A new large regional mall and adjoining big-box retail center will stem leakage of Ames customers to West Des Moines’ Jordan Creek Town Center and position Ames as “the retail, economic and employment center for North Central Iowa,” says the project’s developer.

The development would more than double Ames’ existing retail base, and would be a major blow to Ames’ North Grand Mall, which has been planning a major renovation and expansion to begin next fall.

Wolford Development Options LLC of Chattanooga, Tenn., proposes to build a 700,000-square-foot mall and a 470,000-square- foot “power center” at the northeast corner of Interstate 35 and 13th Street. In mid-October, the developer submitted a request to the city to change its Land Use Policy Plan map as a first step toward rezoning the property for the proposed development. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.

In its current land use plan, the city has designated about 300 acres at the northeast intersection of I-35 and Highway 30 as a planned regional commercial site. The developer is asking the city to shift that designation to north of the Barilla pasta plant.

“It appears on the surface that the access (at the I-35/Highway 30 site) is good, but it does not provide the benefits the new location would for access,” said Joe Pietruszynski, a planner with the Ames Planning and Housing Department.

A commercial lands need analysis conducted by the city two years ago projects that Ames will need to expand its commercial base, Pietruszynski said. A market study provided by the developer also shows the new mall and retail center could be successful, he said.

The Ames Chamber of Commerce has not yet polled its members and does not have a position on the proposed development, said Executive Director David Maahs.

North Grand Mall has been planning to expand and renovate from the time it changed hands in 1998, said General Manager Kurt Carlson. Development of a new mall would not be smart growth, he said.

“We believe any expansion of the retail market should start here at North Grand Mall,” he said. “This is the logical place to expand for the growth that Ames has experienced in the past, and for expected growth. We feel can easily serve the retail needs of Ames for the next 25 years.”

The planned renovation would be the most extensive yet for the 32-year-old mall, which was last renovated in 1991. It is anchored by three department stores – J.C. Penney, Sears and Younkers – and contains 48 specialty stores, nine eateries and a five-screen movie theater.

North Grand’s plans call for expanding the mall from 350,000 square feet to about 550,000 square feet, including an expansion of at least two of the three anchor department store spaces. A new food court, new small-store space and a covered parking garage would also be added. Additionally, the existing structure will be renovated to include new benches, interior and exterior landscaping.

The first phase of the project hasn’t been determined, but will either be the department store expansions or construction of the parking structure, Carlson said.

“Our first step before we can break ground is to finalize our department store agreements,” he said. “We hope to break ground sometime in the fall of 2004.”