Upgrades bring retail center to near 100 percent occupancy

A flurry of upgrades to the Elko Junction Shopping Center at Mountain City Highway and Sage Crest Drive has led to nearly 100 percent occupancy for new owners Meridian Pacific Limited of Tiburon, Calif.

Since acquiring the 24-acre property on Feb. 20, Meridian Pacific has completed parking lot re-paving and re-striping, re-roofing, and repainting at the nearly 20-year-old shopping center. Meridian Pacific also has undertaken an extensive renovation and addition at the Crystal 4 Movie Complex.

The 200,00 square-foot Elko Junction Shopping Center has changed hands several times since it was built in early 1990s. Occupancy was close to 85 percent when Meridian Pacific purchased the property but now stands at 97 percent, Meridian Pacific President Gary Pinkston says.

Meridian Pacific also has re-negotiated long-term leases with several tenants, including the Crystal Theater, Matties Sports Bar & Grill and the Coffee Mug restaurant.

The shopping center had flown under the radar of many shopping center developers, Pinkston says, but it proved attractive to Meridian Pacific both for its price and demographic.

"We always knew about this property in Elko," Pinkston says. "I knew the Elko community and the gold mines. We as a company build new projects and do new ground-up stuff, but we also like to look for properties in smaller communities. It was kind of on our radar it was attractive to us and unattractive to others because of the size of community."

In addition to the cosmetic changes at Elko Junction, other upgrades include:

* Adding two screens and 40 percent more seats 550 in total as well as 3D capability to the Crystal 4 Theater, which will be a six-plex once construction wraps up in November. The developers also doubled the size of the concession area and parking lot.

* Renovating the space vacated by Blockbuster for Sears as a catalogue showroom to sell appliances, televisions, tools and garden equipment. Tenant improvements are expected to be completed in early October.

* Upgrading the Marines and Navy recruiting offices.

* Installing two 35-foot high three-sided pylons topped with a steam train to promote the center.

* Adding Kubuki Sushi to the center in July.

* Reinstating the prior owners of the Coffee Mug restaurant to manage the eatery.

Only 4,000 square feet of retail space remains vacant at the center, Pinkston says. Other developments at the center are forthcoming, he adds.

"We expect to continue to redevelop this property to maintain its excellence as the gathering place for the Elko community," he says.

Financing for the capital improvements proved difficult to secure, Pinkston says, but Meridian Pacific was able to find funding through longstanding ties with banks based in St. Louis.