EVERETT — It might not be readily apparent, but redevelopment of the Everett Mall is underway.
Its owner Brixton Capital has begun leasing retail space inside the vacant Sears wing, the first step toward a makeover that will demolish much of the existing mall and create a main street running through the current entrance area and food court.
Brixton proposes demolishing about 216,000 square feet of the extant mall building and adding almost 97,000 square feet of retail over the next two years, along with 324 new parking stalls.
“The Everett Mall needs some love,” said Dan Eernissee, Everett’s economic development director. “Sears has been a very poor operator for many years. It took up a big space and dragged down the rest of the mall. And it didn’t provide much tax revenue.”
Phase One of the redevelopment project involves dividing the Sears space into separate retail spaces. Those spaces will be filled by a 13,000 square-foot grocery and three 10-15,000 square-foot junior anchor tenants, according to planning documents recently filed with the city.
The Sears building at the main mall’s southwest corner will remain intact as an 83,400 square-foot unit, and new spaces will be built on either side of the Party City along the north side facing Everett Mall Way.
Phase Two calls for demolishing the front portion of the mall and creating a retail-lined “main street” through the middle that leads to a circular pocket park near Regal Cinemas.
The project will cumulate in a net reduction of almost 119,000 square feet of retail space — making the mall a total of 367,819 square feet — and an increase in parking stalls from 2,295 to 2,618.
“This will feel like the entire Everett Mall is being redeveloped,” Eernissee said, though fixtures such as LA Fitness, Best Buy, T.J. Maxx, Floor & Decor and Regal Cinemas will remain intact. All of those businesses are in buildings which have different ownership.
A marketing flyer boasts the new mall will have “incredible frontage and visibility to Everett Mall Way” with “multiple signed entrances.”
In a final phase of redevelopment, which has not been flushed out, the city will work with Brixton and other owners to figure out how to best utilize the large parking lot at the back end of the mall near LA Fitness and Regal Cinemas.
Possibilities include multifamily housing, a hotel, a medical clinic, or more retail.
Eernissee cited Thornton Place at Northgate, a mixed-use facility with housing, retail, and a movie theater, as an example of what could develop.
The Sears building will be filling with tenants over the next few months. Demolition of the mall entryway will likely start next spring or summer, and redevelopment will be completed by early 2024.
Explore the plan
Documents showing the proposed Phase Two plan are available through onlinepermits.everettwa.gov
On that page, go to the “Land Use Projects” area and click on “search for projects” to go to the search page. Then put in a search for “REVII22-034”.
Public comments on the proposal are due Oct. 10 to city planning.
