ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Fashion Square Mall is not the hotspot it used to be.
“For the past 4-5 years it’s been empty just like this,” said George Lane, a former mall security guard. He said the parking lot used to be filled with cars when he was on duty.
“I heard when I did work here four years ago they planned on putting condominiums here and also apartments,” said Lane.
Lane said he heard dozens of plans to revitalize the area over the years but none have panned out.
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“This has been in the community for so many years. I don’t think Fashion Square or Macy’s shouldn’t leave,” said Lane.
Now that the mall is up for sale, people hope it could turn into something new and reclaim its former glory. The mall first opened in 1973.
“We got plenty of malls. This needs to be something else that serves the community in a different way. Also, increase the value so we can increase the tax revenue,” said Barney McAuley.
Edge Capital Markets, a Dallas-based real estate brokerage company, is helping the owners sell the two-story, 625,000-square-foot mall.
Managing Director Barney McAuley believes this an opportunity for three future owners to create a $500 million mixed-use development, a combination of hotels, restaurants, housing, and more.
“There’s about 20 groups that buy these type of malls nationally and re-imagine them and make them something else. This mall was the center of this community 20 years ago and they do things that will make it the center of their community again,” said McAuley.
McAuley said 550 of the 1,000 malls across America will become mixed developments because of the growing need in their community.
He said it normally takes five months to sell a building like the Fashion Square Mall but due to the holiday season it may take 6- 7 months.
A look at previous plans for Fashion Square
Efforts to revamp or redevelop Orlando Fashion Square Mall have circulated for a decade, maybe more.
They include efforts to turn the mall into a place for local businesses, or a multipurpose venue with bowling and other activities.
In 2013, crews were supposed to break ground on an Element by Westin Hotel as part of a renovation project that would have included a family entertainment zone and new restaurants like BJ’s Brewhouse, Outback and Red Robin.
In 2019, Unicorp National Developments President Chuck Whittall put down a deposit for a $23 million contract for nearly 50 acres of land underneath the mall, saying he wanted to tear it down and turn it into an open-air, mixed-use entertainment space.
Then in 2021, attorneys for Bancorp, which owns the mall itself, applied to redevelop it into a mixed-use property that would keep the anchor stores but demolish the middle structure to create outdoor commercial space, along with a hotel and up to 1,400 apartments, giving it a similar feel to Winter Park Village.
In December of 2021, Orlando City Council approved Bancorp’s master framework plan.
However, there’s been no progress since then.
According to Orange County Property Appraiser records, the address the mall sits on is owned by Fashion Square Land Trust, which is managed by Unicorp.
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