White Marsh Mall

White Marsh Mall
The mall's main entrance from the exterior view, c. February 2020.
LocationWhite Marsh, Maryland, United States
Coordinates39°22′30″N 76°28′03″W / 39.375°N 76.4675°W / 39.375; -76.4675
Opening dateAugust 12, 1981 (1981-08-12)
DeveloperThe Rouse Company
ManagementSpinoso Real Estate Group
OwnerSpinoso Real Estate Group
ArchitectRTKL Associates[2]
Stores and services130+[1]
Anchor tenants6
Floor area1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2)
Floors2 (1 in Dave and Buster's and Macy's Home Store)
ParkingParking lot with 6800 spaces[1]
Public transit MTA Maryland bus: 56, 120 at mall
MTA Maryland bus: 56, 120, 411, 420, CityLink Brown at White Marsh Park & Ride
Websitewww.whitemarshmall.com

White Marsh Mall is a regional shopping mall in the unincorporated and planned community of White Marsh, Maryland. It is one of the largest regional malls in the Baltimore metropolitan area, with six anchor stores and 130+ specialty shops in 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2). The mall is anchored by Macy's, Macy's Home Store, Boscov's, JCPenney and Dave & Buster's.[1] White Marsh Mall is the fourth largest mall in the Baltimore area, behind Towson Town Center, Arundel Mills Mall and Annapolis Mall.[3] It is adjacent to an IKEA store and The Avenue at White Marsh shopping center. The mall is currently owned and managed by the Spinoso Real Estate Group, who acquired the mall from Brookfield Properties in November 2024.

History

Pre-construction and development

From 1972 to 1981, the planning and development of the White Marsh Mall occurred, with The Rouse Company being selected as owner and developer on land rented from Nottingham Properties, the site developer. In July 1973, Sears committed as an anchor store. Rouse formed subsidiary White Marsh Mall, LLC for the mall's development, and RTKL Associates was chosen to design the mall, having also worked on the similarly designed Collin Creek Mall, Owings Mills Mall and Burlington Center Mall.[4]

In 1981, most stores opened, with Bamberger's, JCPenney, Woodward & Lothrop, Hutzler's, and Sears as the original anchors.

In 1986, Bamberger's became R.H. Macy & Company (later Macy's).

After opening

Macy's vs. Hecht's lawsuit

In January 1990, Hutzler's closed its store permanently at the mall because the chain announced that it would go out of business due to declining performance. In 1991, Hecht's announced that it would replace the defunct Hutzler's, but this was stalled when on September 17, 1991, Macy's filed a lawsuit to The Rouse Co. and The May Department Stores Company (the owner of Hecht's) specifically to block Hecht's from opening, as at the time, Hecht's was a direct competitor to Macy's, and a Hecht's opening at the same mall would give the competitor an advantage.[5]

Macy's argued that the original 1980 Reciprocal Easement Agreement (REA) gave each of the mall's original five anchors the right to consent to any changes in the occupation or expansion of the other anchor spaces until 1996. However, The Rouse Co. and May Co. had negotiated to place Hecht's in the former Hutzler's space—and planned to expand the building's footprint—without Macy's formal approval.[5]

However, Hecht's managed to open in 1992, and on February 10, 1995, the Maryland Court of Appeals ultimately ruled against Macy's, finding that Macy's had "unreasonably withheld" its consent and that blocking a new tenant from a vacant space constituted an "unreasonable restraint on alienation" of the property. Hecht's was allowed to remain and expand, and Macy's was denied any monetary damages.[6]

Ownership and tenant changes

On September 17, 1998, Lord & Taylor had its grand opening at White Marsh Mall, becoming Baltimore's first L&T and taking over what was previously the mall's Woodward & Lothrop (informally "Woodies") store.[7] However, this L&T did not last very long.

In 2004, Lord & Taylor repositioned and shuttered entirely, along with closing its location at Rouse's sister mall, Owings Mills Mall. In November of that same year, Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP) acquired The Rouse Co. and its assets for $12.6 billion, including White Marsh Mall.[8] The White Marsh L&T was converted into a Hecht's Home Store.

In September 2006, Federated Department Stores acquired Hecht's, and announced that it would convert every remaining Hecht's location into Macy's. However, since Federated owned Macy's as well since 1994, and White Marsh Mall already had a Macy's, the original Macy's closed and was replaced by Boscov's, while the Hecht's and Hecht's Home Store were converted to Macy's and Macy's Home, respectively.

However, Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2008, and announced that it would close ten stores, including White Marsh Mall. The space remained vacant for about four years, but in May 2012, Boscov's announced that it would reopen at White Marsh Mall at around October after emerging from bankruptcy.[9]

In the summer of 2016, Sports Authority, having been a tenant at White Marsh Mall since 2004, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which was previously Chapter 11 in March 2016 after failing to find a new buyer, and announced that it would liquidate its remaining 463 locations, including White Marsh Mall.[10] The space remained vacant for nearly a year, and it was later replaced by Dave & Buster's, which announced a location at the mall in June 2017[11] and opened in December 2017.

In August 2018, White Marsh Mall was acquired by Brookfield Properties following its acquisition of GGP itself and its assets.[12]

Decline and 2023 court-ordered receivership

White Marsh Mall's struggles began when the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Sears announced in February 2020 that its store would close as part of a broader, nationwide effort by parent company Transformco to pare down its retail footprint due to years of declining sales, intense competition, and a struggling brick-and-mortar retail environment.[13]

The property's debt issues began when the loan transferred to special servicing in August 2020 for imminent monetary default. Additionally, Brookfield failed to pay off the loan by its original maturity date in May 2021.

By July 2024, the mall's appraised value had plummeted to $80 million, a 73% decrease from its $300 million valuation in 2013.[14]

As a result, Brookfield Properties was evicted as the owner and manager, and White Marsh Mall entered a court-appointed receivership in January 2023 due to mounting debt and financial distress.[15]

Plans to repurpose the Sears location into 320 apartment units were unanimously rejected by the Baltimore County Council in 2023.[16]

Store closures and replacements

In December 2023, both Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews and The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille closed their White Marsh Mall locations. The defunct Red Robin space was announced to be replaced by The Original Pancake House in late 2024.[17]

On November 26, 2024, Spinoso Real Estate Group purchased the mall property out of receivership for $190 million.[15]

The Original Pancake House opened on April 10, 2025 in the former Red Robin space.[18] Kanji Sushi All You Can Eat opened in the former Greene Turtle space in July 2025.[19]

On March 10, 2026, White Marsh Mall held a meeting regarding security concerns involving juvenile disturbance from several teenagers who were arrested.[20]

Anchor stores

Current anchors

Former anchors

References

  1. ^ a b c "White Marsh Mall". Spinoso Real Estate Group.
  2. ^ "Architecture Awards" (PDF). AISC. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  3. ^ Peck, Jamie (October 31, 2002). "White Marsh". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. ^ "Subsidiaries of the Registrant". Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Macy's sues to stop new Hecht's store at White Marsh Mall site from opening formerly housing Hutzler's". Baltimore Sun. September 17, 1991. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  6. ^ "Macy's loses case against Rouse, May". Baltimore Sun. February 10, 1995. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  7. ^ "New shopping mecca draws the faithful Opening: Lord & Taylor has a new store in White Marsh Mall, its 65th and Baltimore's first". Baltimore Sun. September 17, 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  8. ^ "General Growth Properties, Inc. Completes Merger of The Rouse Company" (Press release). Business Wire. November 12, 2004.
  9. ^ "Boscov's department store returning to White Marsh Mall". WBAL TV 11 News. May 12, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  10. ^ "Dave & Busters opens at White Marsh Mall". Maryland Daily Record. December 4, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  11. ^ "Dave & Busters coming to White Marsh Mall". CBS News. June 20, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  12. ^ "Brookfield Property Partners completes acquisition of GGP Inc". Brookfield. August 29, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  13. ^ Simmons, Melody (February 6, 2020). "Sears to close three more stores in Maryland". Baltimore Business Journal.
  14. ^ "Value Of White Marsh Mall, Now In Receivership, Has Fallen 73%". Bisnow.
  15. ^ a b "Baltimore County Mall sells for $190 million".
  16. ^ "Marks: County Council blocks 320 apartments near White Marsh Mall". The Avenue News. September 19, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "2 new restaurants coming to White Marsh Mall". Patch. 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  18. ^ "The Original Pancake House opens at White Marsh Mall". May 5, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  19. ^ "Kanji Sushi under construction at White Marsh Mall". Patch.
  20. ^ "Baltimore County residents safety juvenile White Marsh Mall disturbances". CBS News. March 10, 2026. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.