FLORENCE, Ky. — Macy’s Inc. is seeking a buyer for its two stores at Florence Mall, an indication that both could be among the 150 stores it plans to close in the next three years.
Macy’s announced in February that it will close 50 stores this year and an additional 100 by the end of 2026.
A sales brochure, circulated recently by the commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates, seeks $8 million for Macy’s 15-acre department store property and $5 million for its 7.5 acre furniture store at Florence Mall. Both properties include parking lots that accommodate about 1,150 vehicles, according to the brochure, obtained by the WCPO 9 I-Team.
Macy’s did not address the I-Team’s questions about a potential sale but said any store closures at Florence Mall would not take place this year.
“Our new strategy is designed to create a more modern Macy’s, Inc. and enhance the customer experience. We intend to close approximately 150 Macy’s stores while further investing in our 350 go-forward fleet over the next three years. A final decision on specific locations has yet to be made."
Florence City Manager Josh Hunt declined to comment on the potential sale, citing a non-disclosure agreement the city signed with the brokers marketing mall properties. Hunt said he didn’t want to interfere with potential developments that could take place at the mall, but declined to elaborate.
Florence Mall’s management office also declined to comment.
Retail consultant Stan Eichelbaum said Macy's willingness to sell points to a likelihood of closure.
"You can read the tea leaves," said Eichelbaum, president of Marketing Developments/Planning Developments Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "They wouldn’t be selling them if they thought there was high potential."
But Eichelbaum said the mall could benefit from a Macy's sale and closure in the long run.
"Malls are being adjusted with residential towers, senior towers, college facilities, medical facilities, everything else," Eichelbaum said. "So, if the buildings meet a due diligence for being adaptable, there’s great potential for them to go in another direction."
Lee & Associates' sales brochure touts the Macy's stores for their redevelopment potential, with 364,461 people within a 10-mile radius of the mall and a median household income of $72,467. It highlights Florence as Kentucky's 8th largest city with more than 2,500 businesses.
"It's a strong market," Eichelbaum said. "There’s good wealth around it, good density around it. It’s not Manhattan or Chicago, but it has good bones as a site. It has great highway exposure."
Built in 1976, Florence Mall is the region’s second-largest shopping center, with 930,000 square feet of gross leasable space. Its two Macy’s stores occupy 259,425 square feet, so the mall’s vacancy rate would increase by more than 25% with a closure.
In 2020, Florence Mall was the region’s second-strongest shopping center, according to the I-Team’s analysis of the region’s most endangered malls. But it’s had problems since then.
In 2021, lenders took ownership of the property after its longtime owner, Brookfield Properties, defaulted on $90 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt. That led to the mall’s $38 million purchase by an ownership group that includes Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group.
On a visit to the mall at noon Thursday, the food court was active and retail spaces in the Macy’s wing were mostly full. But Union resident Emma Finkenstadt said the mall is declining under its new owners.
“I don’t think it’s the worst mall, I’ve seen worse,” she said. “I just hope they don’t close because this is like the only mall around town besides like Kenwood.”
