Future Looks Bright at Marco Town Center

Marco Town Center ownership could hardly be happier with the company’s decision to purchase the outdoor mall roughly four years ago. 

“It's one of the centers I'm most proud of in our Florida portfolio of 50 shopping centers,” said Chris Ralph, Vice President of leasing for Brixmor Property Group, which owns and operates more than 400 open-air shopping centers nationwide. “It really came out nice, and it's relevant to the community. I think people are really enjoying the property.”

After assuming ownership, New York City based Brixmor invested $11.5 million in a more than two-year-long revitalization project at the roughly 34-year-old plaza. Aside from modernizing facades and other exterior features, the work included landscaping improvements, updated signage, improved lighting, a reconfigured parking lot with landscaped islands and shade trees, creating outdoor patios and gathering places, public art installations and more. 

Along with the physical improvements, the company has also dramatically updated the tenant roster while retaining time-tested occupants, such as Beachworks, Sandpiper Clothiers, Blue Mangrove, Crazy Flamingo and the Publix Super Market. 

“We really believe we've made it relevant to the community, and the community has embraced it,” added Ralph, who’s based at Brixmor’s Orlando office. “We see the tenant sales and we see the activity there. We're very happy with the outcome and how it's performing.”

One metric for gauging the commercial and public response to the changes is the occupancy rate, which stood at 99 percent in early December, with just one of Marco Town Center’s approximately 70 storefronts remaining available to lease. 

“Since we started the project in November of 2019, we've signed a total of 23 new leases,” said Ralph. “We’ve been able to add quite a bit of what we call ‘soft goods,’ the newest one being Southern Tide, which is a beach-themed apparel store that just opened. We've added quite a few restaurants and quite a few apparel stores to balance it out and to make the center a desirable location for locals and visitors. You can come there, you can do your daily needs shopping at Publix, or you can visit some of our apparel tenants that have joined us.”

Those new leases include businesses that are new to this market, such as Kava Culture, Thai Thai Sushi Sports Bar, coton frais women’s clothing and Southern Tide, another clothing shop. Some established businesses have moved there from elsewhere on the island, such as Marco Island Technology and the long-time Marco favorite, Cocomo’s Grill. 

Some tenants have yet to open their doors, one being Mystic Lobster Roll Co., which will be located next door to Marco Island Technology. The seafood specialist offers take-out and delivery and has locations in Naples, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale. Domino’s Pizza will also be opening a location in the town center, next to Jackie’s Chinese Restaurant. 

Ralph said Mystic Lobster Roll should open in six months, while the Domino’s will probably take nine months because it’s not as far along in the permitting process. 

The much-anticipated grand opening of Paddy Murphy's Irish Pub should occur during the first quarter of 2024. Formerly located in downtown Naples, the restaurant and bar is owned by Marco Islanders Michael O’Regan, his son Mike, and Johnny “Spoons” McNaboe. Paddy Murphy’s will occupy a portion of the space that was home to the now-closed Vandy’s 5 Brothers Sports Bar. 

“We're really excited about that one because it's got local character and it'll be its own draw,” said Ralph. “Because of the unique nature of it being Paddy Murphy's, it's got name recognition in the market. So it's just another thing that we're adding that we're that’s made Marco Town Center such an attractive location. When we see these destination businesses wanting to be with us, we know we've done a good job.”

Marco Town Center is located at 1017 N. Collier Boulevard, at the intersection with Bald Eagle Drive.