The Louis Joliet Mall will be up for sale via auction, according to the auction site crexi.
The auction will start at 11 a.m. on May 15, 2023, with a starting bid of $5 million.
The auction is the latest twist for the Joliet mall, which has a high occupancy rate but has struggled for several years, like other indoor malls, with the closing of anchor stores and trends away from mall shopping.
The property includes more than 125 acres and about 940,000 square feet of leasable space. The Joliet mall off Plainfield Road and near I-55 features two existing anchor stores, JC Penney and Macy’s.
The auction is expected to attract a lot of attention from prospective buyers and interested investors.
The Louis Joliet Mall opened on August 2, 1978 with two anchor stores, Sears and Marshall Field & Company.
Then, Bergner-Weise opened in September 1979 as the third anchor, and JCPenney would move from downtown to the mall, opening one month later in October 1979, as the fourth anchor.
This Joliet IL mall has struggled for several years, like other indoor malls, with the closing of anchor stores and trends away from mall shopping.
With anchor department store tenants closing doors around the country, malls have significant gaps in occupancy.
According to an article from The New York Times, public liquidation auctions of shopping malls are on track to become more common.
The coronavirus gutted retail sales, but malls were already in trouble; in the United States, 25 percent of enclosed malls (of which there are 1,200) could close in the next five years.
It's a good thing the Louis Joliet Mall is only for auction and not closing at this point, much to the delight of the city, residents, and mall shoppers in and around the area of the city of Joliet, IL.
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