For longtime Alexandria residents, waiting for Landmark Mall to be redeveloped has been a bit like waiting for Godot.
But there is hope that plans will be moving forward, according to Mayor Justin Wilson.
In a Facebook live chat with residents Thursday night, Wilson said there are few days that go by without some discussion about the mall’s fate.
Howard Hughes Corp. still owns most of the highly-valuable 51-acre site in Alexandria’s West End, including the long-closed Macy’s department store.
Seritage, a real estate holding company for Sears properties, owns that store and the land around it. Sears is in its final days of business at Landmark Mall, and Seritage is very interested in redeveloping the property.
So what’s the hold-up?
Howard Hughes Corp. went through a major corporate reorganization in the past 18 months and senior officials who were spearheading the Landmark Mall redevelopment are no longer with the company.
“It is true that Howard Hughes has not been able to proceed with development,” Wilson said Thursday. “They made an announcement several months ago that they were going to be selling some properties and keeping some properties, and actually Landmark was on neither list. … Essentially, Hughes is trying to figure out whether they will sell this property or pursue a joint venture to redevelop the site.”
Wilson is in ongoing discussions with Howard Hughes Corp. and “other entities” related to the future of the property. Announcements about development are expected in the coming weeks or months and Wilson said he is “as optimistic as [he] has ever been about redevelopment.”
“I believe we will have some good news soon,” he said.
Redevelopment talks started as early as 2006 for the mall. Since most mall stores closed, the property has been used as a movie set (for the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 movie) and as a temporary location for the Carpenter’s Shelter.
Currently, a fleet of Amazon trucks uses the parking lot and local car dealerships continue to store new cars in the mall's garage.
Maybe Alexandria's holiday present this winter will be a bulldozer.
