Macy’s will shutter 68 stores across the United States, including five in Florida, following disappointing holiday sales.
The department store giant will close its 108,000-square-foot store at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, an outdoor mall owned by the Related Companies, by the end of 2017. The other Florida stores are in Lakeland, Oviedo, Sarasota and Tampa.
Sears opened at CityPlace, 575 South Rosemary Avenue, in 2000. At 108,000 square feet, that means the store occupies more than 15 percent of CityPlace, a 698,472-square-foot property.
Macy’s announced in August that it would close 100 stores. On Wednesday the company said sales are expected to take a $575 million hit this year because of the 68 closures. Of those stores, 63 will be closed by the early spring, two by mid-2017 and three other locations were sold or will be sold, or are being leased back. Macy’s also said it plans to close about 30 additional stores over the next few years as leases end and sales are completed.
Less than half of the affected properties currently touch CMBS loans but among them is CityPlace, according to commercial research company Trepp. Of CityPlace’s $150 million loan, which was modified into a $100 million note and a $50 million note, Macy’s represents 12.78 percent of the $100 million loan and 6.39 percent of the $50 million loan. Both went delinquent in June. Trepp data released on Wednesday shows they are both still in special servicing.
Following the August 2016 announcement that Macy’s would close 100 stores, The Real Deal reported that the Lincoln Road store’s leasehold interest was quietly being marketed for sale, and could fetch as much as $80 million. With 98,610 square feet, the building at 1675 Meridian Avenue represents the largest space available and one of the only ones suitable for a national “big box” store. – Katherine Kallergis