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Theater area may fill soon Photo by Steve Johnson Bill Leever of Pulver and Leever Real Estate leased Medford Center's largest vacant space to 24 Hour Fitness. Officials say several others are likely to fill smaller spaces soon. Fitness center, ice cream store provide boost By DAVID PRESZLER The two-year wait for stores in the remodeled Medford Center may be nearing an end. "By the end of this year, we will have virtually all that space occupied," says Bill Leever, who is handling leasing for owner Center Trust of California. The center filled its largest -- and most talked about -- space last week, announcing that 24 Hour Fitness would fill 35,600 square feet across from Tinseltown Theatres. The California chain has yet to release details but does plan to open a temporary training room by late March. While the addition of such a big anchor boosts the center's profile, 24 Hour Fitness isn't the large retailer many were expecting. "I'm surprised," said John Hamlin, a commercial real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Pro West. "It's probably the best (retail) spot in the valley. It's disappointing to me." Leever and other center officials disagree, saying the fitness club fits their plan to create "a lifestyle entertainment center.'' They view the club's arrival as a turning point that gives it fresh momentum. On Tuesday, an ice cream company unveiled plans to move into the center, and Leever says several more announcements are expected in coming weeks. He says a coffee business and a children's clothing store have signed letters of intent for space. Similar letters are pending for a candy store, a restaurant and a regional corporate office. The latest shop to officially join the mix is Cold Stone Creamery, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based ice cream chain. The ice cream shop is expected to open in May and will draw off the foot traffic generated by the 15-screen theater complex. Erich and Cynthie Mosier of Grants Pass will run the shop and share ownership with her parents, Bruce and Jill Cunningham. "We can't wait to get in there," says Cynthie Mosier, who now owns a water-testing business. "It's such a pretty spot, and the theater is such a draw." Mosier says Cold Stone Creamery, which has more than 100 locations including stores in Hillsboro and Clackamas, features ice cream and frozen yogurt made daily. The company's unique feature is the way it fills orders. Customers pick toppings or flavorings and watch as they're mixed into ice cream or yogurt on a frozen slab of stone. Mosier says the center was first on her list of possible locations. "I like the traffic that the theater presents," she says. "More than that, I love the brick and the planters. I like the look and the feel of the Medford Center." Since it was remodeled more than two years ago, the center's aesthetic value hasn't been questioned. But the slow pace at which tenants have been chosen has perplexed observers. And the selection of a fitness club as the anchor did little to win over skeptics. "They don't add anything to the surrounding retailers that are there now," says Curt Burrill of Burrill Real Estate, which developed Crater Lake Plaza. "The presumption was that (center officials) were going to have a lot of retail in there." That was the hope of Emporium manager Ron Garrett, who says he wanted another big retailer to help draw customers to his store. "I'm trying to be optimistic about what the positives of 24 Hour Fitness coming are," he says. "24 Hour Fitness will bring a new customer here, one that may not have typically shopped the Medford Center." That's an attribute center officials have emphasized. "It brings more people into the center more often rather than the same people more often," says center manager Paul Farmer. "I think they'll work out and get an ice cream or get dinner if that's available," says Leever. Even if fitness club clients don't visit other stores in the same trip, they'll know what's there. And what's there will be more than empty storefronts. "I'm ecstatic to be getting some neighbors," says Garrett. "The bottom line is that it looks like they are getting closer to full occupancy. By the time October rolls around, we could have a great grand reopening of the Medford Center. I'm cautiously optimistic now that we will go into the holidays full." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA