Staunton Mall demolition work still ongoing, no timeline for development work

Akhil Ganesh, Staunton News Leader
·2 min read

STAUNTON — Hills of rubble seem to outnumber the remaining standing structures on the Staunton Mall property. Even the fence surrounding the property for safety has taken a bit of a beating, as sections have fallen and there are holes in certain areas.

A picture of what the future could look like here might start to be formed once the debris is cleared on-site. No update on the timeline for when new construction could begin.

What businesses are coming in?

"We're working hard to try to get a line-up. We're trying to figure out the capital markets," said Carl Blackwell of Commonwealth Commercial, the company trying to find lessees for the space.

"We've got lots of interest, and things are going well, but just have to figure it out day by day."

Blackwell said the owner of the property could probably answer on the timeline better. The News Leader reached out to the owner through Blackwell, but has received no reply.

The mall closed in early 2021 after it was sold to Staunton EM 2 LLC for $3,675,000. Staunton EM 2 LLC is registered in Richmond.

After demolition is finished and the rubble has been cleared, the idea is that there will be an open air strip mall with retail and flex spaces, as well as multi-family residential buildings. The stores remaining on the property include Dollar Tree, Belk, McDonalds, and Red Lobster.

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Rise and fall (and rise?): A Staunton mall timeline

  • The property began as an open air shopping plaza concept in 1969.

  • In 1985, it was renovated and roofed in for indoor shopping.

  • In 2004, then-owner Colonial Properties Trust announced it wanted to sell what was then called Colonial Mall Staunton, along with five other malls it owned.

  • First Republic Group Realty purchased the property in 2007, renaming it Staunton Mall.

  • Staunton Mall Realty LLC bought the shopping center in November 2010 for $4.05 million when then-owner First Republic Realty was in bankruptcy.

  • In 2014, Staunton Mall Realty LLC sold the property to Staunton Mall LLC, a Delaware company for $4.5 million. Once the mall was sold, a new management team came in, which has also seen turnover. Then, Asprey Real Estate Corp. took over management in 2015.

  • Peebles closed in 2018.

  • J.C. Penney closed in 2020.

  • The mall was sold in 2021.

  • It was rezoned in 2021 for multifamily residential.

  • Teardown began in March 2022.

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—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton Mall demolition work still ongoing, no timeline for development work