Landmark Mall Redevelopment Still Under Consideration

Discussions about redeveloping Landmark Mall and the surrounding area are progressing, officials with the City of Alexandria and Howard Hughes Corp. both said this week.

However, neither side is releasing any details or a timeline.

"The city and the owners of the in-line stores at Landmark Mall have held ongoing, regular discussions for the last six months about redevelopment of Landmark Mall, in particular focused on what the Phase I development plans might be,” said Mark Jinks, deputy city manager. “The city is encouraged and hope that those discussions come to fruition in the coming months ahead."

Caryn Kboudi, vice president of marketing for Howard Hughes Corp., told Patch this week, “We are certainly exploring options but don’t have anything specific to share at this time.”

Landmark Mall was built in 1965 and last renovated in 1990. The mall has 900,000 square feet of retail space, but many storefronts remain empty.

In 2011, Howard Hughes officials told Patch they were still marketing and leasing the property to serve customers’ needs. Some alternative uses for mall storefronts are already in place, including a Landmark Mall satellite campus for T.C. Williams High School.

Sears and Macy’s, the anchor stores, both own their own building space at Landmark Mall and will be part of any redevelopment discussions.

The City of Alexandria approved major redevelopment of the Landmark area in 2009—some version of it could still become a reality that would generate significant tax revenue. The 2009 plan called for redevelopment of 13.5 million square feet of land, including the mall property and surrounding areas.

“The plan envisions the redevelopment of Landmark Mall and the major parcels to the south as a lively, mixed-use town center for Alexandria's West End,” according to the city’s 2009 Landmark/Van Dorn Planning webpage. “Incorporating retail, residential, office and hotel development and a number of urban parks and plazas, the town center would be organized in a walkable grid of urban blocks. A new bridge over Duke Street is proposed to connect Landmark Mall to the rest of the town center and to other neighborhoods to the south.”

Now, just a few miles south, the Springfield Mall redevelopment project is well underway.

All the stores at Springfield Mall except the anchor stores—Target, JCPenney and Macy’s—closed in 2012. Demolition on other parts of the mall were underway by November and construction is continuing on pace.

The renovation of Springfield Mall is Phase I of a four-part plan to transform the 80-acre site into Springfield Town Center, according to Fairfax County's Office of Revitalization and Reinvestment. 

Phase II will include retail buildings outside the mall itself, the third phase will include hotels and office space, and the final phase will include apartments and condos.

Springfield Mall is set to re-open in mid-2014 with 150 new stores, a movie theater and other amenities. The other phases will come to fruition over the next 10 to 20 years. 

For more on Landmark and Springfield Malls, see:

Springfield Town Center Construction Continues (February 2013)

Demolotion of Springfield Mall Underway (November 2012)

Landmark Mall Redevelopment Still a Long Ways Off (July 2011)

Springfield Mall to Close All But Anchor Stores (March 2012)