The Landmark Mall in Alexandria has long been in a slow state of decline. Of three floors composing the shopping center, only about twenty retailers are still in business. The mall is full of shuttered stores, and the food court has been abandoned and blocked off from the public. The Landmark Mall has fallen a long way from its glory days in the 1960s, when it opened as the first mall in the D.C. metro area to feature three anchor stores. Now one of those anchors, a Macy’s, is in the process of going out of business. The second anchor, which was a Lord & Taylor in its last incarnation, closed in 2009. And the fate of the third anchor, a Sears which was not on the list of Kmart/Sears stores due to close nationwide, hangs in the balance. The rest of the mall’s few remaining tenants have been served papers saying that they need to vacate by January 31st.
The Howard Hughes Corporation has owned Landmark Mall for several years, and during that time has been attempting to make plans to redevelop the land into something more sightly and productive. In fact, closing the mall and transforming the real estate was the entire goal in mind when the company bought the mall. The Alexandria City Council initially approved Landmark’s redevelopment plan in 2013, and amended it in 2015. Back then, the problem with any redevelopment had to do with ownership. While Howard Hughes owned the mall, Macy’s and Sears each owned their own properties. Now, with Macy’s going out of business, efforts can commence in earnest. It is possible that Sears will be converted into a freestanding store.
The plan for Landmark involves tearing down the mall and transforming the land, prime real estate in Alexandria’s West End, into “a vibrant destination attracting area residents and visitors.” The new site would be a mixed-use development combining retail, restaurants, and over 400 residential units.
The Alexandria Times quoted Mark Bulmash, Howard Hughes’ senior vice president of development, as saying that the goal was to create “a new urban hub” on the West End. Acquiring the Macy’s building would go a long way towards that goal, he enthused.
As of right now, Howard Hughes does not have a concrete timeline in place for when redevelopment will take place. In the meantime, the mall’s few remaining tenants have been seen with “going out of business” signs in their windows.
