Titusville Mall demolition begins to make way for mixed-use retail and residential center
Demolition has begun at the Titusville Mall to make way for a mixed-use redevelopment project.
Once a retail and economic hub for North Brevard, the mall, formerly known as the Searstown Mall, has in recent decades fallen into disuse. Plans to officially begin tearing down the mall were announced earlier this year and began Monday. Built in 1966, the shopping center was home to the area's first Regal Cinema and was a hotspot for shopping, eating and social life in the decades after. In recent years, many of the mall's shops have come to sit empty and much of the mall has been completely closed off to the public.
That currently closed portion is now what's slated for demolition while tens of thousands of square feet will remain open where shops currently operate for the time being until a future phase of development.
The Bealls Oulet location inside is also closing to make way for a large indoor flea market, according to Jesse Wright CEO of California Retail Properties, Corp., the company taking charge of the redevelopment.
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"Everything is staying open. We're just cutting the mall in half, taking out the Sears and the cinema and a few shops that were already vacated before," Wright said.The first phase will clear 155,000 square feet for a complex featuring a 240-unit, seven-story apartment building, a six-story independent senior living facility, and 20,000 square feet of retail spaces. A central complex will house a clubhouse and courtyard pool. Additionally, two restaurants will face U.S. Highway 1 and Cape Canaveral on an out parcel.
The second phase, which has not yet been scheduled, will introduce a six-story hotel with 153 rooms along with an outdoor pool and an 8,000 square feet observation deck.
A third phase will feature a commercial section including retail, offices, and medical facilities. with 110,000 square feet facing Hopkins Avenue.
Titusville's planning and development director Brad Parrish has said plans revitalize the property have been in the works for over a decade.
The old mall property was identified as one of three major areas as far back as 2007 in a study conducted to identify mixed-use developments.
The two other locations slotted for redevelopment back then were the Miracle City Mall—which was transformed into the outdoor retail hub Titus Landing several years back—and a patch of land on the west side of U.S. 1 just south of State Road 50 that the city hopes could one day become condominiums. Titus Landing developers were also given the option to include mixed-use residential in their plans but opted for retail and restaurants only.
The transformation of the Titusville Mall fits in with what city planners see for the future of the area's redevelopment, making it consistent with the city's comprehensive plan to attract new residents and grow the tax base, especially with the growth of the county's commercial space industry.
Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard and Brevard County government watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Titusville Mall demolition begins to make way for mixed-use 'urban village'
