Looks to me like 3.7 miles north of I-10 on I-65, not quite as bad as 5 miles but it's still a 7 1/2 mile detour round trip when traveling I-10. The address is Bel Air mall, which from the reviews looks like a tired old mall. I'd never look a gift horse (or a supercharger) in the mouth but it's a shame that either a more convenient location or more desirable place to stop wasn't available in Mobile.
Here is one Yelp review:
I hate to say it, but this is the ghetto mall now. I tried going to this mall three times this year and each time something horrible has happened because of how ghetto it is.
The first time I got stared down and glared at because I was the only white person there. The second time a random man came up to me and said I must be a bad girl because my husband hadn't bought me anything yet so I should behave like a good girl if I wanted anything. The third time I was inside waiting for a pizza I had ordered to finish cooking. I brought out my iPhone to check the time to see how much longer it would be when someone tried to steal it out of my hands.
Obviously, I will not be coming back.
And another:
Completely ghetto. I guess that need that many cops there to make you think you are safer than you probably are. I would never let my wife and kids go there after dark.
This doesn't sound like a great place to park a Tesla.
Looks like the mall just got purchased.
New York firm completes $135 million purchase of Mobile's Bel Air Mall, enters Alabama market | AL.com
Rouse Properties Inc. completed formally its purchase of Mobile's Bel Air Mall for $135.2 million Thursday.
Andrew Silberfein, president and chief executive officer of New York City-based real estate investment trust, called the 1.3 million-square-foot Bel Air Mall a "perfect fit with our growing portfolio of dominant 'only-game-in-town' regional malls." The price excludes transaction costs and closing adjustments.
"As the only enclosed mall within 60 miles, Bel Air enjoys a protected competitive position along with an excellent roster of over 110 vibrant retailers," Silberfein said in a press release.
"As we apply our platform to this asset going forward, we believe there are substantial opportunities to create value through targeted improvements to the asset and to the retailer merchandising mix," he said.
To date, Rouse Properties has acquired mall properties valued at more than $650 million, thereby, boosting the company's portfolio by 30 percent while creating a robust pipeline for future acquisitions, Silberfein said.
According to Rouse Properties marketing materials, Bel Air Mall – anchored by Belk, Dillard's, Target, jcpenney and Sears and featuring specialty retailers such as Victoria's Secret, Francesca's, Forever 21, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, Charlotte Russe and Foot Locker – is 90 percent leased with average inline sales of $340 per square foot.
The mall was acquired in an off-market transaction from a private partnership managed by Gregory Greenfield & Associates. As partial funding for its investment, Rouse assumed an existing $112.5 million non-recourse loan, with a 5.30 percent interest rate and a December 2015 maturity date.
Rouse Properties' portfolio includes 35 malls in 22 states encompassing about 25 million square feet.