In response to the changes wrought in part by the coronavirus, the parent company of the New River Valley Mall has rebranded it as Uptown Christiansburg.
RockStep Capital, the parent company of the New River Valley Mall, has rebranded the facility as Uptown Christiansburg.
According to a statement from company CEO Andy Weiner, the rebranding will take until the end of 2020 to complete and was necessitated in part by the retail realignment wrought by the coronavirus and the “ever-growing transformation of the retail and restaurant sectors in general.”
All of the company’s current malls are being rebranded with the Uptown name. These are Uptown Willmar, Uptown Hot Springs, Uptown Virginia, Uptown Meridian, Uptown Jamesville, Uptown Aberdeen, Uptown McComb, Uptown Hutch, Uptown Vicksburg, Uptown Scottsbluff and Uptown Christiansburg.
Since 1997, the company has built or acquired more than 8 million square feet of shopping centers in 11 states.
The changes in the names were also the result of the company’s belief that “the word ‘mall’ no longer reflectors what is happening at [its] properties.” According to the company statement, “The transformation of malls into a combination of non-traditional uses along with more traditional retail and restaurant uses has accelerated due to COVID. The non-traditional uses for malls include educational (universities and community colleges), entertainment, fitness, hospitality, medical office, government office, corporate office and back office, multi-family and other non-traditional uses.”
Weiner said RockStep Capital “has been transforming these mall assets to be epicenters of the community since their acquisition. . . . Uptown helps to evoke the spirit of these properties, and we believe continues the positive momentum that has allowed for a powerful revitalization occurring in small communities. . . . We feel the time is right to make a change.”
The company CEO said in his statement, RockStep “believes in small-town values . . . and in improving the communities in which we have an investment. RockStep’s mission is to make smaller communities better by bringing capital and expertise to assets that are vital to the community.”
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