Experts Ridicule Rumors Of Post Falls Megamall Mall Of America Official Shoots Down Talk Of Plans For A Shopping Center In North Idaho

Mulling over Mall of America? Don’t bother.

Rumors are running rampant that developers of the nation’s largest mall are considering building a similar shopping mecca in Post Falls, but economic and retail experts scoff at the suggestion.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Bob Potter, president of Jobs Plus, Kootenai County’s economic development agency. “Who would invest at least $350 million, probably more, in a mall on Interstate 90 between Spokane and North Idaho?

“It’s a shame to get the community exercised on things that aren’t going to happen.”

Indeed, officials representing Mall of America, located in a Minneapolis suburb, said they knew of no such plans.

“Where’s Post Falls? Does that answer your question?” asked Gary Hanson, a spokesman for Triple 5 Group of Companies, in Edmonton, Alberta, one of the three investment groups that owns Mall of America. “The minimum population we look for is 3 million people within a half hour.”

Triple 5 and its partners are constantly researching different areas for investment possibilities, said Teresa McFarland, a spokesperson for the 4.2-million-square-foot Mall of America.

Still, McFarland said, “The only extension we’re planning is across the street. I know we’re not doing a Mall of America II.”

People involved in land development in Post Falls say they haven’t spoken with anyone representing the Mall of America. Most don’t believe the area could support a mall that enjoys between 600,000 and 900,000 visitors per week.

“Jim Hawkins, director of Idaho’s Commerce Department, said he’d be “utterly shocked” if the Mall of America chose to build a location in Post Falls. Hawkins said he has not been contacted by Mall of America representatives.

“I don’t see the demographics to support it, unless they’re going to scale down,” Hawkins said. “The critical mass isn’t there.”

Ed Adamchak, property manager of the Factory Outlets in Post Falls, agreed. “As a business proposition, I don’t think it’s a very workable deal. If it was such a good site, Watson would have been able to score a bunch of tenants.”

The Watson to whom Adamchak referred is Jim Watson, of Watson and Associates, developer of the much-touted Expo project north of I-90 in Post Falls.

The Expo project, initially projected to include a megamall to rival Mall of America, was drastically scaled back after Micron Technology Inc. backed off plans to locate in Post Falls and Watson lost a race to secure tenants to Price Development Corp.’s Spokane Valley Mall.

Watson said he hadn’t spoken with any representatives from Mall of America, nor had he heard anything solid about the venture.

“My opinion is it’s pure speculation. Everybody’s talking about it and by the third person, it becomes true,” Watson said. “I don’t see any basis for it.”

Unlike other economic experts in the region, however, Watson believes the site is viable for a project of that size. The paucity of entertainment in the Northwest and the population anchors of Coeur d’Alene and Spokane make Post Falls a “perfect location,” he said.

, DataTimes