Citing changes in the shopping habits of consumers, the parent company of the Westfield Annapolis Mall has announced that it will sell all of its United States-based properties by the end of 2023.
The portfolio of Westfield malls was acquired by French conglomerate Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, in December of 2017, and will solely focus on the European market moving forward. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield paid nearly $16 billion for a portfolio of 35 properties in
The Los Angeles Times reports that CEO Jean-Marie Tritan did not say if the properties would be sold individually or as a lot.
What this means for the Annapolis mall is anyone’s guess. The mall, which opened in 1980, has been struggling for years with the loss of anchor stores including Sears, Nordstrom, and Lord & Taylor. However, they have seen some new stores which were a welcome addition such as The Container Store, the Anne Arundel County Public Library, and Paws at the Mall–the Anne Arundel County SPCA’s retail location. The area once occupied by Lord & Taylor is being developed into a type of “neighborhood” shopping experience.
Depending on what Unibail-Rodamco does with the sale, it could become part of a larger shopping company such as the Simon Property Group which owns 232 properties across the country. Simon also owns JC Penney, one of two remaining anchors in Annapolis, out of bankruptcy in 2020. Locally, Simon owns the Queenstown Premium Outlets, Arundel Mills, Arundel Mills Marketplace, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, St. Charles Towne Center, Clarksburg Premium Outlets, and Potomac Mills.
If the malls are sold off individually, a local or regional investor could purchase the Westfield Annapolis property and continue to operate it as it is currently.
