Richmond’s Hilltop Mall, which is already a ghost town, is still going to be empty.
Mayor Tom Butt announced Tuesday that Macy’s will close permanently. It is part of a closure of 45 stores across the country for the struggling in-store store.
Butt shared part of the letter the city and county received from Macy’s, suggesting the store will close permanently between March 14 and 27. Its 133 employees will be laid off, though the company said it would help transport some employees to other stores in Bay Area Macy’s.
Hilltop’s JC Penney and Sears store has already closed in recent years, making Walmart their last remaining anchor tenant.
In 2017, LBG Real Estate Cos. The mall was purchased with the goal of building a multiple space with housing, offices, a hotel and a newly modernized Hilltop Mall. But things changed during the pandemic, and the San Francisco Business Times reported in August that the company had renamed the area the East Bay Science and Technology Center in hopes of becoming a new potential center for life sciences and biotechnology. is.
The Richmond Standard reported last summer that the mall was only about 16% occupied by retailers.
It used to be a giant among the shops, and Macy’s presence is dwindling in the Bay and beyond. The chain announced on Tuesday that it will close 45 stores during the course of this year as part of its three-year closure strategy. By the end of 2023, Macy’s expects to close 125 stores nationwide. According to its website, it has 544 locations today.
“As previously announced, Macy’s is committed to dividing our shopping fleet by concentrating our existing retail outlets in popular and well-traded A and B shopping malls,” a CNBC spokesman said.
After the Hilltop Mall closes, there will be 19 Macy’s stores left in the Bay Area, including Union Square in San Francisco.