Landmark Mall, also Landmark Regional Shopping Center, was a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. Located in a triangle formed by Duke Street (

Virginia State Route 236 State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 in Virginia, U.S. Route 29 and U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, US 50 in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax east to Virginia State ...

), Interstate 395, and Van Dorn Street (

Virginia State Route 401 State Route 401 (SR 401) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Van Dorn Street (Lincolnia Road until 1953), the state highway runs from SR 613 at the south city limit of the independent city of Alexandria north ...

), the mall opened as Landmark Center in 1965, closed in 2017, and was demolished in 2022. The mall was anchored by

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

and

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

History

The mall opened on August 4, 1965, with Virginia Lt. Gov. Mills E. Godwin, Jr. cutting the ceremonial ribbon. It was the first mall in the Washington D.C. area to feature three anchor department stores; the Hecht Co. (later

) (),

(), and

Woodward & Lothrop Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. that began as the capital's first department store in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic United St ...

(later

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

, then

) (). The mall opened with 32 stores in the center including

Bond Clothes Bond Clothing Stores, Bond Clothes, Bond Clothiers, or Bond Stores, was a men's clothing manufacturing company and retailer. The company catered to the middle-class consumer. History The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914, when Mor ...

Casual Corner Casual Corner was an American retail clothing chain founded in 1950. It operated stores under the names Casual Corner, Petite Sophisticate and August Max Woman brands, among others, with more than 525 stores at its peak. History In 1950, childho ...

, People's Drug Store,

Raleigh Haberdasher Raleigh Haberdasher, more commonly called Raleigh's, was a high end, local men's and women's apparel store based in Washington, D.C. History The first store opened on February 16, 1911, at 1109 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in the Raleigh Hotel. Mr. C ...

Thom McAn Thom McAn is an American brand of shoes and was formerly a retail chain. Its shoes have been sold in Kmart and Sears stores. It consists of leather-dress, casual, and athletic shoes (under its Tm Sport label). Until the 1990s, Thom McAn had hun ...

, and

Waldenbooks Walden Book Company, Inc., doing business as Waldenbooks, was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a children's e ...

. The center also included the second location of

S&W Cafeteria S&W Cafeteria was a Charlotte, North Carolina–based chain of cafeteria-style restaurants. The chain specialized in low-cost, Southern-style food. Branches were located in the Southeastern United States from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, Georgia. ...

in the Washington D.C. suburbs. Originally an outdoor mall, it was enclosed in 1990. In 2006 the mall's owner,

General Growth Properties GGP Inc. (an initialism of General Growth Properties) was an American Commercial property, commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin Bucksbaum, Martin, Ma ...

, announced its plan to convert the mall into an open-air "town center" shopping center. The plans were not realized. The

Howard Hughes Corporation Howard Hughes Holdings Inc., formerly the Howard Hughes Corporation, is a real estate development and management company based in The Woodlands, Texas. It was formed in 2010 as a spin-off from General Growth Properties (GGP). Most of its holding ...

became the new owner in 2009. Lord & Taylor announced in May of the same year that it would be closing its store at the mall. The Howard Hughes Corporation showed its plan to transform the site into an ' urban town' in 2013. The plan would turn the mall into an outdoor center with retail and residential facilities. In June 2013, Alexandria City Council approved the plans to redevelop the mall. On January 4, 2017, Macy's announced it would close its Landmark Mall store that year. Subsequently, the mall's owners notified tenants (except Sears) they were to vacate by January 31, indicating that approved redevelopment is imminent. At final build out, Landmark would transform into a

walkable In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...

mixed-use Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

urban village In urban planning and urban design, design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urb ...

with approximately of modern shops and restaurants, up to 400 new residential units and an updated parking structure. In addition to the new retail and residences, the new Landmark would be an open-air community destination featuring multiple plazas and green spaces, outdoor seating, seasonal entertainment, and public art. There would be numerous full-service and fast-casual dining options, and a 10-screen luxury cinema. Howard Hughes purchased the Macy's site in 2017. In June 2018, the vacant Macy's store was transformed into a homeless shelter. In November 2018,

announced it had partnered with Seritage Growth Properties, which owns the Sears site, and among the 235 properties

Sears Holdings Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-l ...

spun-off in 2015 into Seritage, to redevelop the entire 51-acre (20.639-hectare) property. The 2020 film ''

Wonder Woman 1984 ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (also stylized as ''WW84'') is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC Comics, DC character Wonder Woman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Stone Quarry, and distributed by Wa ...

'' had scenes filmed at the mall in June and July 2018. In this film, it is named the "Southfields Mall" and received a 1980s-themed makeover. As of early 2020, planning related to demolition and redevelopment was still in progress and decisions about funding and issuing of permits were not completed. On July 1, 2020, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 28 stores nationwide which would leave the mall entirely vacant. On December 22, 2020, it was announced that the area would be redeveloped as a new mixed-use development with a new

Inova Alexandria Hospital Inova Alexandria Hospital is a not-for-profit hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1872 as the Alexandria Infirmary, it became part of Northern Virginia's Inova Health System in 1997. The hospital is notable for its early c ...

, with the existing hospital beginning to be relocated in 2025. On July 6, 2021, it was announced that the Alexandria City Council unanimously approved the redevelopment agreements for the site of the former Landmark Mall, which will result in up to approximately four million square feet of new development. The project will be anchored by the relocation and expansion of Inova's Alexandria Hospital bringing more than 2,000 healthcare workers to the medical campus. As part of the collaboration between the City and Inova, the Alexandria City Council also approved a master plan amendment and rezoning of the current

site on Seminary Road to permit a variety of residential uses, which will facilitate the sale of the property in advance of its relocation to the Landmark site. This land-use decision was the first legislative action by Council required to bring this plan to reality. Alexandria City Council also approved the use of $54 million in public bond financing to allow the city to acquire the land for the hospital and lease it to Inova, as well as $86 million in public bond financing for site preparation and infrastructure at the Landmark site and adjacent Duke Street and Van Dorn Street corridors. On January 24, 2022, it was announced that the project would be renamed to WestEnd Alexandria. Demolition began on May 12, 2022, and lasted six months. The parking garage was left intact. On September 5, 2023, the Alexandria Planning Commission approved many special use permits for the Foulger-Pratt project. It will include retail and restaurant pavilions, trails, and recreational facilities that will house a skating rink and pickleball courts.

Anchors

(later

J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC , doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio along ...

, later

; closed 2009) *

Hecht's Hecht's was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operated in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The family business was acqui ...

(acquired and re-branded as

in 2006; closed 2017) *

(closed 2020)

References

External links

DEAD MALL SERIES: Landmark Mall
{{Shopping malls in Virginia 1965 establishments in Virginia 2017 disestablishments in Virginia Brookfield Properties Buildings and structures demolished in 2022 Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia Demolished buildings and structures in Virginia Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls established in 1965 Shopping malls disestablished in 2017 Shopping malls in Virginia Shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area Tourist attractions in Alexandria, Virginia