The Eastland Mall location is just one of 68 stores Macy’s plans to close  nationwide over this year. (Photo courtesy of Eastland Mall)

On the heels of the all-important holiday season, numerous national retailers have been pruning their store footprints, and some of those decisions have impacted one of McLean County’s most prominent shopping destinations.

In January, word came down Eastland Mall in Bloomington lost or is about to lose an anchor store — Macy’s — and several in-line stores, including such venerable mall tenants as The Limited and Radio Shack.

In the case of The Limited, its disappearance from Eastland Mall is far from an anomaly. The women’s apparel company has decided to ditch bricks-and-mortar all together and shift to an online business model.

Cincinnati-based Macy’s announced last year it was on the cusp of a multi-year effort to close upward of 100 stores. Plans of closing 68 of those sites were solidified this month, including the Bloomington location.

The backdrop for the closures could be attributed to numerous circumstances, including consumers’ growing appetite to purchase items online and a desire to allocate disposable income toward experiences, rather than things.

Despite the physical and philosophical changes, representatives of CBL and Associates Properties are optimistic of Eastland Mall’s long-term viability in the Bloomington-Normal marketplace.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL owns Eastland Mall, purchasing the property in 2005 for $73 million.

The loss of an anchor tenant can be a death knell for some malls, as history has shown.

Within the past decade, swaths of once-bustling malls have been boarded up and, in many cases, eventually bulldozed. Many of the now-defunct malls began their downward spirals when anchor tenants put their gates down for good.

CBL and Associates Properties said the impending loss of Macy’s, The Limited and Radio Shack will give them new opportunities at Eastland Mall, now in its 50th year. ( Photo courtesy of Eastland Mall)

But in Eastland Mall’s case, marketing manager Melissa Cavanaugh said Macy’s imminent exit — expected to occur on or before March 31 — presents CBL with a unique opportunity. Macy’s occupies 121,000 square feet of the mall’s general leasing area of just over 750,000 square feet.

“We see this as an opportunity that will have a positive impact on the mall,” Cavanaugh said in an interview with the Chronicle. “These closures allow us to take underperforming space and convert it into fresh, new retail, driving traffic, sales and growth to the entire property.”

CBL, which owns malls across the U.S., has four properties, including Eastland, losing a Macy’s this year. In each instance, the company is working with Macy’s to purchase the properties.

In many instances, anchor department stores own their buildings outright, harking back to a commonplace trend in the 1960s through 1980s as enclosed malls sprouted up across the U.S.

Stephen Lebovitz, president and CEO of CBL, said the company was not blindsided by the Macy’s announcement.

“As we discussed on our last earnings call, the closure of these locations was fully anticipated,” Lebovitz said.

“In anticipation of these closures, we have proactively engaged in discussions with a number of prospective users,” he said. “Our next steps will be to finalize negotiations and redevelopment plans. Once the leases are signed, we will share specific names … as well as construction and opening timelines.”

Cavanaugh said CBL’s goal is to purchase the Macy’s property within the first quarter of this year, meaning the ink could be dry before the department store sells the last of its merchandise.

When asked about specifics for the Macy’s space at Eastland, Cavanaugh was mum, saying, “It was too early to announce any concrete plans.”

But the likelihood of a traditional department store taking Macy’s place at the mall appears unlikely. CBL in announcing similar deals at its other malls has converted vacant department store space into junior anchor tenants, dining establishments and other subdivided uses.

“CBL has a long track record of successfully replacing or redeveloping anchor locations that has resulted in a win-win for the consumer and our mall properties,” Cavanaugh said.

Eastland Mall opened in 1967, and, over the years, has undergone a number of renovations and additions. Original anchors JCPenney and Sears still have a presence at the mall today. Bergner’s, owned by Bon-Ton Inc., was added in 1973. The newest anchor, Kohl’s, arrived in 1984.

The in-line mall space also has evolved over time, swelling from an initial 28 spaces to upward of 70 spots today.

— Macy’s closing could bring new opportunities to Eastland Mall —