Andrews Jewelers, a long-time tenant at the Westland Mall, is resigning a lease with the shopping mall in southwest Columbus.

And if the mall's new owners deliver on promises to convert Westland from a regional mall into a collection of stores for budget shoppers, Andrews executives say they will remodel their jewelry store, too.

"The upside potential is so great. ... I went back to my people and said, this is a very good thing that's going on. It's a good project," said Leonard Schneider, the Rockwall, Texas-based leasing agent for Andrews Jewelers.

Recommitment is a new twist for Westland. The 34-year-old retail center at West Broad Street and Georgesville Road began losing tenants when newer malls, such as Columbus City Center and the Mall at Tuttle Crossing, began luring away shoppers during the 1990s.

Like Eastland Mall and the former Northland Mall, the 861,000-square-foot Westland was developed and once managed by the Richard E. Jacobs Group of Cleveland. Jacobs may have delivered Columbus some of its first shopping malls, but the company has been roundly criticized for failing to reinvest in the properties, which fell on harder times as newer, flashier competition emerged.

Excluding anchor merchants Sears and Lazarus, Westland is 59 percent occupied. Healthy malls strive for occupancy percentages in the mid-90s.

Westland Mall was acquired from Cigna Investments last November by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based real estate investor Jack Kashani and business partner Sammy Kahen. The two paid $5.5 million for the land and buildings, significantly below the county's $20 million assessment of the property.

Kashani and Kahen then hired commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis to find a mix of value-priced retailers so they could shift the mall and its outparcels away from its past.

Schneider thinks Kashani's plan for Westland Mall will appeal to the neighborhood's budget-conscious consumers and put it in a class apart from any of its high-end rivals, such as Polaris Fashion Place or Easton Town Center.

"You need to give (Kashani) a chance to do what he says they're going to do," Schneider said.

Brenda Newman, a CB Richard Ellis senior associate, said Kashani's plan is to find tenants that would appeal to Westland Mall's primary customer base.

More than 211,000 residents live within five miles of Westland Mall. The average household income within that area is $58,732.

But compare those demographics with those residing around the Mall at Tuttle Crossing, and its apparent why Kashani is pushing for merchants that sell more for less. Retail sources estimate 325,000 people live within eight miles of Tuttle and their households boast an average income of $87,000 a year.

Search for stores

But right off the bat, CB Richard Ellis was challenged. Leases for 13 stores in the mall stores and on outparcels were set to expire last Dec. 31. In the end, five opted to leave: Skyline Chili, Sam Goody, Payless Shoes, Things Remembered and KB Toys.

Those renewing leases or expected to resign them are Andrews Jewelers, Diamonds Forever, Finish Line, Footlocker, Huntington National Bank, Mark Pi's and Rave.

Newman said interest in Westland has been brisk since the new owners took control last November.

"We have six prospects for the former Skyline Chili building," she said, "We're also talking to three national retailers that fall into that price-point (for budget-watching) shoppers, including one that is not yet in Columbus."

The real estate company also has three prospects to refill abandoned theater space near the mall.

CB Richard Ellis has recommended Kashani not pour his money into major structural renovations so he can provide tenants favorable leases.

"They're going to need dollars for these specific deals coming in," Newman said.

Schneider said Kashani called him to get acquainted with Westland's new plan.

"I told him he needs to spend money, and he assured us that he knows that," Schneider said. "He plans to do some creative leasing (giving retailers) a deal on the first year or so. He needs to do that to build up (retailers') confidence.

Kashani's background

Kashani, a commercial and residential real estate investor for the past 20 years, referred all questions about Westland to the mall's general manager and CB Richard Ellis.

In addition to Westland Mall, Kashani owns Toledo's North Towne Square and an empty nearby department store building that once housed an Elder-Beerman. Sources say he's looking to acquire other retail properties in Ohio.

In Las Vegas, Kashani and another business partner, Shawn Samson, are developing a 10-story, 1.3 million square-foot building to house a furniture market, similar to one that houses furniture retailers in High Point, N.C. Kashani and Samson hope to break ground on the Nevada project this year.

Westland General Manager Robert Turrin said Kashani invests in distressed properties.

"He looks at centers that have issues in some way," Turrin said. "On one side, they're (Kashani and Kahen) willing to roll the dice and take their chance.

"But (Westland Mall) has a good chance of succeeding if we market to the right tenant," he said.

Schneider of Andrews Jewelers thinks Kashani's interest will pay off.

"This is a captured market," he said. "If (Andrews) can do business at Westland and (other jewelry stores) can do business at Westland, that means there are people who want to shop in that center. ... (Westland shoppers) probably don't have the flash that Polaris shoppers have, but they're the meat and potatoes of Columbus."

Retail strategist Lee Peterson, executive director of WD Partners' retail design group in Columbus, likes the plan.

"Strategically, it's a great move," he said. "As with anything, though, the devil will be in the details. In this case, that's how they opt to address Wal-Mart, which is just an interstate exit away."

Peterson points to Costco Wholesale Corp. as an example of a retailer that uses a strategy similar to the one being deployed at Westland.

"Costco (says) Wal-Mart is concerned only with price," he said. "What they leave out is quality at a price. That's a pretty good strategy, too. Target is in the same scenario. It's about price, but it's brand at a price.

"What (the new Westland Mall owners) decide will make this thing or break it," Peterson said. "But from where they were and what they now have, this is a damn good idea."