With Macy's closing, what's next for Tampa's WestShore Plaza mall?
Earlier this month, Macy's announced it was shuttering its outpost in the mall along with 65 other locations nationwide. WestShore Plaza said farewell to another major tenant in October when Dick's Sporting Goods moved up the road to the rival mall International Plaza.
Losing an anchor store is ordinarily a death knell for a mall. But Westshore Plaza was already slated for a reincarnation of sorts.
In April, Tampa City Council rezoned the 53-acre site to make way for a major redevelopment proposed by WestShore Plaza's Ohio-based owner, WPG. The plan calls for hundreds of residential units, a hotel, offices, shops, restaurants, recreational space, medical facilities and more.
Though e-commerce has put a dent in brick-and-mortar sales, people are still shopping in person, they're just seeking a different experience said Justin Greider, vice president and Florida retail lead for the commercial real estate firm JLL.
As more traditional enclosed malls shut down, mixed-use developments that give visitors the chance to 'live, work and play' all in the same space are popping up . It's a slow evolution seen across Tampa Bay in recent years. At Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, the former big-box center has experimented by adding its own Dick's Sporting Goods and a grocery store.
In Tampa, wildly popular shopping centers like Midtown and Hyde Park Village prove the success of this more community-centric model.
When it opened more than half a century ago, WestShore Plaza was the only fully indoor, air conditioned mall in town. It was so popular, another wing had to be added in the 1970s. But as more options emerged, WestShore struggled to compete.
When International Plaza opened in 2001, it didn't take long for it to overtake WestShore as the city's premier premier shopping destination. Over the years, International Plaza drew luxury brands away from WestShore and Hyde Park. And today, the culture of in-person shopping has dampened the need for more than one major mall.
A case study from the National Association of Realtors analyzed 94 vacant malls and found that 16% were being repurposed as mixed-use developments.
WPG has yet to secure financing for the WestShore Plaza redevelopment and no demolition permit has been filed. The company declined to comment for this story.
It can often take months or years for work to begin even after approvals are won, Greider said. Plus, WPG is facing a 'challenging lending market,' where even the smallest details could make or break a financing deal.
It may take time to find the right buyer if WPG decides to sell instead of developing themselves. 'Buyers are pickier than they've ever been before, there are fewer than there's ever been before and there are a lot more opportunities for them to consider,' Greider said.
If sales at WestShore Plaza continue to decline, there's a chance the mall could shut down before there is a path forward for redevelopment.
Despite the obstacles, Greider said WestShore Plaza is better poised for a transformation than a typical suburban mall, which tend to be located far from high-growth areas on massive pieces of land that are harder to market.
'West Shore as a place to live and even a place to shop is very much on the rise and in demand,' he said. 'There's going to be something fantastic in this location, I just can't tell you when.'
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