JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The owners of Regency Square Mall — Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management — announced Monday they are selling the shopping center they bought in 2014, the Jacksonville Daily Record reported.
In a statement obtained by the Jacksonville Daily Record, a News4JAX news partner, a representative of Namdar Realty Group said, “The company has recently finalized a contract for the sale of Regency Square Mall. More information will be provided as the buyer’s identity becomes public.”
What will happen next at the mall is unclear.
For 56 years, Regency Square Mall in Arlington has been open and for most of those years, it’s been a focal point in Jacksonville. But now the once iconic mall is a former shell of itself and most stores are gone. The entire mall is now full of trash cans collecting leaking water.
The dilapidated mall has caught the attention of State Senator Clay Yarborough who recently wrote the operators and the city about the conditions.
“When you see these pictures of not just holes in the ceiling, but with very obvious and aggressive water damage, and mold and mildew, you know, we still have businesses that are operating in the mall. And so it’s, you know, sad what’s going on. But it’s really a health concern now, too,” he said.
Yarborough confirmed the sale of the mall and said the new buyer is aware of the necessary repairs and the buyer has plans to address the issues with the city.
News4JAX tried to talk to mall owners and management but they did not immediately respond.
Regency Realty LLC, a partnership of Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group LLC, both based in Great Neck, New York, paid $13 million for the bulk of the 1.4 million-square-foot mall on Feb. 14, 2014.
The Regency Square Mall has anchored the Arlington area for more than half a century. Regency Square opened in 1967 as the area’s first major regional shopping area outside of downtown and in Arlington.
The center doubled in size in 1981-82 and added more space in the early 1990s. However, the mall’s retail occupancy dwindled to about 38 percent by the end of 2013 in the wake of changing demographics, at least three newer shopping centers built in Southside and north Jacksonville and several recessions.
In its later years, the Regency Square Mall has been known for its structural deterioration and has become a less popular place to visit.
Most tenants have left, but Dillards still has an outlet store that is only accessible from the back parking lot. But some smaller stores remain, like an alterations shop.
“I would like to stay in business,” said shop owner Jaques Charleus, who hopes work will be done to restore the mall to the condition it once was.
Many people in the community have memories connected to the mall. For Terrence Wright, the nearly 60-year-old mall was a staple.
“I remember Regency Square Mall from 20-30 years ago when I was in high school, and it was the place to go,” Wright said. “I used to go there to walk around. I would go there, especially at Christmas time. I would do a lot of my shopping there.”
Wright went from being a high schooler strolling the mall for the latest trends to becoming a father and sharing that same experience with his son, Avery.
“It’s really sad to see a decline,” he said. “I don’t even remember the last time that I went to the mall.”
People like Lauren McQuillan hope the sale of the property will bring new life into the deserted mall.
“Hopefully, there’ll be something better in the future for it. Maybe like a new arcade, bowling alley. That’d be really good to have around this area,” she said.
For Wright, he’s hoping it will make Arlington a place people want to come for their shopping needs again.
“I know it’s probably not going to be like the Town Center but just a place where people will want to come and congregate the way that they do at the St. Johns Town Center. I would like to see something like that happen there in the mall,” Wright said.