More changes ahead for the Tacoma Mall. Plans in the works for a ‘Lifestyle Village’
More changes are coming to Tacoma Mall as its owner moves forward with the next phase in redevelopment.
The redevelopment has gone through its own revisions, now calling for more individual tenant spaces within two buildings and a third building to be the potential home of a drive-thru business.
In 2018, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group submitted plans to the city to add more external retail and restaurant sites next to the main mall property. The plans included replacing the space formerly occupied by Sears and its auto center and space to the west. Sears closed in 2018 and was demolished in April 2019.
In a Sept. 15 permit filing with the city, plans describe the “Tacoma Mall Lifestyle Village” in the next phase of redevelopment. The project follows the initial phase, which included a new Nordstrom Rack and Total Wine & More in 2021. The next year brought a small-format Kohl’s and Ulta Beauty in 2022.
“This phase entails demolition of the existing parking lot area to the west side of the recently completed redevelopment site (Total Wine, Nordstrom Rack, Ulta, Kohl’s, and associated site improvements), creation of new building pads for three retail/restaurant buildings (referred to as ‘Lifestyle’),” the filing states.
“Improvements will also include sidewalks, parking lots, and utilities to serve the buildings,” it adds. The filing lists an anticipated start date in March and an estimated cost of $1.4 million.
A call for bids on the project from Bayley Construction of Mercer Island recently appeared in the Daily Journal of Commerce. It described the project as two new Lifestyle Building shells, 16,527 square feet and 10,483 square feet, respectively.
The deadline for receiving bids and scope letters, according to the ad, is Sept. 28. A Bayley representative listed as the contact for the project did not respond to a request for more information.
Patty Costa is with the city’s Planning & Development Services. She told The News Tribune via email in response to questions that drawings with the site development plan “show two buildings, one (Building A) with 4 tenant spaces, and one (Building B) with 5 smaller tenant spaces.”
A third building referenced in the filing appeared to be associated with a pre-application to the city in November, according to Costa. That pre-app was simply listed as “Tacoma Mall Drive-thru,” according to the record on file.
“Their site work on this (site development) appears to include some site prep like curb ramps for the future drive thru,” Costa wrote.
The drive-thru has been proposed for the L-310 area north of the buildings on the most recent map, although the building pad itself is not reflected on the drawing submitted with the Sept. 15 filing.
Simon for now is not forthcoming about the businesses moving into the spots.
Isabelle Braun, media representative for the mall, told The News Tribune on Tuesday in response to questions, “We are unfortunately not able to disclose specific details at this time due to leasing protocols.”
In 2018, the mall described this project’s phase to include three buildings, with five potential spots for retail/restaurants, and a new entrance with a roundabout located west of the then-Sears site.
By 2021, Simon no longer showed the roundabout entrance on its redevelopment brochure posted online, but did show the three buildings and five vendor spots.
A new Marcus Theatre that was set to anchor the project’s north side didn’t materialize, and Kohl’s is now in the spot of the formerly proposed theater.
Other changes beyond the multi-phase Tacoma Mall redevelopment include the repurposing in the past few years of the former Pier 1 Imports building, owned by a separate entity but adjacent to the mall site. The building became home to three businesses: a drive-thru Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s and an Xfinity Store by Comcast.
