E. Mesa Sears site could house 254 apartments

Sep. 6—The owner of the now-shuttered Sears department store at Superstition Springs Center mall in east Mesa is proposing to knock the building down for 254 garden-style apartment units spread across seven three-story buildings.

Seritage Growth Properties, which formed in 2015 to manage real estate acquired from Sears Holdings, has submitted preliminary paperwork with Mesa's Planning Department for the redevelopment plan.

The unit breakdown has not been finalized but "is anticipated to include a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units," Seritage wrote the city.

Sears closed its Superstition Springs location in late 2018 as part of a nationwide result of the historic department store chain's filing for bankruptcy.

Inventory liquidation began at the Superstition Springs location soon after, and the store has been vacant since.

Sears, a fixture on the American retail landscape for over 100 years, had seen declining sales amid challenges from online shopping and changes to consumer buying habits, including declining foot traffic at malls.

Its building is attached to the rest of the indoor mall, which still has anchor stores JCPenny, Macy's and Dillards.

According to site plans submitted to the city, the apartment complex would be detached from the main mall building, but there would be a mall entrance facing the residential complex.

Superstition Springs management did respond to a request for comment.

Neighboring property owners will have the opportunity to weigh in on the project as it makes its way through the city's review process.

In its project narrative, Seritage suggested the residential complex would harmonize with the rest of the mall, writing it "has been designed to maintain necessary mall circulation adjacent to the mall in addition to preservation of the ring road (Superstition Springs Mall Circle)."

Seritage has also included plans for a retail zone across from the complex on the west side of Superstition Spring Mall Circle.

Many once-popular malls are currently in the process of redevelopment.

In an interview with the Tribune last year, Mesa's Economic Development Manager Bill Jabjiniak said, "The days of the old mall have come and gone, but that's just Bill's opinion."

Two prominent Valley malls that have closed — Metrocenter Mall and Paradise Valley Mall — are being reimagined as mixed-use developments featuring a combination of residential, dining, entertainment and retail.

Seritage's decision to go with a mostly multifamily residential plan to redevelop the Superstition Springs Sears may not be surprising given current market conditions.

Last year, Jabjiniak said "residential is white hot, so is industrial."

But recent increases in interest rates to fight inflation are impacting the housing market and may affect redevelopment projects like the Sears proposal.

It's an open question whether the transformation of the old Sears into multifamily housing will garner the Councilman Kevin Thompson's support. Thompson, who did not return a request for comment, represents the district where the mall is located.

In the past he has been a strong advocate for protecting commercial zones and employment centers from residential encroachment.

But proponents of the plan may argue that residential complex could add vitality to the mall.

Thompson expressed particular interest in protecting the Superstition Spring Center from decline in a July study session, when the council heard plans for the city to purchase a hotel near the former Sears and convert it into a homeless shelter.

He came out strongly against the plan saying that the city shouldn't do anything that might negatively impact the mall, causing it to go the way of Mesa's Fiesta Mall, which shuttered in 2017 and has remained vacant since.

The current owners are reportedly working on redevelopment plans, but nothing has been announced publicly.