Investors propose destination theme park, retail development off Expressway 83 in McAllen | mcallen, park, destination - TheMonitor.com

August 24, 2011 8:47 AM

Dave Hendricks

The Monitor

McALLEN — Last week, a group of investors approached McAllen with an offer: Let us transform Boeye Reservoir — the city-owned, manmade lake on Expressway 83 — into a theme park and retail development with a River Walk-style feel.

McAllen Attractions Inc. outlined plans to build a 31-acre theme park on the property’s eastern side and an “upper-end lifestyle center” on the remaining 38 acres bordering 23rd Street. The project would be funded with $7 million from private investors, a $6.5 million loan and city assistance, according to McAllen Attractions’ formal proposal submitted Aug. 17.

The theme park would become a regional attraction, drawing people from across the Rio Grande Valley, said Gabriel Kamel, the 42-year-old Mexican businessman who organized McAllen Attractions and represents a large group of investors.

“I think the Valley needs this to get the people to come often and stay longer,” Kamel said. He stressed the proposal is just a concept, subject to negotiation.

Kamel’s business partners include Ricardo Cortez II and Jaime Cortez, sons of Mayor Richard Cortez, who has a longstanding business relationship with Kamel. The mayor has signed conflict-of-interest forms and recused himself from city discussions of the reservoir redevelopment project.

It’s not the first proposal to redevelop Boeye Reservoir, located south of Expressway 83 between 23rd Street and Bicentennial Boulevard.

In 2007, Dallas-based developer Henry S. Miller Sustainable Partners proposed turning the reservoir into a trendy development with an urban feel. The much-touted plan fell through, a victim of the recession and resulting credit crunch.

McAllen officially killed the so-called “Central Park” project Jan. 24, terminating a partnership with Henry S. Miller III and requesting an accounting of how he spent $275,000.

The city went back to the drawing board June 5, requesting ...

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Investors propose destination theme park, retail development off Expressway 83 in McAllen | mcallen, park, destination - TheMonitor.com

INVESTORS SHOW FAITH IN JC PENNEY, BARNES & NOBLE’S FUTURE

AUG 24, 2011 8:05 AM, BY ELAINE MISONZHNIK, RETAIL TRAFFIC ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Recent stock market volatility has had at least one beneficial effect on the retail sector—it’s spurred investment in some publicly-traded retail chains.

Amid the brutal selling, two large national retailers—department store JC Penney and bookseller Barnes & Noble—reached deals to receive sizable equity infusions. While driven by the fact that the shares for each firm were trading at deep discounts, the moves also illustrate investors’ faith in the long-term prospects for the two chains.

On Friday, Bill Ackman-led hedge fund Pershing Square Capital got approval from JC Penney Co.’s board of directors to up its stake in the retailer from its current 16.5 percent. Pershing Square will make the investment through a “synthetic long position” to make its exposure equivalent to 26.1 percent. A synthetic long position typically refers to a derivative contract in which the investor receives cash payments if a company’s shares rise. Pershing actually reduced its voting rights to 15 percent of shares outstanding.

JC Penney has a restriction in place preventing shareholders with more than 10 percent of its stock to buy additional common shares without its board's approval.

The news about Pershing’s investment in JC Penney came a day after media conglomerate Liberty Media Corp. signed a deal to buy a 16.6 percent stake in bookseller Barnes & Noble for $204 million. Liberty’s investment will be made through the purchase of convertible preferred shares equal to about 12 million common shares or 17 percent of Barnes & Noble stock. The deal values Barnes & Noble shares at $17 apiece.

Barnes & Noble has been looking for a buyer since last summer, and Liberty Media has been the only one to make a bid for the retailer this spring, valuing Barnes & Noble’s stock at $17 per share in May and offering to take a 70 percent stake in the retailer. It has since abandoned the ambition to buy the bookseller outright, opting instead for the smaller stake.

The switch to a smaller investment likely reflects Liberty’s desire to limit its risk in view of the challenges the book sector faces from the popularity of digital e-readers, says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a New York City-based retail consulting and investment banking firm. The fact that ...

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Survey Reveals Key Retailing Trends Among Millennials

Survey Reveals Key Retailing Trends Among Millennials Call them Gen Y, or Echo Boomers, or the more fashionable Millennials. But retailers have been asking this question a lot more of late: What does this power-buying generation really want? What does it matter? The Millennial generation represent the largest retail consumer group, larger than both the Baby Boomer generation or Gen X. Now a new study, “American Millennials: Deciphering the Enigma Generation,” has a few updated answers. The study was conducted by Barkley, one of the largest independent marketing agencies in the U.S., in partnership with Service Management Group and The Boston Consulting Group. Based on a survey of more than 5,000 respondents and 3.9 million data points, the study provides new information on a range of digital and social media habits of American Millennials as well as their attitudes in the areas of cause marketing, grocery, restaurant, apparel and travel. “Since the Millennials generation is larger than the Baby Boomers and three times bigger than Generation X, marketers’ understanding of Millennials’ needs, tastes and behaviors will clearly shape current and future business decisions,” says Jeff Fromm, senior vice president at Barkley. Here are a few highlights from the survey: Millennials Are Aware of Youth-Oriented Cause Campaigns Millennials compared to other generations reported greater awareness of newer, youth-oriented cause marketing campaigns, such as Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty (33% versus 21%) or Gap RED (26% versus nine%).They report greater exposure to campaigns through social media (40% versus 22%) and online news (28% versus 22%), while Non-Millennials rely on newspaper and direct mail. Millennials Consume 42% of TV Online Millennials appear to have substituted television and print media for the increased online activity and media consumption. Millennials watch significantly less TV than Non-Millennials; fewer Millennials report watching 20-plus hours/week (26% versus 49%). When they are not watching live TV, Millennials are much more likely to watch shows mainly on their laptops (42% versus 18%), with DVR (40% versus 36%), or On-Demand (26% versus 18%). Millennials Seek Peer Affirmation & Advice Perhaps because of their need to share and to find commonalities, 70% of Millennials reported feeling more excited when their friends agreed with them about where to shop, eat and play. Only 48% of older adults were as heavily influenced by their friends and colleagues. Additionally, Millennials gather information on products and services from more channels - more Millennials than Non-Millennials reported using a mobile device while shopping to research products (50% versus 21%). Millennials Are More Prone to Grocery Shop in Groups While majority of all respondents shop alone (60% Millennials, 69% Non- Millennials), Millennials are more likely to shop with others versus Non-Millennials. Plus, Millennials report more shopping than Non-Millennials with family unit, spouse and children (13% versus six%) and with adult friends (four% versus two%). Millennials Crave Adventure Millennials seek a broader range of activities, think globally, and report a greater desire to travel. The large majority of Millennials (70%) want to visit every continent in their lifetime. Fewer than half of older adults report that goal. Millennials Prefer Casual Dining Environments and Snack More Not only do Millennials report a desire for adventure, but they also think life should be fun. Whether shopping, dining out, or immersed in their mobile devices, Millennials prefer the music turned up and a casual atmosphere. Millennials accounted for 18% of their monthly restaurant spend in the fast-casual format, compared to only 13% for Non-Millennials. Additionally, Millennials crave snacking opportunities, and are more than twice as likely as older people to seek them out mid-morning, mid-afternoon and late at night. Retail Associates Play a Critical Role When female Millennials were asked a series of questions about where they purchase fashion brands, it became clear that if store associates do not know the trends or look the part, Millennials are far less likely to be drawn in by the store. Millennials demand more knowledgeable and fashionable sales associates (29% versus 19%) while Non-Millennials value sales associates who know to apply discounts and offer promotions (65% versus 51%). More Insights to Come at Share.Like.Buy. Conference More detailed findings from the study will be shared at the “Share.Like.Buy.” conference on September 22-23, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. Aimed at all marketers who must forge new relationships with American Millennials, the conference will educate attendees on how to market with Millennials rather than to them. Confirmed conference participants and speakers include representatives from Facebook, MTV, Sony Music, Frito-Lay, Forbes Magazine, Forrester, Spiral 16 and many other thought leaders from the marketing industry. To learn more about the study and conference, visit sharelikebuy.com, or contact Barkley’s Jeff Fromm at 816.682.5401.