The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

The owners of flailing Town Center hope the new general manager can lure shoppers to the mall by the holiday season.

Mall owners hire new general manager

Shop owners continue to fear rent increase

By Justin Berton

The owners of Sunnyvale's Town Center Mall hired a new general manager to revamp the mall before the holiday season hits.

Twenty-five-year Air Force veteran Ken McGee, who left the now booming Westgate Mall in San Jose in March, accepted the position two weeks ago.

Both McGee and American Mall Properties spokesperson David Kato still remain tight-lipped about plans to lure a major entertainment venue to anchor the lackluster mall.

"I just can't wait to get this into a package that we can release," McGee said.

In the meantime, some small shop owners in the mall are still wondering whether the new owners will drive up the price for floor space when their temporary leases expire.

Ari Afshari, whose lease on his model car store, Auto Barn, will be negotiated after Jan. 1, said he expects a significant increase in the rent.

"I know that's what they'll do," Afshari said. Afshari said he has yet to be contacted by the new owners and had hoped they would call a general meeting with tenants to discuss their plans for the mall.

McGee referred questions regarding leases to Kato, and Kato declined to comment on the subject.

Sid Copeland, owner of an antiques store for the past year and a half, said he needed the mall to pick up business within a year to stay in business.

"I'm 75 years old, and I'm scared to death," Copeland said. Copeland said business has fallen off to almost non-existence in the past two months.

"They (the new owners)," Copeland said while shaking his head, "need to do something."

In preparing for the holiday rush, Kato pledged to "spend more money than the previous owners" on advertising and promotions.

Kato said the mall should be at 100 percent occupancy during the holidays, up from the current 85 percent.

McGee comes to the Town Center after spending five years at the Westgate Mall, where he helped orchestrate its rejuvenation.

After lengthy negotiations, the mall opened the area's first Nordstroms discount store last week.

In his first two weeks on the job, McGee has been visited by Councilmember Stan Kawczynski, who works with the Digital Clubhouse in the mall and phoned by members of the Chamber of Commerce.

One of McGee's first directions was to have members of the marketing team scout other local malls to find out what was interesting and bring it back to the Town Center.

"As we used to say in the military, 'Plan your work, and work your plan,' " McGee said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 19, 1998.
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