CEO Podcast: Erica Chappell, Simon Property Group | Briarwood Mall

Paul Krutko: Welcome to Ann Arbor SPARK’s CEO Podcast…Conversations on Economic Opportunity. My name is Paul Krutko, and I’m the President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.

Today, we welcome Erica Chappell, the General Manager of Briarwood Mall, who joined Simon Property Group in November 2023. With over 25 years of experience in retail leadership, Erica’s career includes notable roles with brands like Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, and Macy’s. Her expertise spans operations, consumer analysis, retail leasing, and shopping center development. She’s also actively involved in community service, having served on various boards, including the Indianapolis Symphony and the American Red Cross of Indianapolis. 

We’ll be exploring the Briarwood Mall redevelopment and the exciting changes it will bring to the Arbor South region.

Erica, thanks for joining us.

Erica Chappell: Thank you, Paul. Thank you for having me. I’m super excited to be here this morning.

Paul: Well, I got a chance to hear you a few months back about taking this role and the change you’re working to create at the Briarwood Mall, and so I thought, let’s have Erica on a podcast and let’s hear more about that. So that’s what we’re doing today. 

So Briarwood Mall has been a cornerstone of the Ann Arbor community since it opened in 1973. How has shopping habits evolved over the years, and particularly in relation to traditional malls like Briarwood, which trends are you seeing in consumer behavior today?

Erica: Well, Paul, one thing for sure is shopping is evolving, right? But what we do know is that shoppers are craving in-person connection, and they’re looking for more experiential shopping destinations where they can live, work, dine, and play. So again, the shopping may look a little bit different, but the goal is still the same. Folks want to be together, they want to shop together, they want to eat and dine with their families, they want to experience something a little bit more special.

Paul: So you are really involved at the moment with groundbreaking projects on a mixed use redevelopment at Briarwood, which includes a luxury apartment building, Harvest Market, retail space surrounding an outdoor plaza. How do you see this transformation enhancing Briarwoods’s role in the community, and what are some of the key benefits that this new development would bring to both longtime residents and new visitors?

Erica: Well, Briarwood Mall’s redevelopment will definitely further enhance the center’s position as the region’s premier experiential shopping destination and a gathering place for the community. The redevelopment paves the way for the continued evolution of Briarwood Mall. We’re going to bring more of the most respected names in retail and desirable dining and entertainment destinations to the Ann Arbor property. There’s really never been a more exciting time right now than to be at Briarwood Mall.

Paul: Are there any new exciting brands that you are thinking about bringing or are already thinking about coming?

Erica: Well, it’s funny that you should ask, Paul. There’s something that I really like to share —first time sharing it with the community today —is that JD Sports will be joining the roster of retail brands at Briarwood Mall and JD Sports Fashion is actually a British company. It’s a multinational sports fashion retail company, and folks that know JD Sports, they also love to shop the brand. So we’re excited to announce JD Sports coming soon.

Paul: As we talked before we started this conversation, you talked about how one of the things that’s important for people listening to that is it will take a little bit of time for the space, for a brand like JD Sports, to get into the space. So you want to talk a little bit about that from your perspective when people look at the mall and what’s happening next?

Erica: Sure. Well, if you’ve been to the mall, you have seen it’s pretty exciting right now. The new Harvest Market is going up, the residential unit is going up. It’s really exciting to see actual structures, and we can see it truly coming together. But it’s a process. It takes time. So the entire project will be completed in 2026, but to get us to that point, there’s going to be a lot of movement. I just announced JD Sports as a new brand. There’ll be many other new brands that I can’t announce that are coming as well. So the mall is in transition, but a great place to be right now. Again, we want to create a community space, a space that is more of a social place, a gathering hub, a destination for Ann Arbor.

Paul: Well, one of the exciting additions that I’ve heard you talk about that we want to share with the audience is the addition of Harvest Market. It has a focus on fresh, local and sustainable products. How do you see that impacting the surrounding community, and what unique benefits do you think it will bring to local residents and shoppers in terms of convenience and overall shopping experience?

Erica: Well, I see Harvest Market as being a great addition to our community. Harvest Market is an employee-owned business, and they focus on connecting consumers back to the land and the makers that actually create the great food for their families. Harvest Market, they actually build working relationships with area food producers for both the store and their restaurant, which they will have a restaurant at this location. The typical shopping pattern for a lot of grocery stores is whoever the primary shopper is in the household, they go there, they get the groceries, they go home. Well, the Harvest Market vision is that couples often come and they shop, or families entire groups come there together and they’ll often, in addition to having the shopping experience, they’ll be able to sit down and eat something or enjoy a Kona ice cream on the mezzanine. So it’s a full shopping experience. You can also get not only your natural and organics, but you can also get Oreos and Doritos there, too. So that also sets them apart in the market from anything we’ve seen before.

Paul: So folks listening might have encountered them. Where else do they have stores?

Erica: So they’re based in Illinois, and they actually have a location in Carmel, Indiana that just opened up. So if anyone is familiar, that’s a suburb of Indianapolis.

Paul: Okay. Okay. Very cool. Well then one of the things that I’m very excited about about the project in long thought, that addition at Briarwood would be really, really important based on some experiences I had when I was in San Jose and Silicon Valley with the Santana Row project out there, is the idea of bringing housing to the location. The redevelopment plan includes a new four story luxury apartment building with 370 units, which we desperately need in terms of the housing supply here in Ann Arbor. So what is the vision that you all have behind adding residential housing to Briarwood, and how do you think these new apartments will contribute to the area’s growth and appeal, especially for the young professional community that we have here?

Erica: So the vision by Simon Property group is to continue to build and create a space that is an extension of our community. And what better way to do that than by adding residential? Right? So by adding residential will definitely add to the area’s growth and appeal, because as we know, and as you mentioned, there’s a high need for housing and affordable housing in the area, and that can be challenging because the housing unit will have studios to three bedroom apartments. It’s going to appeal to a wide demographic. Anything from a college student or grad student all the way to a family who wants to have a more community-based lifestyle where they can have active engagement between Harvest Market or community green space. It’ll be very commonplace for anyone coming to the mall to see a family sitting in Harvest Market, having dinner, look out of the window and see college students or young professionals perhaps in the green space reading a book, taking their dog for a walk. The two will synonymously work very cohesively together. So it’s pretty exciting, but we think there’ll be something for everyone within the new development.

Paul: Well, I think that’s one of the interesting concepts that various companies that are in the development business and developers have recognized that the mixed use environment creates a vibrancy that is really kind of tangible because as you said, there are going to be people coming from around the region from nearby to utilize the new things that are going to be at Briarwood Mall, but what they’ll see is people who are living there, and it creates this feeling of community that is really, really important to make people comfortable, I think.

Erica: For sure it’s going to create such a unique synergy. I think it’ll feel very different than anything else within the market, as I said. Offering options to not only explore shopping, but then to stay and experience an outdoor green space as well as to enjoy all the brands and new retailers that will be coming to the complex as well. So it’s going to offer a variety of options for folks, and I think when you come, you will stay, you’ll play, you will shop, and you’ll make the enhanced new Briarwood a part of your daily life. Again, I said it before and I’ll keep saying it again in my other conversations with folks that we see this as an extension of the community, and that’s why it’s so important to have the food component. It’s so important to have the residential component, and I’ll share a little bit more with you as well.

As you mentioned, there’s going to be 370 residential units, a range, as I said, for everyone of upscale amenities in the apartments as well, including two open air courtyards, a private dog run, a pet spa, a fitness center, a golf simulator, a club room, a lounge and coworking spaces. So very appealing. You mentioned young professionals, young families, whether I’m a grandparent, I’m an empty nester and looking to have a two bedroom or whether I’m a college student, there’ll be a variety of options for everyone. 

And then on top of that, the sustainability piece, which I guess the eco-friendly piece that is so important to us is that the property will feature EV chargers, all electric appliances, and solar arrays on the roof, which will meet up to 100% of the electrical needs for the common areas, including the amenities, lobbies, hallways, and the parking garage. So we’re really proud to be bringing this development and enhancing Briarwood — it has been such a part of our community and our customers are so loyal that we know that this is something that will resonate with every age group and will only continue to build upon the long history of Briarwood Mall.

Paul: Well, that emphasis on sustainability is something that we know that this community is very concerned about and very much embraces and very appreciative that that’s an important part of the project as you move forward. 

Well, a few more questions before we close out. So we’re a college town with a really diverse demographic. You talked a lot about this already, but these new offerings at Briarwood seem to be positioning in the mall or the revamped experience, to cater both to students as well as long-term residents. Do I have that right?

Erica: You do. These new offerings are going to cater to all groups because no matter what the age, the idea of creating spaces where we can all come together. Briarwood is such a family-centric, student-centric environment. I think that it makes only sense that everyone have a space where they can have a plethora of options to enjoy. So it’ll be commonplace, as I said before, to see families, this crossover of families with college students, with young professionals, with business folks who are here working as well. It will all be just a nice compliment.

Paul: One of the things I really like about the concept, which is something that is somewhat lacking here in Ann Arbor, is the outdoor plaza and an outdoor plaza that is managed privately. We don’t have, even if you think about downtown Ann Arbor, there isn’t that kind of space. The university has things like the quad and so forth, but the way these kinds of spaces are best delivered to a community these days is where there is private involvement and management and programming of the outdoor plaza. So that’s something I’m really looking forward to as this finished product comes out, because my experience has been those can be very vibrant places that attract people just because they want to come to that place and enjoy it. So I’m really excited about that. 

So closing out, everybody has challenges with these kinds of projects, and I wonder if there are any challenges you’ve encountered already in the redevelopment process and how have you worked to overcome them?

Erica: Paul, can I just add one thing? Because before I answer that, if it’s okay with you, because again, one of my favorite parts about this development, all of it’s exciting, but one of my favorite parts of the development is the green space. It’s a 45,000 square foot green space just to share a little bit more. We’ll think of it as a place for, again, our community to come together, not just a place to shop. So there’ll be outdoor movies or outdoor family movie night, outdoor concerts. If you envision it, there’ll be fire pits, Adirondack chairs, places for folks to sit, a small play area for children, a doggy run outside. So it will really be a social hub, if you will, and we hope that our community will enjoy it, they will use it. We really envision it as a connector. That green space is a connector, everything else that is happening. So thank you for highlighting that because definitely one of my favorite parts of the development project. So thank you for that.

Paul: It’s going to be a great asset for the community. So I did give you the opportunity to talk about many challenges that you’ve had so far and how you’ve worked to overcome them. So is there anything you’d like to share?

Erica: You know what, there’s nothing that is significant that I can report. I’m glad to say, that’s not a part of normal construction projects. We are on track. We’re tracking, as I said, for Harvest Market to open in Q1 of ‘26. We’re tracking for the residential to open in late summer of ‘26. So we’re going to spend our time this year in 2025 really getting everything done and getting prepared because we will have a grand opening, unveiling, if you will, of everything. But 2025 is our year. You’ll start to see everything start to really come together. And then 2026, we will fully be able to present this completed project to the Ann Arbor community.

Paul: Well, I would imagine, and I think to your credit, one of the challenges is —I’m channeling some former presidential candidate —but you’re working on the car while you’re driving it, right? So when we wrote these questions, we anticipated that, but is there another aspect of the project that is making you like, geez, when it opens in ‘26, this is something I’m going to be particularly excited about?

Erica: I’m biased, Paul. All of it excites me because it’s new and this idea of a mixed use retail residential unit, this is something that it is still new in terms of the Midwest development. So I’m looking forward, in particular, to everyone coming and experiencing, because I can share pictures, I can interview, go talk with you, but I think that I really am excited for folks to see it, When I see the look on their faces when folks drive in now and I see them looking at the buildings and I can feel their excitement, that will be the best part for me.

Paul: Yeah. I guess in the kind of career that you’ve had, one of the things that may be exciting is the chance to help transform a property like this. And this had a long history, as we talked about at the beginning with this community. I know people share with you all the time, oh, I grew up going there. I take my children there, now I’m taking my grandchildren there. All of those kinds of memories, and the chance to work on a project like this, to transform it for the next generations and for the people who came there as a child, I think is a really exciting opportunity. So I really am envious of you in the sense that you get to do that. I’ve had that experience elsewhere in the country, so I know when you have a project that you’re really responsible for, it’s really a fun job. That’s what I would say. So good for you. 

Thanks for joining us today and sharing everything that’s coming on, and we’ll definitely, I think in the next 12 months or so, bring you back and we can get an update, and maybe you’re going to share more of these exciting brands that are now, they’re excited about coming to Briarwood and to Ann Arbor.

Erica: Well, thank you, Paul. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity because again, we are here for the community. We are here to enhance and provide the best shopping experience that we can. So everything that we do is for our customers.
Paul: And I want to thank our audience for listening and learning more about those leaders and organizations working hard to create the Ann Arbor Region’s economic future. These conversations are brought to you by Ann Arbor SPARK. For more information about Ann Arbor SPARK, you can find us on the web@annarborusa.org. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.