Legacy Department Store Closes At Annapolis Mall, Redevelopment Questions Remain

ANNAPOLIS, MD — JCPenney closed recently at the Annapolis Mall. The closure resurfaced uncertainty about a proposal to convert the space into a gym, a craft store and multiple other smaller storefronts.

The department store was closed when Patch visited on Friday. Its signage had been removed from the outside of the building. Inside the mall, its entrance between Claire's and Helzberg Diamonds had been covered over with drywall. The open space between the stores has since been repurposed into a seating area.

Sixty-five employees will be affected by the store closure, said a notice filed with the Maryland Department of Labor. JCPenney did not answer Patch's question about whether staff could transfer to one of the 10 stores remaining open in Maryland.

"We are grateful to our dedicated associates and the loyal customers who have shopped at our Annapolis, MD, location through the years, and we hope to continue serving them throughout our nearly 650 stores nationwide and at JCPenney.com," the company told Patch in an email.

The retailer initially planned to close by May 16, but it reversed course in late April. JCPenney signed a short-term lease to remain open through the summer. It replaced clearance signs with a red banner reminding shoppers they're still open. JCPenney once again started hiring staff as it eyed a long-term lease that ultimately proved elusive.

In June, the Annapolis JCPenney announced that its days were numbered.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to negotiate a long-term lease for JCPenney store at the Westfield Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, MD and have been unable to find another suitable location in the market," a JCPenney spokesperson said in the email. "The JCPenney store closed its doors to the public on Sunday, August 17."

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JCPenney Redevelopment Potential

The mall owns the land beneath JCPenney, but a third party owns the building itself and could convert the space if desired.

Realtors previously released proposal drawings showing a Grocery Outlet, a Hobby Lobby decor store and a Onelife Fitness gym moving in. The reimagined footprint had room for two additional storefronts, with the tenants listed as to be announced later.

Grocery Outlet does not plan to open in the JCPenney space, Patch reported in May.

"The location here will not be moving forward at this time, but customers can still find the unexpected at any of our other locations in the Maryland area," Grocery Outlet told Patch in an email.

Planners have been tight-lipped about the other proposed businesses.

Realtors from the firm marketing the redevelopment, Bethesda-based H&R Retail, have declined Patch's multiple requests for comment. Onelife Fitness also declined to comment but asked to circle back when it has information to share. Hobby Lobby did not respond to Patch's request for comment.

JCPenney did not answer Patch's question about the possibility of their store being redeveloped.

New Mall Owners Have Big Plans

An ownership group headlined by Centennial bought the mall for $160 million last July from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Paris-based URW said it's undergoing a "radical reduction of financial exposure in the U.S."

Centennial, a real estate firm headquartered in Dallas, saw potential in Annapolis. The company firmly believes the key to another golden era is expanding entertainment options, diversifying the tenant mix and building residential housing. That formula aspires to deliver a mixed-use town center where residents can live, work and play.

"People have been talking about the mall dying for over a decade," newly minted Annapolis Mall General Manager Mariah Michaud told Patch earlier this spring. "What's happening to the dying mall? How do we repurpose the dying mall? This is not a dying mall, but there are plenty of them in the rest of the country."

Patch published a three-part series on the future of the Annapolis Mall this May. Part one focused on business goals for the new mall owners. Section two covered shifting plans for JCPenney and the New Village Academy. The final article centered on the potential for housing at the mall.

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