Tacoma Mall Plans to Raze Sears to Make Way for New Shops, Movie Theater

MG2 has prepared a preliminary Tacoma Mall plan for Simon that shows five new buildings on the north parking lot.

Simon Property Group plans to add shop and restaurant space where Sears operates on the northeast side of the sprawling, 53-year-old Tacoma Mall.

Indianapolis-based Simon issued a site plan Tuesday showing the addition of three larger retail spaces and five smaller shop and restaurant spaces on the 100-acre property. They’ll total nearly 69,000 square feet, and the theater will be 50,000 square feet. The plan lists Seattle-based MG2 as the project architect.

A Simon spokeswoman said the redevelopment “would encompass the current Sears store footprint and their current associated parking fields.” She said construction could start as early as 2019, but did not say whether Sears is closing or moving. A Sears representative was not immediately available.

Sears is one of the anchors of the 150-store Tacoma Mall. Other large retailers are JCPenney, Macy’s and Nordstrom.

This is the third time this year that a Puget Sound shopping center has announced a redevelopment, and construction of housing and new shop space is occurring at other centers.

Mall owners have little choice but to shake things up as traditional retailers struggle against the rise of e-commerce led by Amazon. Some are planning to add…

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