Macy’s Closing 3 Tampa Bay Area Stores

Tampa Bay area residents who love shopping at Macy’s may soon have to check out new mall locations to get their fix. The retail giant on Wednesday announced plans to close three locations in the region.

The three Tampa Bay area stores are part of an announced closing of 68 stores across the country. The move is being made to save money so Macy’s can reinvent is e-commerce and give customers a better experience in its remaining stores.

Three of the 68 stores announced on Wednesday have already closed. Six more will soon close. The rest, including those in the Bay area, will shutter by the end of the year, according to a press release issued by the company.

All 68 stores are part of the 100 closings it announced in August. When that announcement was made, the specific stores that were closing were not named.

Associates at shuttered stores may have the option to transfer to nearby locations that remain open, the release said, and some full- and part-time associates will be offered severance packages.

Here are the three local stores that are set to close by the end of 2017:

• Sarasota Square, Sarasota, FL (143,000 square feet; opened in 1977; 86 associates);
• University Square, Tampa, FL (140,000 square feet; opened in 1974; 73 associates);
• Lakeland Square, Lakeland, FL (101,000 square feet; opened in 1995; 68 associates);

Patch's Marc Torrence contributed to this story.

Image via Ebyabe, used under Creative Commons