It’s 7:45 p.m. on a Saturday, and the Beltway Plaza Mall in Greenbelt is bustling. A sweet smell wafts out of Heaven’s Bakery. The AMC Academy 8 movie theater is packed. A young boy in a red Spiderman shirt twirls past a vacant store with chains blocking its entrance, before his mom yanks him close. That empty store, and the For Lease signs visible throughout the plaza, are symptoms of a problem that’s been affecting malls across the nation. Neighborhood and community shopping center vacancies hit a four-year high in 2018, according to Real Estate Solutions, an analytics company. The trend is predicted to continue, with financial forecasts from Credit Suisse indicating 20 to 25 percent of U.S. malls will close in the next three years.
Quantum Companies, which owns the mall, has a plan to turn the institution that has been part of Greenbelt for over five decades into a community destination. This conceptual redevelopment was approved by Greenbelt’s City Council in March, and will include adding housing, retail and office space, while aiming to improve the aesthetics of the entire development. The renovation is part of a growing trend of malls converting their spaces into a mix of retail and living, said Molly Porter, Greenbelt’s community planner.
The city will join examples of similar renovations in Bethesda, Fairfax and Gaithersburg. “I think there’s a large trend, kind of the conversion of a traditional mall, such as Beltway Plaza, into a town center … making it less of an indoor shopping experience to more of an outdoor, indoor component with housing. There are several projects within the region that have gone that way,” Porter said.
Quantum executives said the mall’s recent performance and store closings are in line with national averages. “In terms of store closures, our experience has been similar to that of other shopping centers of our size due to bankruptcies, downsizing, consolidation and changing retail conditions,” Kap Kapastin, general counsel of Quantum Companies, wrote in a message. Kapastin declined to provide any data on store closures in the mall, and said no one at the company collects this information.
Quantum Companies submitted a master redevelopment plan during a January meeting of the Advisory Planning Board. Kapastin declined to provide any data on store closures in the mall, and said no one at the company collects this information.
Councilmember Colin Byrd, who has been a resident of the city his entire life, has many memories at the mall. He remembers going to Silver Diner when he was young – he recommends the waffles and chicken sausage – or shopping for the latest shoes at Foot Locker. He said the plaza is an integral part of the community. “It, for better or for worse, is certainly a part of the brand of the city. Because it’s such a large piece of property, I do think people will make judgments, positive or negative, about the city based on the perceived quality of that particular mall,” Byrd said. Even if these renovations are successful in keeping the mall afloat, Byrd wants to ensure the community’s concerns are considered, such as the issue of potential increases in rent for those currently living in the area.
Porter also said she’s heard concerns regarding traffic density and rent pricing from community and councilmembers. Quantum declined to provide more details on the project other than it will take between five to 20 years and involve a considerable cost. Kapastin added that they do not project the displacement of any of the plaza’s 100 existing stores. Several store owners declined to comment for this story, some saying they were not aware of the proposed renovations. Despite community and councilmembers’ concerns, Byrd is optimistic about the project. It’s a development he said exemplifies the tenacity of the city. “I think it reflects the consistency and the resilience and the community spirit of the city that something that is a pillar of the city is not going to ultimately be ignored,” he said. “There’s been talk of the mall being a dying mall. I don’t see it that way.”
Nora Eckert is a University of Maryland graduate student in journalism reporting for the News Review.