Struggling Broward Mall owner throws in the towel after foreclosure

The Westfield Broward Mall in Plantation, once a crown jewel of South Florida retailing, is about to be placed into the hands of a receiver after falling months behind on a $95 million mortgage.

Shoppers won’t notice a change, but the mall will be turned over to the lender and managed by a third party, according to a statement from owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

“We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to new ownership, with the center remaining open and operating throughout the process to serve the community,” the statement said.

A foreclosure suit filed against the mall at 8000 W. Broward Blvd. pertains to nearly 470,000 square feet of store space, but not the department store structures owned by others. A space vacated by Sears is earmarked for an entertainment center known as Game Time,

The mall’s turnover has not yet been formalized by a Broward Circuit Court judge, but real estate analysts believe the property could well become yet another candidate for some other use — a trend that has overtaken other older South Florida malls.

In some places, developers and owners are planning apartments and condos at malls whose stores are in decline.

A project called Metropolitan at Coral Square would have more than 200 apartments on unused land near Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs. At the Pompano Citi Centre in Pompano Beach, a high-rise apartment project is envisioned at the site of a former Macy’s. And just north of the Westfield Broward Mall, the old Fashion Mall was demolished in favor of a residential and retail complex with 700 apartments.

The foreclosure lawsuit, brought June 9 in Broward Circuit Court by a firm representing the lender, claims that an arm of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the largest commercial real estate owner in Europe, had made no mortgage payments since April 2020. As of June 11, it owes more than $110 million including interest and various fees, the suit says.

Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter was asked to appoint a receiver who would operate the mall so it can be preserved and marketed for sale, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges the property’s value has sunk to $57.8 million, well below the amount owed.

There appears to be no immediate effect on the mall’s stores, which remain open and are doing business as usual. The tenants include the Regal Cinemas movie theater and a variety of other prominent businesses including AT&T, Bath & Body Works, Champs Sports, Claire’s, Express, Finish Line, Foot Locker, H&M, Hollister, Kay Jewelers, MetroPCS, Starbucks, Victoria’s Secret and Zales.

No longer preeminent

The mall opened at the corner of west Broward Boulevard and University Drive more than 40 years ago in 1979, when Broward County’s development was rapidly pushing west, with condos, retail strips and single-family homes consuming vast swaths of agricultural land.

Over the years, the mall prospered as a place to shop, eat and pass the time for thousands of residents in the densely populated neighborhoods of Plantation and Sunrise.

But that status eroded with the emergence of online retail companies that have cut into the long-standing consumer tradition of driving to malls to buy clothes, household and sporting goods, and other items.

Then, the coronavirus pandemic struck, further compromising the business and making it urgent for the court to appoint a receiver, the lawsuit suggests.

“As the property is a mall and its business and that of its tenants were greatly affected during the pandemic, it is in need of stabilization to ensure its continued operation as well as immediate and future profitability,” the complaint says.

Beth Azor, a long-time South Florida commercial real estate consultant and owner of six small malls, suggested the Broward Mall is being outgunned by other enclaves favored by tourists and local residents, such as Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, the region’s largest, and the Aventura Mall in northeast Miami-Dade County.

“It’s the competition,” she said. “If you’re a local and you want to go shopping in a mall and you want to spend more than three or four hours in the mall, the locals will pick Sawgrass,” she said.

She said her son, who works for a store at Sawgrass, recently witnessed a major rebound in the Sunrise mall’s customer traffic. “Everyone was carrying bags. It’s as busy as it’s been during the holidays.”

Azor also suggested that South Florida is overpopulated with malls.

“There are 21 malls in South Florida,” she said. “We probably need 13. That’s what happens with developers — if we need one, we build 10.”