Merchants at 2 malls are getting nervous

Merchants at the downtown malls say they're frustrated and worried as they wait to hear more about redevelopment plans.

In Crossroads Plaza, Utah's only Frederick's of Hollywood will close its doors Sunday, three days after Wet Seal also shuts down for good.

The two closures, along with TheMultiMediaCenters.com's departure next month, will leave only two stores — Radio Shack and a haircutting salon — on Crossroads Plaza's cavernous third floor.

And while some stores close, others are opening in prime locations at both Crossroads and the ZCMI Center mall.

With the flux of stores coming and going and little information about the redevelopment, some store owners are worried. They say their landlord, Property Reserve Inc. — the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is keeping them in the dark and won't renew or extend any leases past January.

The LDS Church is preparing a huge renovation of the downtown malls on Main Street.

While city officials say the renovation is a good thing — an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars into downtown — store managers are frustrated.

Tom Perry, manager of TheMultiMediaCenters.com, said he decided to move his business to Millcreek after PRI wouldn't let him locate his business on Crossroads' ground level. His business had originally been located near the mall's eatery and spent $20,000 to improve the space. The store was temporarily moved to the third floor and then, when Perry wanted to go back downstairs, he said his business was snubbed in favor of a toy store.

"We're not going to deal with it anymore," he said.

The upscale paper store Tabula Rasa has received a notice from PRI saying future leases are uncertain. Employees there say everyone is in the dark.

"No one knows," said Marcus Salem of Tabula Rasa. "Even mall management is out of the loop."

Across Main Street at ZCMI Center mall, there are similarly nervous feelings.

"There's a lot of fear" among store owners and managers, said one manager who asked to not be named. "There's a lot of questions and no answers."

Back at Crossroads, owner Terry Jessop said the lease for his Frog World store, which has been in Crossroads for more than two years, is up at the end of the month and PRI isn't letting him renew. Jessop has even forwarded to PRI the signatures of 25 Crossroads managers and owners who want him to stay.