The Muncie Redevelopment Commission will spend tax dollars earmarked for the Muncie Mall to demolish part of the mall complex. As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the move is intended to attract new businesses.
Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour has long talked about the Muncie Mall having the “second largest assessed value” in the city of Muncie at $32 million. But Muncie Redevelopment Commission Director Jeff Howe says that’s changed.
The Muncie Mall has “most recently been assessed for $4.7 million,” he told the Muncie Redevelopment Commission last week.
The Muncie Mall is in a TIF — or tax increment financing — district. Some of the property taxes collected from the area are earmarked for improvements in that district. Last week, Howe asked for the balance of the fund – just under $432,000 – be approved to demolish the so-called “McGalliard end” of the mall – specifically the store that used to be JCPenney.
“Because that effectively will be the entry to the mall.”
He says this would make “out lots” along McGalliard useable for new businesses, similar to Panera and Outback Steakhouse.
The commission approved. Commissioner Steve Prybylla said he’s heard the demolition is what interested businesses want.
“The retail shops and things that are looking to be out there could be very valuable to Muncie area, but my understanding is, without the out lots, without Penney’s being gone and having out lots, they’re not coming.”
Howe says he couldn’t name businesses that are interested or in talks to locate at the mall. But he said they include retail, restaurant, and “possibly” wholesale companies.
The mall’s future has been uncertain for the last several years. The Muncie Mall lost its first anchor store in 2018 as part of a national decline in sales, eventually losing all its anchor stores. New managers, The Woodmont Company, took over in 2020 to market the mall for sale from Washington Prime Group. The next year, Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy and stopped paying the building’s mortgage. The mall was eventually sold to Wells Fargo Bank in a county sheriff’s sale in 2023 so the financing bank could recoup losses.
In January 2024, Hull Property Group from Augusta, Georgia, purchased the mall. The company has a record of mall revitalization, including by demolishing and reconfiguring parts of mall complexes in other states.
Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host. Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.
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