INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – The new owners of Indian River Mall want to attract national retailers, create residential space and build a hotel on the property to breathe new life into the struggling mall.
DTS Properties II, LLC purchased the 70,000-square-foot property on May 16 from Indian River Mall Realty Holding, LLC for $14.8 million, county records show. DTS is based in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg.
Daniel Shoffet, representative of DTS Properties, did not respond to calls seeking comment.
“This is a long-term process,” said Joe Scarfone, owner of Pompano Beach-based ONE Investment Group, which brokered the deal. “We want to bring in a lot of new elements, but at this point I can’t say who or what exactly.”
Two-phase approach
The developers are working in two phases. The first phase involves finding tenants for the two large retail spaces formerly occupied by Macy’s and Sears. The second phase involves finding tenants for the rest of the mall and building apartments and a hotel.
Stores being considered include Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sprouts Farmers Market and Books-A-Million, according to Ryan Sweeney, the county’s deputy director of planning and development services.
According to Sweeney, developers have proposed up to 240 multi-family housing units – such as apartments – on unused shopping center land.
“We need to prepare the former Macy’s and Sears space for a new tenant to move in,” Scarfone said. “This is just the first step on a long list of things we need to do. We don’t know who will be moving yet.”
The two remaining anchor stores, JCPenney and Dillard’s, will remain at the mall, according to Scarfone.
“We hope to have a wholesale store up and running by late 2026 or early 2027,” Scarfone said. “It’s still early days, but that goal could change.”
According to Sweeney, the plans must go through several rounds of review at pre-approval meetings before formal applications can be submitted to the county commission.
The hotel originally proposed by the developers in the pre-approval process exceeded the county’s 80-foot limit and the shopping center is not zoned residential.
“A hotel or lodging is not allowed at this time,” Sweeney said. “These are big things that need to be discussed.”
Mall has a problematic recent history
The mall has been hit hard in recent years by the Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2008, property values fell, ushering in a downturn for the mall that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The popularity of online shopping has meant that consumers no longer feel the need to go to the mall, according to Billy Auton, commercial and physical property appraiser for the Indian River County Property Appraiser’s Office.
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The mall was built in 1996 by Edward J. Debartolo Corp. It originally had four main stores – JCPenney, Sears, Dillard’s and Burdines. AMC Theaters and a food court were added in 1997. Burdines – which was eventually renamed Macy’s in 2005 – and Sears have since closed.
“Ultimately, there are a lot of moving parts and a lot of steps,” Scarfone said. “We hope the community will be patient with us and understand that we need time to make this successful.”
Nick Slater is TCPalm’s Indian River County Watchdog reporter. Reach him at [email protected] and 224-830-2875.
