Purchase of West Ridge Mall Hopes to Infuse New Life

With the popularity of online shopping, malls across the country are dying a slow, drawn-out death. Owners of Topeka's Advisors Excel, Cody Foster, and David Callanan's recent purchase of West Ridge Mall hopes to breathe new life by creating a unique mixed-use space incorporating retail spaces and corporate offices.

Malls across America are being reimagined in new ways to meet the changing needs of consumers. Foster and Callanan's potential plan is to use a portion of the current mall's footprint to create corporate office space that will serve as Advisors Excel headquarters, with the remainder devoted to retail.

"This is a great opportunity for us to, first and foremost, create a space for our team that will help us better serve our financial advisors and, second, improve a retail and entertainment space in our community that will benefit everyone, from tenants to shoppers," said Foster. "We think West Ridge Mall can once again become a shopping, dining, and entertainment destination."

Immediate plans for the mall include evaluating what repairs and improvements need to be made and developing a plan to implement based on priority. They are also working to retain all current mall employees and management for a seamless transition. Once the initial ownership transition has occurred, plans to aggressively secure new tenants for the available open storefronts will move forward.

"This development couldn't be better news for Topeka, and it hits at the right time," said Topeka Partnership CEO Matt Pivarnik. "Westridge Mall is a critical community asset to a major retail corridor and our capital city region. Having local ownership is comforting as we know the property is in good hands and with visionary leadership. Once again, Advisors Excel's founders, David Callanan and Cody Foster, step up and continue to move our community forward. The Greater Topeka Partnership and GO Topeka team are anxious to roll up our sleeves to partner on this endeavor."

Advisors Excel's vision is to build a 100-year thriving and sustainable company capable of creating a life-changing impact on our advisors, team members, and communities for the next 100 years and more.