The Oviedo Mall has been under new management since November 2010. As mall general manager, Brian Olivi is resurrecting and course-correcting a once failing mall. He recently celebrated one-year on the job. From Olivi, we learn how he and the mall are doing, and we seek confirmation from other knowledgeable mall sources. While the long term success of his work remains uncertain, this feature will address his short term work – and that of his bosses, owners and merchants – finding that it has been focused and deliberate. Length: 29:48

Olivi speaks about what he has accomplished and puts numbers to the results of his first year of work. He tells of his positive and negative experiences in his first year, and what he anticipates a mall shopper can expect from the mall in the future. He describes the prospects for acquiring new big and small tenants and whether or not he met the mall expansion goals he stated in our February 2011 podcast.

You’ll hear in this feature that Brian Olivi’s work in his first year on the job has put the mall on a path of hopeful resurgence while giving mall merchants, the community, and anyone who takes the time to look closely a sense of hope founded on his initial success and sense of stability.

Some local mall watchers wonder if Olivi’s initial success will have been the easy part for him, because, they say, Olivi and his mall had no where to go but up. Staying the course may prove to be more difficult to sustain particularly given the not yet recovered economy and the skittishness of shopping center developers, at least on a national level, to fund expansion and enhancements for malls who’s future is still uncertain.

The Oviedo Mall and its merchants rank among the largest source of property tax revenue for the City of Oviedo. Some believe the mall’s success or lack of it may be a barometer for the success of the city and its residents noting that that as the mall goes, so goes the hopes of the community. Reason enough to take another look.

Principal Participants

	Brian Olivi General manager, Oviedo Mall web | bio		Nischant Bajaria Owner, Precious Fine Jewelers web
	Prudence Manalov Owner, Glass Slipper Cakery web		Jesse Tron Senior media relations specialist and spokesperson, International Council of Shopping Centers web

CMF Public Media podcasts featuring Oviedo Mall related issues

• Oviedo Marketplace: A Gem in the Weeds (02/14/2011)
• 2010 State of the City Addresses (02/02/2011)
• Commentary: Gil Bankston - on his plans for the mall (07/29/2010)
• Oviedo Marketplace – Here to Stay (03/25/2010)
• State of the City Address – Follow-up: Mayor Andrews (02/11/2010)
• 2009 State of the City Addresses (01/27/2010)

Pictures

Extended Interviews

	Brian Olivi, general manager, Oviedo Mall with Stephen McKenney Steck Length – 01:33:49
	Nischant Bajaria with Stephen McKenney Steck Length – 30:11
	Prudence Manalov with Stephen McKenney Steck Length – 10:39
	Jesse Tron with Stephen McKenney Steck Length – 16:40