Former Sears site in Washington state had big plans. Will it ever be developed?
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- Seritage lists Overlake Plaza among final assets left to market in future.
- Redmond master plan approved in 2018; construction permits lapsed and expired.
- Seritage expects final six asset sales in future with projected proceeds of $220–310M.
When Sears made its retail exit from the Puget Sound region with its last store in the area closing last year, at least one property was envisioned as a new development not far from the Microsoft campus, with shops, apartments and restaurants.
Now that property is among the last in its owner’s portfolio.
Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust spinoff from Sears Holdings, lists just a few properties remaining in its portfolio nationwide.
Among those sites is its Overlake Plaza property in Redmond, formerly home to a Sears store, which closed in 2018. Demolition took place in 2022.
The Redmond site’s redevelopment proposal from Seritage included a 210-room hotel, 500 apartments, more than 2,200 stalls of underground parking, restaurants, retail and office and park space.
Alex Hunt is senior planner with the city of Redmond. He told The News Tribune this month in response to questions that Seritage’s master plan and development agreement application were approved in 2018.
That was followed by Seritage “obtaining construction permits to develop roadway infrastructure on the site,” Hunt said via email. “However, there are currently no active permit applications to construct buildings on the site.”
Hunt added that while construction-permit applications were submitted by Seritage in 2021, “those applications have lapsed and expired.”
“Following expiration of those permits, the City of Redmond has received no additional applications to construct the buildings envisioned in the approved master plan.”
The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment on plans for the Redmond site. A representative for one of the project’s development partners told The News Tribune on background that the partner did not have any current involvement with the site.
Next to the Seritage property, officials this summer marked the groundbreaking of an eight-story apartment development (on property not owned by Seritage) that replaces a neighboring strip mall.
Meanwhile, Seritage’s latest earnings report did offer some news about the selloff status of various assets.
Company’s real estate selloff
Seritage was formed in 2015 to take on more than 200 properties nationwide from Sears Holdings — primarily Sears and Kmart locations. At Sears/Kmart combined peak, there were nearly 3,500 of their stores in operation.
The company, on its website, describes itself as “formed to unlock the underlying value of a high-quality retail real estate portfolio acquired from Sears Holdings in July 2015.”
“The Company’s mission is to maximize value for shareholders by repositioning the Company’s portfolio through leasing, redevelopment, formation of strategic partnerships, and other bespoke solutions.”
In 2022, the company changed strategy to instead sell off its assets.
Bisnow, which covers national commercial real estate news, reported on Nov. 17 that all but six of Seritage’s property assets are in the sale process, according to the real estate investment trust’s third-quarter earnings report.
The company stated it has four properties under contract, and three others in purchase and sale negotiations for joint-venture projects.
According to Seritage in a November news release, “The remaining six assets are either being marketed or are expected to be marketed at the appropriate time based on market conditions, and, as a result, any sales thereof are anticipated to occur in 2026 and beyond.”
It projected potential proceeds of $220 million to 310 million for the six sites.
The report did not specify which category the Redmond site was in.
Fewer brick-and-mortar Sears stores as online site carries on
On the retail side, The News Tribune reported a year ago that Sears’ last Washington state store, at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, was closing. At that time, fewer than 10 Sears stores remained nationwide in four states and Puerto Rico.
Sears’ Union Gap store also was among its last stores, ultimately closing in summer 2024.
In July 2025, CoStar News reported that Sears was considering more store closures, which would leave just five brick-and-mortar stores.
The article noted that Transformco, which also took on some of the assets of the former Sears Holding Corp., still retains about a couple of hundred former Sears and Kmart store properties in the U.S.
Unlike the stalled plans in Redmond, two former Sears sites in Pierce County have moved on.
Sears’ Tacoma Mall store was demolished in the spring of 2019. The mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, soon redeveloped with new retail pads that included Nordstrom Rack and a small-format Kohl’s, among other stores.
The new Village at Tacoma Mall is still in the process of opening; Shake Shack recently debuted, along with Lovesac, and more restaurants are to follow.
Joe Bell, media representative for the mall, told The News Tribune this month that “the demise of Sears did pose a serious problem for shopping malls all over America.”
“Fortunately, our leasing team at South Hill Mall was successful in repurposing that 96,000-square-foot department store space,” he added. “It is now home to three businesses: Round 1 Bowling & Amusement, New Level 360 and Goldfish Swim School.”
Sears maintains an online retail site.
This story was originally published November 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
