The closing of two anchor stores does not mean the end for the Salina Central Mall. The longtime Salina business is working with a real estate group, and has plans to remodel and expand as nearly a half-dozen new businesses are ready to locate there.

The announced closing closing of of Dillard’s store this week, while not preferable, was not unexpected. Similarly, earlier this spring the Sears store closed.

Mall management tells KSAL News “we know the difficult decision made by Dillard’s was not easy to make and we thank them for being at Central Mall since March 1986.  When Dillard’s’ second quarter 2017 earnings report was released in early August, it foretold this news.  We recognize the impact of this announcement on the experienced staff at Dillard’s and we sympathize with them during this transition.”

Central Mall has a plan to continue to be a destination for retailers and shoppers.  When the Dillard’s store at Towne West Shopping Center in Wichita converted to a clearance store in, Central Mall began to create a plan should a store closing announcement occur.  After the Dillard’s space is vacated in 2018, work will accelerate on a major redevelopment of the space.

The parcel will be redeveloped into a series of buildings that are stand alone and separate from the rest of the building. This will create a “lifestyle” shopping.  There are currently five different regional and national retailers that are working with Central Mall’s realtor about space in this redeveloped area.  These stores vary in size and in what they sell.

An architect is drafting a site plan for this repurposed space and the businesses are at various stages of their approval process to lease space at Central Mall.  When things are finished, there will new shopper-friendly amenities and the reality will be that a new environment for shopping will exist in Salina at Central Mall.  They look forward to future announcements about specific businesses and the Salina retail market as Central Mall evolves as a shopping and entertainment destination.

Inside Central Mall, the realtor is working with several existing retailers about their expansion plans.  These existing retailers currently occupy 39,056 square feet of Central Mall.  They expect negotiations to finalize in the near future on these expansions.

Even though the Sears space is vacant, it is not available to Central Mall until a time in 2018 because Sears still maintains control of the space.  A redevelopment plan for this parcel exists and there are regional and national merchants that are interested in this redevelopment space.

The traffic count between the intersection of Magnolia and Belmont and the intersection of Magnolia and South Ninth Street is over a million vehicles annually. This means a lot of traffic enters Central Mall from Magnolia and the redeveloped Sears space will be an attractive location for businesses.

The short-term priority focus for Central Mall ownership, management and its realtor team is on redevelopment of the Dillard’s space and working with current retailers inside Central Mall.

Businesses interested in growing at Central Mall should contact the realtor.  Please call Central Mall’s management office for information.