First change at Zona Rosa: No more parking meters. New owners planning what’s next

Zona Rosa shoppers may already have noticed some changes.

Formerly empty flower pots are now ablaze with fall blooms. Rusty pipes shimmer from a fresh coat of black paint. Crumbling sidewalks and curbs are being repaired.

And those parking meters that were so unpopular, even though the funds went to charity? They are now topped with bright blue bags that say: “We’ve got you covered today. Free Parking.”

The Northland shopping center’s new owners, who took over last month, say those are just the immediate changes. Shoppers will see much more over the next two years.

“This is the town center. This is the place for the Northlands. It hasn’t optimized that opportunity, unfortunately,” said Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark Property Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, a real estate development, acquisition and service firm that plans to revitalize the center. “We think that there’s a lot of opportunity to encourage people to come more often, stay longer, just be more attached emotionally to Zona Rosa.”

Over three days this week, Trademark gathered with about 40 designers, commercial real estate experts and others from the metro and across the country in an empty Zona Rosa retail spot, brainstorming ways to “revision and evolve” Zona Rosa. On Wednesday the group had three rough plans posted on a wall and then debated the merits of each.

Relocate this retailer for more apartments? But at modest rental rates would that be worth it? Isn’t that retailer happy where they are?

How do you connect the two phases, built four years apart, with Dillard’s and other shops connected by a bridge over a creek bed?

What about a new name? Zona Rosa’s original property owner named it for an area of Mexico City.

“We’ll borrow the best pieces from the best plans, the best ideas, and as we start to look at the ones that are most practical, the ones that make the highest impact, the ones that would really change the experience the most, we start to focus in,” Montesi said. “There’s a lot that needs to be brought into here.”

Some possibilities: One or two hotels, more apartments (the center has only 73 currently), more public spaces with more programming and amenities, more public art, more play areas for children, more play areas for adults and more Instagrammable settings.

A few of those ideas were part of the original plan, they just never came to fruition.

Zona Rosa, at the northwest corner of Interstate 29 and Barry Road, opened in May 2004 with the goal to “be a destination.” It said shoppers would leave with more than just a bag of merchandise, “they leave with a memorable experience.”

The $200 million pedestrian-friendly center featured the latest New Urbanism design — open-air with streetscapes to resemble small-town main street, with offices and residential units on upper floors. Shoppers were enticed to linger at its central courtyard featuring jazz concerts, farmers markets and art festivals.

A creek runs through the center, with a second phase to the north built in 2008 that includes a Dillard’s. But experts said there was a disconnect between the phases, and plans for a hotel fell through. Occupancy is currently about 75 percent.

Only a handful of tenants are locally owned, including Bo Lings Chinese, Hereford House, 54th St. Grill & Bar, Stone Canyon Pizza and Topsy’s.

A group led by TPG Sixth Street Partners took over ownership of Zona Rosa in September and installed Trademark to manage the property.

“I think their ideas are good and they are interested in retaining the local restaurants. They’re all about the local guy,” said Kevin Heaton, founder and owner Stone Canyon Pizza. “Who would not be optimistic after what the center went through the last two years?”

The center was put up for sale in 2016, and the previous owners defaulted on its mortgage last year.

Others cited problems with the shopping center’s layout, saying there are only two main entrances/exits, a problem during peak periods. But some tenants are taking a “wait and see” approach during the honeymoon phase, willing to be patient through the winter and seeing what comes next spring, even as they wonder how the new owners will fund the changes.

But the ownership group has already begun reinvesting in the property with an initial commitment of over $1 million to repair and improve the landscaping and signage, as well as the walking and parking areas.

Shoppers this week said they would like to see more fast-casual and moderately priced restaurants, more activities for teenagers and more locally owned shops and restaurants.

“I believe what you’re going to see is, every time you visit here, over the next couple of years, there will be something new,” Montesi said.