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5 Mall Sites Planning Major Mixed-Use Redevelopments
URW Will Buy Remaining Stake in Westfield UTC for $705M
Greenberg Gibbons Fund Targets $300M for East Coast Essential Services Retail Acquisitions
Black Rock Coffee Aims for 810 More Stores, Meta Heads to Best Buy and Ulta Beauty Plans Experiential Flagship in Times Square
5 Mall Sites Set for Major Mixed-Use Redevelopments
Here are several intriguing mall redevelopments plowing ahead around the country right now, including two arena-anchored districts in Dallas-Fort Worth and a $1.2 billion “mini city” in Maryland.
Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars Pursue Arena-Anchored Mall Redevelopments
The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars, both of which currently play at the city’s American Airlines Center, plan new home arenas that will anchor mixed-use developments.
The Mavericks have options to buy 104 acres at the former Valley View Mall, which closed in 2015, according to D magazine, and was mostly demolished by 2019. The Mavericks’ new $1 billion arena would anchor an entertainment district that could include a hotel, restaurants, retail and green space, WFAA reported.
The Stars’ new arena is part of a proposed sports and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, a Dallas suburb. On Monday, the Plano City Council approved a ballot measure that would provide $700 million in public funding for the arena, Fox 4 reported. The Stars have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to develop the arena-anchored district in partnership with Cawley Partners, Centennial and Levin Holdings. Much of The Shops at Willow Bend will be demolished to make way for a $2 billion retail, restaurant and entertainment district called The Bend, according to the Dallas Business Journal. The mixed-use project will move forward regardless of the Stars’ proposed arena, Cawley Partners founder and CEO Bill Cawley told The Dallas Business Journal.
MORE FROM C+CT: Where Fans, Food and Foot Traffic Meet: Stadium Districts’ Retail Appeal
The Dallas Stars’ proposed $1 billion arena would anchor a $2 billion retail, restaurant and entertainment district. Rendering courtesy of the city of Plano, Texas
$2B Mixed-Use Project Will Replace Shuttered St. Louis-Area Mall
The former Chesterfield Mall site in suburban St. Louis is transforming into the $2 billion 4.5 million-square-foot Downtown Chesterfield with apartments, condos, senior housing, retail, restaurants and hospitality. The Staenberg Group owns the 96-acre property, the St. Louis Business Journal reported. Demolition of the mall was completed in 2025, and vertical construction is set to start next year.
A 4.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development will rise at the former Chesterfield Mall in suburban St. Louis. Rendering courtesy of The Staenberg Group
Lionheart Capital Plans $1.2B Lakeside City Center in Michigan
Lionheart Capital could start demolition of Sterling Heights, Michigan’s shuttered Lakeside Mall this year to make way for the $1.2 billion Lakeside City Center. ABC 7 reported that the more than 1.5 million-square-foot suburban Detroit mall closed in 2024. The 110-acre development that will replace it will include retail, restaurants, hotel, office, park space and 3,000 residential units. The Sterling Heights City Council recently approved a brownfield plan for the project’s $573 million first phase, The Detroit News reported.
Lakeside City Center will replace Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, Michigan Rendering courtesy of city of Sterling Heights, Michigan
WRS Breaks Ground on $1.2B Lakeforest Project in Maryland
WRS has kicked off construction of a “mini city” at the 102-acre site of the former Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The $1.2 billion development will replace the 1.1 million-square-foot mall, which closed in 2023. The project will include 470,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, including tenants The Home Depot, Landmark Theatres and Sprouts Farmers Market; 1,600 residential units; 35 acres of green space; and an updated transit center. “This is more than just a construction project; it is the rebirth of a community anchor,” WRS principal Kevin Rogers said.
The Lakeforest redevelopment project in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will feature more than 470,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Rendering above and at top courtesy of PR Newswire/WRS
URW Will Buy Remaining Stake in Westfield UTC for $705M
Retail landlord Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has agreed to buy its joint venture partner’s 50% stake in Westfield UTC, an open-air mall in San Diego’s upscale La Jolla neighborhood, for about $705 million. The deal, which would give URW full ownership of the property, is expected to close by Dec. 31. URW’s press release about the deal didn’t name the JV partner. However, a 1999 Securities and Exchange Commission filing reflects a joint venture between Westfield America and J.P. Morgan Investment Management that was tied to the property. Nineteen years later, in 2018, URW acquired Westfield.
Westfield UTC’s Palm Plaza in 2018 Photo credit: Autumn Sky - stock.adobe.com
As of Dec. 31, the over 1.2 million-square-foot Westfield UTC had more than 200 tenants, including Apple, Bulgari, Carolina Herrera, Crate & Barrel, H&M, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Pottery Barn. URW owns 66 shopping centers in the U.S., 41 of which operate under the Westfield banner.
Greenberg Gibbons Fund Targets $300M for East Coast Essential Services Retail Acquisitions
Real estate investor, developer and operator Greenberg Gibbons launched a fund that’s targeting $300 million in shopping center acquisitions along the East Coast. The fund’s first deal: the $33 million purchase with joint-venture partner Wilder of Wakefield Commons, a 163,975-square-foot neighborhood center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Greenberg Gibbons Real Estate Income Fund II will invest in retail properties that provide essential services, such as grocery-anchored, neighborhood and power centers. Greenberg Gibbons’ portfolio includes $1.6 billion in assets across more than 6.7 million square feet.
A fund managed by Greenberg Gibbons and joint-venture partner Wilder bought this neighborhood shopping center in Raleigh, North Carolina, for $33 million. Photo courtesy of Greenberg Gibbons
Black Rock Coffee Aims for 810 More Stores, Meta Heads to Best Buy and Ulta Beauty Plans Experiential Flagship in Times Square
Black Rock Coffee Bar, whose 2025 initial public offering raised nearly $300 million, is shooting for a U.S. footprint of 1,000 stores by 2035. Black Rock executives discussed the long-range target during a presentation at Baird’s 2026 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference. Today, the chain operates more than 190 U.S. stores in an increasingly competitive field dominated by Starbucks, Dunkin’, Dutch Bros Coffee and Tim Hortons, not to mention 7 Brew, which Yelp this week named the country’s fastest-growing brand, based on net new business openings, consumer interest and growth of Yelp searches from 2024 to 2025.
The Black Rock Coffee chain is targeting a 1,000-store U.S. footprint by 2035. Photo courtesy of PR Newswire/Black Rock Coffee
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is bringing a store-within-a-store concept to electronics retailer Best Buy. More than 50 Meta Lab @ Best Buy shops, each measuring 900 square feet, are supposed to open this summer, enabling shoppers to explore the company’s AI glasses and virtual reality headsets. Five standalone Meta Lab stores already operate in the U.S., including flagships in Los Angeles and New York City.
Each Meta Lab @ Best Buy shop will span 900 square feet. Image courtesy of PR Newswire/Best Buy
And Ulta Beauty plans to open a flagship store in New York City’s Times Square late next year. On a recent earnings call, president and CEO Kecia Steelman said the experiential store “will showcase next-level brand building and storytelling capabilities, unlock high-impact marketing through digital billboards and drive greater awareness and loyalty with guests from all over the United States and the world.” Ulta operates more than 1,500 stores in the U.S., including three others in Manhattan. Typical Ulta Beauty locations are around 10,000 square feet, according to the retailer’s 2025 Annual Report.
Ulta Beauty has picked Times Square for the site of an experiential flagship store. Photo courtesy of New York City Tourism + Conventions
By John Egan
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today