Here's the latest on Penn Square Mall:

1. As most of you know, Coach and Apple will be sharing the old Lane Bryant space on upscale row. LB has now moved to their temporary facility near JC Penney. They will be locating on the Foleys wing, upper level!

2. Elephant Bar signed a lease for the old Wards Automotive space on the southeast outparcel. They will be starting construction later this year. If you haven't checked out this chain, check out their website.....you'll be impressed. I've been to the one in Dallas, and I'd say it's an African version of Rainforest Cafe. Very impressed. http://www.elephantbar.com/

3. Management is taking with Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano's for the parcels over off Penn by UMB Bank. If this happened, they wouldn't open until 2007 or 2008.

4. Penn Square Mall requires remodels every 5-7 years. So over the next few years, you'll be seeing remodels of some of the older stores. Kirklands was recently remodeled. The Body Shop is currently reing remodeled. Eddie Bauer will be next.

5. At the mall, sales are up 9% so far this year! Penn Square stillleads the state as the highest profit-making mall, and has sales per square foot way higher than the national average. This is the reason we keep getting upscale stores there.