April 5, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - A Wasilla church is working to bring its burgeoning house of worship into one of the hottest commercial districts in the Mat-Su, known as the "million-dollar mile." Crossroads Community Church is trying to finalize a deal by this summer to purchase Cottonwood Creek Mall, across the street from Fred Meyer, where it plans to hold massive Sunday services while running the rest of the mall as a retail hot-spot.

The purchase is not yet complete but the church has already put earnest money down and is moving fast to close the deal.

While church leaders are excited about the prospects of weaving religion into a prime business area, the idea has so far received mixed reviews from mall vendors. Many have a wait-and-see attitude.

"We don't know what it will be like; that's the big question," said Steve Hickok, who co-owns Alaska Charm with his wife, Terri Hickok. "I can't prejudge. We're just going to have to wait and see what happens."

Sam Richardson, owner of Sammy's Pizza, said he has no problem with a church owning the mall.

"It will be nice to have local owners in the mall," he said. "I just hope it starts bringing people back into the mall."

Over the past weekend, March 31-April 3, Crossroads leased a section of the mall, to hold a four-day evangelistic conference. The parking lot outside the former Safeway grocery store teemed with activity Thursday through Sunday, with thousands of people attending the conference.

If those weekend numbers were any indication of the kind of foot-traffic a large church might generate, mall stores should be busy if the church takes over.

During the seminar, several stores offered 10-percent discounts to encourage conference-goers to spend money during their breaks.

"As far as helping the mall retail-wise, on the weekends we'll bring 1,000 to 1,200 people in right away on Sundays," church administrator Scott Wick said.

Wick has been instrumental in the church's effort to purchase the mall. With a growing membership and no real church building, Crossroads first looked into purchasing the mall four years ago. At that time, the owners - a group of more than 30 investors called Cottonwood Creek LLC - were asking $18 to $19 million, which was much more than the church could afford.

During that time, Safeway was still under contract and renting a large space from the mall despite the fact that it moved out in 1999. In December 2004, Wick noticed the Safeway lease had expired. That's when church leadership decided to again check with the investment team to see if it was interested in selling.

"We offered them their bottom price," Wick said. "We're under contract now, so it's really up to us at this point to perform on the money side by June 15th."

Wick wouldn't say exactly what the church is paying for the mall, but Mat-Su Borough Assessor Allen Black said the 250,000-square-foot property is valued at $14.8 million and includes the land on which Taco Bell and Wells Fargo Bank are located.

Currently, 21 businesses operate within the mall. If the finances work out, the church will soon join them. The church's 1,200 worshipers now meet Sundays in the Teeland Middle School gymnasium.

Pam Ockerlander, manager of Waldenbooks, is a little leery about the prospect of renting from a church. Ever since the mall first opened, in 1984, Waldenbooks has been there. Ockerlander, who's managed the store for 19 years said she hopes to stay but worries about what a business relationship with a church might look like.

"We're a bookstore and we sell lots of different things that the church might not approve of," Ockerlander said. "What happens when our lease expires? I would hate to see us close because we lost our spot in the mall."

Wick said the church wants to keep the mall as a mainstream commercial building and has no plans to fill the mall with primarily Christian stores. The church wants to see at least one more anchor store - such as Barnes & Noble, Best Buy or The Sports Authority - to help increase foot traffic.

"We're excited about being shoulder to shoulder with the community," Wick said. "Obviously with the church, we probably don't want a liquor store, but if there's a restaurant that wants to come into a back pad and serve liquor, I don't think we would have a problem with that."

Wick said the church would pay property tax on the mall just as anyone else would, with the exception of about 15 to 20 percent of the property, which would be dedicated church property and tax exempt. According to Wick, the former Payless Rite Aid location is their preferred spot for a church.

If the church does take over the mall, Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller said it is perfectly within its rights.

"Any church can locate in that zone," she said, adding, "I think a well-rounded community offers a diversity of business and church settings."

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.