It was a good run while it lasted

Nike has just done it.

After almost 12 years as an anchor tenant at the Triangle Square

shopping complex, Niketown is packing the Air Zooms and, as fast as

you can say Air Jordan, is -- like Nike’s ubiquitous logo --

swooshing out of its Triangle Square lease and shutting down.

No more athlete autograph signings. No more of Nike’s unique

branding on the Niketown facade, near 19th Street and Newport

Boulevard. By the end of the month, Nike officials announced Tuesday,

Niketown -- part MTV, part sports museum and hub to sell Nike stuff

-- is out of town.

Like it or not, the 29,000-square-foot store -- one of Nike’s

earliest in the chain -- was a Triangle Square flagship. At the very

least, it helped define the shopping hub, which includes The Gap and

Virgin Megastore.

We lament this hit to local business and Triangle Square. But Nike

wants out of its lease, and we can’t altogether blame the company. A

Nike spokeswoman said Niketown’s contract with center manager Charles

Dunn Real Estate Services allows the store to leave if Triangle

Square occupancy stays below 70% for 18 consecutive months. A

Triangle Square spokeswoman said occupancy is more like 75%. Either

way, it’s not the 100%-occupancy goal by June of 2004 envisioned in

2003 when Triangle Square Investment LLC launched a pricey leasing

program to attract tenants to the 191,000-square-foot center, built

in 1992.

When Nike leaves, Triangle Square needs to quickly find another

popular tenant. But even that might not be enough for success. In

recent years, a Whole Foods and North Face have abandoned the center,

while its administration has weathered several management and

marketing changes. It was enough in 2003 for Yard House founder

Steele Platt to grumble, “We’re used to [the managers changing] ...

[The owners] can’t make their minds up.”

Customers say the mall’s parking and entry/exit points are

severely flawed. The point is, it’s not all about the shoes, or a big

retail name.

We’re pulling for Triangle Square. City leaders and mall officials

should work to fulfill the square’s promise, or watch its potential

fizzle in the Nike air.