name brand closeouts, overstocks, package changes and manufacturer refurbs.

While Columbia East Marketplace is a viable location, the lack of lease action has been a negative. "It's just been blighted by years of non-tenancy," Framson said.



Spend a Buck

Will Howard County's upscale consumers be shopping at Ollie's? Jerry Altland, vice president of real estate for the store, thinks they will. "I don't care what kind of money people make, they still like to save a dollar," he said.

Ollie's has been eying the Columbia area for years, Altland said. "We think it will be a busy road. We look at the demographics, [including] how many people are three minutes away and how many are 15 minutes away. We look at household incomes."

Scott Nash had the same hunch about Columbia East. The CEO of MOM's said business has been growing for his store in the center. "That [location] reached profitability after being open only eight months and it continues to grow," he said.

Nash said that, by and large, he is happy about the arrival of Ollie's. "I like that they'll make the center feel more vibrant, not vacant, and that exposure to MOM's will increase," he said.

He did voice one concern, however. "I do worry a bit that our customers will have to fight for parking spaces. We don't usually like a lot of company in our centers with us [because] we are a destination-oriented store. Overall, [this is] definitely a net gain, though, because Ollie's will make the center look less deserted."

Howard County leaders have been watching and waiting for new tenants at the center, said Dick Story, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority. "Ollie's will become the anchor tenant we've been hoping for," he said.



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In addition to Ollie's, Retro Fitness has also signed a lease with Columbia East's owner, McLean, Va.-based Atlantic Realty Companies, for a 12,000-square-foot space. The fitness center will be the first in Maryland for the New Jersey-based company, which markets an '80s theme along with a $19.99 per month price point.

Retro Fitness outlets have 50 to 100 pieces of cardio equipment with personal LCD TV screens, a retro movie theater where members can watch '80s movies, three different types of circuit training equipment, free weights, locker rooms, tanning and juice bars. The company plans to eventually build 15 centers across Maryland.

Retro also will open its Columbia East location in spring 2009, with pre-opening memberships available beginning this month. Jaynie VanGilder, director of leasing for Atlantic, said the addition of the two new key tenants will signify a great start to the 2009 retail year.

"We still have a few smaller spaces and one larger block of approximately 16,000 square feet left to lease [at Columbia East]," she said of the center, which was built in the '80s and was renovated earlier this decade at a cost of $8 million.