Washington Square Mall (Indianapolis)

Washington Square Mall is a regional shopping mall located on the eastern side of Indianapolis. It opened in 1974 and was renovated/expanded in 1999.^[1] Today, the mall consists mostly of independent stores yet still houses a few anchor stores. Burlington Coat Factory, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Target are the major anchors, as well as AMC Theatres.

History

This mall was built by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. and opened in April 1974, supplanting Eastgate Shopping Center three miles to the west, which had opened 1957. JC Penney, Sears, and many prime tenants made the move from Eastgaste to Washington Square. L. S. Ayres, William H. Block, and Lazarus were also anchors when the mall was built.

Simon Property Group merged with the DeBartolo company in 1996. Simon renovated the mall in 1999. The mall faced a rough period of decline between 2005 and 2010, at which point several stores, including Old Navy, J C Penney, and Macy's, pulled out. However, with Burlington occupying the former J C Penney since 2003 and Indy Wholesale Furniture recently moving into the space formerly occupied by Macy's. Washington Square has all five anchor tenant slots filled for the first time since 2008. Target now occupies the site of Block (later Montgomery Ward), and Dick's Sporting Goods occupies the site of Lazarus. In February 2013, Indy Wholesale Furniture announced that it would be going out of business, soon leaving one of the five anchor spots vacant. In early 2014, Washington Square lost BonWorth, Rack Room Shoes, MCL cafeteria, and Foot Locker, with the former three all closing and the latter moving to Cherry Tree plaza a mile west.

As of August 20, 2014, the mall's Facebook page no longer displays the SIMON logo or any SIMON photos, and the mall's page on the SIMON website has been disabled. Soon after, it was announced Jones Lang LaSalle is now managing the mall. ^{[2] [3]} Simon voluntarily handed over the deed to the property Aug. 6, eliminating the need for a costly and lengthy foreclosure proceeding. Simon's financial filings showed the company held $25.5 million in debt on Washington Square, which appears to be more than the mall is worth. By 2013, occupancy slipped under 50 percent, but came back to 85 or 90 percent when the mall went to a new owner. Since 2016, the mall has been spiraling towards failure: the ceiling looks like its 50 years old, falling apart, and literally waiting to fall on an unsuspecting customer, with mall tenants that look like they’re running the long con, and management just turning a blind eye to these problems. Crime is rampant at the mall, with stores getting broken into late at night, no security guards during the day, and multiple tenants leaving their stores closed for days on end. The mall is back on the Marion County Tax Sale for auction again as the new owner has yet to pay its $890,000+ in late taxes. More recently, there are reports, according to Google reviewer, that a store owner died in this mall due their lack of air conditioning. The mall is one law suit away from being closed permanently and turning into a druggies’ haven.

Sears announced the closure of its Washington Square store in September 2014.^[4]

References