For decades the state of the large shopping mall has been in flux, mainly they are dying. Patronage is down, stores are moving out and the halls are almost vacant. Three of the areas most known malls—Springfield Town Center, Dulles Town Center and Fair Oaks Mall—have been topic of discussion for revamping, with ownership changing hands and plans submitted for redevelopment but not much has happened on the construction side.
By Lynn Norusis
April 2024
Good new firsts: Dulles Town Center sold for $46 million to the Srinivas Chavali, CEO of Virginia Investments Property, and he is excited about the possible changes to the mall that will breathe new life into Loudoun County’s largest mall. In a sit-down with Northern Virginia magazine, he calls out current updates to the mall, such as 810 Billiards & Bowling, a bowling, laser tag and axe-throwing facility, and in the next three to four years how he is going to bring the mall back to its “glory days.”
The future of two of the malls, Fair Oaks and Springfield, seem to be in financial trouble.
In December, the owners of Springfield Town Center, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the third time. A restructuring plan was already in place at the time of filing, and seemed to focus more on the company’s Pennsylvania holdings in Center City with limited immediate impact on either of the DMV projects: Springfield Town Center and Mall at Prince Georges. PREIT, which just came out of bankruptcy in April 2024, is selling off portions of the Springfield Mall parking lot to other developers. In December, The Hanover Co. paid $15.3 million for a roughly 6-acre parcel, a week after PREIT filed for bankruptcy. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the plan for a 460-unit apartment building that will include the addition of a fifth level to the existing mall parking garage. Eventually the project will also include green space along Spring Mall Drive with a dog park, lawn games, fitness trail, fitness stations, tree groves, benches and lighting. There are also plans for a 7-story hotel building.
In November, the owners of Fair Oaks Mall, Taubman Centers Inc. and Olshan Properties, missed the loan maturity date but have filled for a four-year extension. And just this month, Taubman pulled out of the partnership and Fair Oaks Mall is now in the hands of Olshan only, according to the Washington Business Journal. The redevelopment of Fair Oaks Mall went through the county to alter zoning to allow for the redevelopment a few years ago. And some changes have already come to the mall. Movement, an 37,000+ square-feet indoor facility with climbing, yoga, and fitness, has plan to open later this year in the mall and changes are being made to the anchor store J.C. Penney. Some not so good news is the Apple store will be relocating to nearby Fair Lakes Shopping Center and the DMV has moved out of its location in the mall.
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