Originally Posted by
SoonerDave
THe story I was told was that Sears and Macerich were in works to make such a deal, but the bankruptcy of the Wards chain (who, apparently owned rather than leased the space, or if they leased it, the lease became entangled in the bankruptcy proceedings) legally blocked any disposition of the Wards space for something on the order of a year. By the time the legal issues were resolved, Sears had lost interest.
I've asked a few folks at Sears every once in a while about their future plans, any moves or closures ahead, and they tell me there aren't...but that store, to me, is in a shambles.
The mall won't close immediately, because there are too many "interior" (non-anchor) tenants, and those leases will expire at different times. The glow-in-the-dark miniature golf couse on the first floor was literally going out of business while we were there - beng dismantled. I figure that they lost the summer kid crowd to school, so they were done.
Some are determined to make a go of it out there, because the Sbarro's reopened as a generic pizza place. We were there this last weekend to take advantage of the Dillard's third-floor sale, and unfortunately the "deals" aren't as good as we'd hoped. Yes, some things are 20% off, but the problem is some of the items are higher than you'd find them at other places to begin with. They're also getting rid of the furniture; only a few assorted items remain. Saleslady told me that as soon as the merchandise is gone, the third floor will be closed off.
BTW, the place felt as safe as ever. I think I got a little caught up in some of the gangbanger hysteria that tends to go on here; we were there Sunday afternoon, the mall was surprisingly busy. That said, the west end first-floor of the mall is all-but vacant now...that's a little bit spooky, and I wouldn't opt to hang around there in the later evening. It is very sad to look at space after space and see nothing but empty after empty.....
Re: End of Crossroads Mall near?
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks